IWSG - Stumbling Into Short Stories

Hey, hey, hey, this week it's ACTUALLY time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG allows writers to express their insecurities and support each other. Anyone is welcome to join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list. Then post the first Wednesday of each month and hop around to visit others.

Our exalted co-hosts this month are 

Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey!

The optional question this month asks: Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

Well, when I started out trying to be a professional writer, I first tried writing a couple novels. One I only researched (I'm probably on a watchlist because of it). It was back when the Hantavirus hit the news. It started on a reservation, and I had an idea for a mystery story in the Tony Hillerman-type style that involved the government releasing a test virus on the reservation. Considering the government's past, it wouldn't have been the first time they tested something on a minority population. I spent months researching government testing and biological warfare. Astoundingly, I found out how to make anthrax from one of the library books. I have no idea idea which book now, and I don't remember anything other than that it was shockingly easy to get what was needed.

Tony Hillerman ended up putting out a book that seemed to have a similar premise. I was upset, figured I'd never get a book published if he'd beat me to the punch (I was about 20), and I got a new job where I was working 9am to 2am all but one day per week, in which another manager opened and I closed. Zero days off, discouraged, overworked, exhausted, I gave up on the story. 

I started another book, but it felt more like a thriller short story to me, so I eventually hopped back into short stories, because I just didn't have time to do anything else. Two rejections (one from Aasimov's and one from Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, both via mail, both of which I still have!), and I set that all aside until years later as a new mom. I made money as a stay at home mom in writing a monetized blog on being the mom of a child conceived via IVF (2005) and eventually writing articles for an online periodical (2006) (and being a guide on ChaCha and kgb--I suck at not working). But I started slowly, but surely writing short stories and learning how to submit them, all while I also worked on another novel.

I thought being a novelist was the only way to break in, but then my short stories started selling. Then I started being invited to speak and to teach. Writing organizations and the library started treating me like a real author before I felt like one.

Short version: I created my career by accidentally happening into a different form than the one I thought was required to make it in the writing world!

On the flip side, I've had short stories end up clearly needing to be novels, and I'm working on two of those now. We'll see what happens there.

That turned out longer than I intended, so I'll save the rest of my post for next week (if I remember what I was going to say.)

If you missed my post last week, I had a new story come out that is FREE to read, plus I was interviewed, and one of my stories was read on a podcast, also free to listen to! Here's that post if you want the links: Horroraddicts, Dust Bunnies, & Novel Noctule.

Submission stat time! Each month I report the previous month's submission stats to keep myself accountable.

July

9 submissions

1 acceptance (YAY!!)

1 rejection

12 stories currently on submission

6 stories pending resubmission

Pikes Peak Writers continues with free online programming this month, so if you haven't been able to drop in, you're still welcome! We're likely looking at doing this for at least the rest of 2020. Write Brains are a two hour workshop, Writer's Night is for writing discussions (you can throw out a topic/question for all to discuss or just hang out and take part in the discussion), and Write Drunk, Edit Sober is a series of mini lessons with prompt writing between each lesson. There's also a free conference being put on this fall by three writing groups working together: Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Northern Colorado Writers. Anyone can take part, all for completely free. Go the Pikes Peak Writers website for more information.

What's your answer to the IWSG question? What are your insecurities? How are you doing right now? Have you submitted anything? 

May you find your Muse!

The Time Has Come & Beta Readers

You may remember I had beta readers look at my novel this past year. I wrote a post about how to work with beta readers for Writing From the Peak, the official blog of Pikes Peak Writers. You can check it out HERE.

As of today, I'm at the Marriott in the lead up to Pikes Peak Writers Conference, where I'll be working as staff AND presenting some workshops. Plus, I'll be selling and signing books. So my husband made me a friend to take.

Turns out there's a bigger one on its way, but he'll be dropping him off at the hotel after I'm already there.

My younger cat is not a fan.

She actually wants to eat it.

3-D printers can make all kinds of cool things, eh? Given, my facehugger pales in comparison to building organs with a 3-D printer. Still, I like it. He and his older brother will be at my signing table.

Have a great week, and I'll see you next Wednesday for the IWSG! Hopefully with some fun news from PPWC. In the meantime, here are some links. Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing them, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

AGNI is accepting fiction, essays, and poetry. Pays $10 per printed page. Deadline May 31.

One Story is accepting short literary fiction. 3000 to 8000 words. Pays $500. Deadline May 31.

