It's the first Wednesday of December and the last first Wednesday of 2022. Can you believe it? That means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.
Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG provides a venue for authors to air their insecurities and support their fellow in theirs. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list.
The co-hosts this month are Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine.
The optional question this month is: Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writing goals?
This time of year always ends up being busy, but not solely because of the holidays. It's finals time for the kids, and I've got two high schoolers. There's my birthday (I turned 45 Thanksgiving week!), my mom's birthday, and countless other things that fall into line between October 1 and the second week of January. So writing? Eeeeeeeehhhh....not so much.
I *am* excited that I no longer have a ton of deadlines on the 7th and 8th of each month at the day job, though! They're now all on the 15th. That means I will finally be able to get back to making blog visits for IWSG on Wednesday instead of a week later! But because all those deadlines are now doubled up on the 15th, I'm going to return to putting open market calls on the IWSG posts and probably only posting on first Wednesdays. I'm simply not able to visit people the way I'd like to. That may change in the future.
For right now, my writing is going to be focused on getting Happy Ghoulidays II out on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Wish me luck!
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For anyone who missed it, I was a guest on Slasher Sports Cinema last month, where we discussed the original Nightmare on Elm Street (and about a billion other things, of course, because it's fun to talk horror with someone who gets it.) It's available on: Anchor | Spotify | Apple | iHeart | YouTube
Before I jump into open markets, it's time for my monthly submission stats. It's been a lackluster month, but reporting on this keeps me accountable.
November stats:
4 submissions
0 acceptances
7 rejections
1 short listing
13 stories on submission
Meh.
Okay, markets open for submissions. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence when submitting.
Amazing Stories is seeking flash fiction with the theme "Sol System." Up to 1500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline January 2.
The Fairy Tale Magazine is seeking fairy tale short stories and poetry following the theme "Love." 1000 to 5000 words. Pays $50. Deadline January 2.
Kenyon Review is seeking poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for "Luminous Gender Vessel" about gender and being in your