Baltimore Review is accepting fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Pays $40. Deadline May 31.

67 Press is accepting flash and short fiction. Up to 5000 words. All genres. Pays $25 + royalties. Deadline May 31.

Recompose is accepting speculative flash fiction and poetry. Up to 1100 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline May 31.

Nashville Review is accepting fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Up to 8000 words. Pays $25 to $100, depending upon submission type. Deadline May 31.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is accepting short submissions for the theme Positively Happy! Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline May 31.

CASFWG is accepting short fiction for the anthology When You're Strange: An Anthology of Strangers. Up to 7500 words. Pays $15. Deadline May 31.

Any of these links of interest? Anything to add? Publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

Author Meet and Greet Update & Links

I'd love to be able to post something of consequence right now, to put out an informative post, or to even post fun horror stuff since this is usually my favorite time of year, but the election and just plain PEOPLE have me so depressed right now that I sit here staring at this blank screen and can't think of anything I want to talk about. I'm thankful it's not impacting my fiction writing, but it's just not happening for me on here.

So instead I'm going to post about the fun Author Meet and Greet I was part of this weekend. Because I had a great weekend until I went on social media tonight, so I'm just going to back up and pretend this evening didn't happen.

A local small press put on a signing event Saturday, and I was invited to be a part of it as one of two horror authors! It was held in a local art gallery, so we were surrounded by paintings and other forms of visual art, which is a great setting. There was wine, there were goodies, and there was a talented group of local authors. Friend and fellow horror author DeAnna Knippling shared the table with me, so we had some fun decorations.

The sign is new. My husband got up early and made it for me that day. Isn't he awesome? He even dropped by and said hi about partway through, and to see if I needed lunch or anything else.

I had four of my titles there, and I sold out of two of them! Not to say I had a big inventory of them or anything, but it was still exciting. Especially as my biggest fear going in that morning was that I would sell a big goose egg, thus letting down the friends running the event. I imagine it helped that it's the month of October. You know, formerly my favorite month. It's the month some folks who don't otherwise touch horror check it out. Even bigger than selling out, I sold to strangers! We authors try to support each other by buying books, but strangers, people who were not writers, they bought my books! Meep!

Now I have to decide whether I'll go through the work of selling my books at MileHiCon at the end of the month. It involves getting sales tax licenses for state and the city of Denver, and I only have two of my books. While I might be able to get my books in time for MHC that I sold out of, I'm not willing to pay expedited shipping to ensure it. So I need to decide this week, and to determine whether it's worth trying to get at least the one book shipped out now. SO MANY DECISIONS!

A lot of people stopped by and chatted, and even when they didn't buy a book, it was nice. All in all, I'd say it was a successful event, but I'm not the one who has to do the bookkeeping on it. If it was, in fact, successful, they'll hopefully be doing it again with other authors, but I don't know how soon that will be. Organizing events is stressful, and nothing teaches you that like doing it!

Now for some links. Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Ellipsis, a Westminster College literary journal, is open for their annual publication. Poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, and art. Pays $10-$50. Deadline November 1 for most categories.

Belmont Story Review is open for fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. No word limit mentioned. Pays a cash honorarium. Deadline November 1.

Mofo Pubs is open for submissions to their anthology Wanderlust. Sexually explicit literary erotica. 1000-5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline November 3.

Lamplight is open for submissions. Dark literary fiction. Up to 7000 words. Pays $.03/word up to $150. Current deadline November 15.

The Lorelei Signal is open for fantasy short fiction. Up to 10,000 words. Pays between $2 and $7.50. Current deadline November 15.

Contests:

Don't forget the Insecure Writer's Support Group 2016 Anthology Contest. 3000-6000 words. Fantasy with the theme "hero lost." Pays in royalties. You will be published in an e-anthology. Deadline November 1.

New York Encounter is holding a poetry contest. Theme: Reality has never betrayed me. Cash prizes up to $300. Deadline November 1.

For Fun:

It's always good to find new scary books. Here's a list of 40 Scariest Books of the Last 200 Years by Sarah Mangiola on The Lineup.

How was your weekend? Bought any good books lately? Read any books in the last month or so you'd recommend? Are you ready for Halloween? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

May you find your Muse.

Link Time!

It's late, so I'm going to jump straight into links today.

Bear in mind that posting these does not indicate endorsement on my part. I merely pass along links I happen across. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Jaylee James and Lyssa Chiavari are putting together an anthology that intermingles fairy tales and science fiction, called Circuits and Slippers. 2000-10,000 words. Pays in royalty split. Deadline April 8.

Leading Edge Magazine is seeking short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Science fiction and fantasy. Up to 10,000 words preferred. This is a paying market, but they are working on their fee schedule right now, so no specifics are listed. 

Metaphorosis is seeking fantasy and science fiction. 1000-6000 words. Pays $.01/word. They want beautifully written work.

The Masters Review is seeking fiction and narrative nonfiction. Must not have published a novel to submit. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.10/word. (Note: they have submission types that require a fee. I am posting only about New Voices, which does not require a fee to submit.)

Blue Monday Review is seeking fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. They like stories in the fashion of Vonnegut. Up to 3500 words. Pays $.02/word.

Cultures and Cuisines is seeking food and travel articles that, while nonfiction, push the boundaries in style. 800-3000 words. Pays $200/article. 

Scarlet Leaf Review is seeking essays, poetry, essays, book reviews, portraits, short stories, interviews, and more. Pays $10-$25 CAD

The Capilano Review is seeking experimental writing and art. Fiction, poetry, reviews, interviews. Up to 5000 words (some categories are shorter.) Pays $50 per published page, up to $150. 

The Sockdolager is seeking short genre fiction. 1000-5000 words. Pays $.02/word. 

Wolves is seeking literary fiction and poetry. They like experimental. Up to 7000 words. Pays $5-$30. 

Any of these of interest? Anything to share? Publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

Jumper Silhouette, clker.com, OCAL

Publication Resources

I've had a few people ask me where I get the links I post each Wednesday, so I thought I'd do a quick post about where to find publications. My focus is on short stories right now, so most of these are going to be short story publishers. I'm also going to list resources I've stumbled across, but don't use for my Wednesday blog posts, so you may find lots I'm not posting at those sites (found at the end of this post.)

Unfortunately, I don't have any magic bullets. For the most part, I get my links from LinkedIn groups and Facebook groups I've joined that are related to writing. People post markets they've heard about, or the publishers themselves post. I check these out as people post to be sure they're paying markets that don't cost for submissions, and then I add them to a spreadsheet in date order so I can post them. I recommend you do searches in these two places for groups related to your genre. Once you add some groups in LinkedIn, they send you other recommended groups. For Facebook groups, I typically find them through friends who belong to them when they share something. Or they get recommended by Facebook. I'm in several that are specifically for posting paying markets. I try to share back since I get so many links from them, but sometimes I forget.

When I find a link posted on someone else's blog, Twitter, or Facebook, or if someone posts it in my comments, I mention them with the link to give credit. I don't get so many this way, but I do get a few here and there.

Occasionally, I just do random internet searches for "submission guidelines" and "horror," so this would work for others in their genres. However, this one can be a waste of time, so it's rare.

I've also gone through the back of "Best of" type collections to see what markets those stories were originally published in. Then I'll look them up online to see what their guidelines are. Check out "Best of" collections in your genre. Or see where someone who writes similar content is getting published.

A lot of my links are updated deadlines for markets I've posted before, or new editions/themes/anthologies from publishers I check in with occasionally. If I do a post for an anthology from a specific market, but it also has a list of future anthologies and their deadlines, I add those to my spreadsheet to come back to closer to that time.

Not terribly helpful, right?  But hopefully something below will be more helpful.

While these are not places I usually get links from, these are excellent resources if you're looking for updates on new markets:

The big daddy of them all is Duotrope. I don't go through Duotrope to find the links for my publications posts, but I'm pretty sure most of the links I stumble across are listed on Duotrope, and that's where I go when I have a story to submit. There have been some I've submitted to after finding them elsewhere that were not on Duotrope, so don't depend on it exclusively, but boy does it make life easier. There is a $50 annual fee, or you can pay $5 monthly. I don't just find markets here; I track my submissions through the website. (I also have a spreadsheet, so it's okay that not all the markets are listed there.) It breaks down how many days you can expect to wait before hearing back, as well as other helpful stats, such as average time for rejections and acceptances for that market. They also send a monthly newsletter with new markets. Note: You can find publishers interested in novels here, too.

If you don't want to pay, you can go to the Submission Grinder. It does the same things as Duotrope, though it may have fewer markets, as it's newer and is still in BETA. Plus, it's free. I tried to start tracking on each, but I was doubling my efforts. So possibly when I'm not as active with short stories.

The following are resources I've kept the link to with the intention of visiting them more often. I suck at doing so, and I'm terrible at getting around to reading newsletters, but when I do, they have tons of helpful information.

My Little Corner is a blog where Sandra Seamans posts open markets. I think her main focus is mystery/thriller, but she may post other genres (and I may have misread that as being her focus). She sometimes does multiple posts per day. Each post is for a single market.

Ralan.com posts various markets. There may be a focus on speculative fiction, but I'm not positive. They have an index so you can search by pay and type.

Coffintree Hill is a blog that posts speculative fiction markets. I believe it's also one market per post, like My Little Corner.

I don't know if this one is currently being updated, but a list I ran across at some point and copied the link to is Mary Soon Lee's Speculative Fiction Markets. It is just a list of markets. Simple and straight forward. They're separated by pay.

Horror Tree posts ongoing markets irregularly. Despite its name, I think it focuses on speculative fiction, not just horror.

Writingcareer.com posts multiple posts per day with open calls. I think it's all genres. They have an index on the right that breaks the categories down into fiction, poetry, anthology, and nonfiction.

For those who write primarily flash fiction, there's a Yahoo Group with a regular newsletter. It's Pamelyn Casto's Flash Fiction Newsletter. Her newsletter has publishing information, news, and links to contests and publications.

Another Yahoo Group is The Practicing Writer. They list grants, publications, and contests. All genres, I think.

Hope Clark runs FundsforWriters. You can subscribe and get a free email with writing information, news, grants, contests, freelance markets, and writing jobs. I think this is another that does all genres, though it appears to tend toward literary.

A lot of times, the same market will pop up in a bunch of places at once. These markets want you to be able to find them. As you can see, there are a lot of resources to get you closer to them. I only posted one paying site, though I'm sure there are more out there, but I find Duotrope to be invaluable. If you are submitting a lot, it's worth the cost. If you aren't, and are just dipping your toes in, I'd stick with the free resources if they work for you.

Good luck, and happy submitting!

Do you have other go to resources for markets you're willing to share? What is your favorite one? Do you use Duotrope or Submission Grinder? Are there any other similar sites? 

May you find your Muse.

Bullet Bill image, clker.com, OCAL
Calendar with Note, clker.com, OCAL
Big Bag of Money, clker.com, OCAL

Mountain Views & Links

Pennywise let me leave The Stanley, but only after I got some writing done. One of the days, I snuck out and did a little light hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. I walked around Sprague Lake and snapped some pictures of the lake and the Rockies.

The main road is closed above a certain elevation for the snow and ice, but there was still plenty open for me to spend a few hours out there. The wind was crazy; I'm surprised I had skin left on my face. There are two photos that look really similar above, one in b/w and one in color. The black and white one was to show the blowing snow in the air. It was NOT snowing. There were footprints covering the lake, despite the "Thin Ice" signs. But I didn't see any holes, so I figure it worked out in the end. Or not. Who knows?

Now for some links.

Bear in mind that I am passing along links I've happened across, and that this does not indicate endorsement on my part. Always do your own due diligence in researching markets before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Bracken is open for speculative fiction. Short fiction, poetry, and artwork. Up to 2500 words. Pays $.02/word for fiction and $15/poem. Deadline January 29.

Lit Select is open for erotic fiction for the food themed anthology Love Slave: Sizzle. 2000-8000 words. Pays $30. Deadline January 31.

The Geeky Press is open for essays, poetry, and short stories for their anthology Bad Jobs & Bullshit. 1000-5000 words. Pays in shared royalties. Deadline February 1.

The First Line is starting their next round of first line submissions. The Spring line is: "Unfortunately, there is no mistake," she said, closing the file. 300-5000 words. Short stories, nonfiction, and poetry. Payment varies by type of submission, ranging from $5 to $50. Deadline for Spring line is February 1.

Lamplight is open for dark fiction short stories and flash. Up to 1000 words for flash fiction. 2000-7000 words for short stories. Pays $150 per short story, $50 for flash. Deadline February 1.

Visual Adjectives is open for stories, art, and photography for the superhero anthology New Legends: The Hero*The Antihero*The Vigilante, Book 2. 2500-8000 words. Pays $25. Deadline February 8.

Six Minutes to Midnight is open for short stories for the anthology This Twisted Earth, Volume 1. 4000-9000 words. Pays in royalties and contributor copies. Deadline February 11.

Blog Hops:

The Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition Blog Hop is being put on by Arlee Bird, Guilie Castillo-Oriard, Elizabeth Seckman, Yolanda Renee, Denise Covey, and Alex J. Cavanaugh. Tell about a lost love, whether via short fiction, essay, poetry, song, or whatever other form takes your fancy. February 1.

Any of these of interest to you? Anything to share? Publishing news? Have you gotten outdoors lately? Was it sunny, snowy, rainy? Did you freeze or roast?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG, Good News & Links

It's time for another round of Insecure Writer's Support Group!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.

Whoops! I missed that we were supposed to be introducing ourselves, so I've edited to add in a quick overview: I write horror and urban fantasy, primarily, and have been focusing on short stories this past year to hone my craft before returning to my novels, one of which is complete and awaiting further editing, the other which is waiting for an ending. I enjoy all things horror rather gleefully (except those fake haunted houses you visit, because I'm convinced it would be an excellent way for a REAL psycho to take out some victims without anyone being onto them until they closed for the evening).

I like to do an update on my submissions for IWSG in order to keep track of what the month looked like. (And because having all those pieces out there just waiting for rejections is a huge chunk of my insecurity.) In December, I:

Submitted one piece

Got one rejection (not for that piece.)

I participated as a guest author in Of Mist and Magic (anthology release news coming super soon!)

AND GOT ONE ACCEPTANCE!

Did you see that last sentence (You should have, seeing as how I put it in all capitals)? I officially signed the contract for one of my horror short stories to be published in the November 2015 issue of Bloodbond Magazine. 

This is the same piece that was shortlisted for an anthology in November, which felt good at the time, but this feels much better.

I know it's a ways off, but I can't wait to see what the cover will look like, and have the chance to share it.

Why did I have so few submissions this month, you might ask (or you might not)? It's just that all my pieces that are ready are out on submission from November still, and I didn't get a chance to edit and submit any others. I hope to remedy that this month. I had several that had been out well past when I expected them, but finally heard back on those (they'll be counted in next month's rejections.) It was actually a relief just to have the official rejections at that point, so I could resubmit them.

Courtesy of the acceptance, I still have the usual insecurities and doubts about my writing, but there's a glimmer of hope. So all I can say to my fellow insecure writers is to keep muscling through and submitting, submitting, submitting until you find the right publisher for your stories.

Now for some links. (Always check these publications out on your own before submitting.)

Accepting Submissions:

Glimmer Train is in one of their open submissions periods, where entry is free. Stories of any genre up to 12,000 words. Deadline January 31. Payment is $700, publication, and 10 contributor copies. They typically charge for submission, so it's always a great opportunity to submit something during the free submission window.

The First Line provides you with a line to start your story then asks you to write a story of up to 5000 words (nonfiction is 500-800 words). The current first line is "Fairy tales hardly ever come true for quiet girls." Deadline February 1. Pays $25-50 for fiction.

Charon Coin Press is seeking submissions for Carpe Noctem: Truly, Madly, Deeply, an anthology of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. 4000-10,000 words. Deadline February 1. Pays in a royalty split and contributor copy.

Splickety Publishing Group is open for submissions this month in their Havok issue. The theme is Crossover Chaos. 300-1000 words. Deadline February 6. Pays $02/word.

Journeys of Wonder is seeking submissions for their fourth volume. Up to 10,000 words. Speculative fiction. Pays a percentage of profits.

Reader's Digest accepts submissions in a wide variety of styles/topics. You have to send a pitch first. Pay starts at $1/word. 

The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction is open for submissions. 100-6,000 words. Pays $.01/word.

Flapperhouse is open to submissions that are surreal, shadowy, sensual, or satirical. Fiction up to 5,000 words. They also take nonfiction, essays, reviews, comics, and artwork. Pays $.01/word for fiction. 

Transition Magazine wants stories about mental health and stories of personal experience with mental health issues. They also take artwork. Pays $50 per printed page.

Epic Saga Publishing has nine anthologies currently open to submissions. These lean toward science fiction with various minglings of genres. They're open until filled. Story lengths vary per anthology. I'm unsure of pay.

What are your insecurities? Any submissions news? Do any of these publications interest you? Do you have information on any of these publishers?

May you find your Muse.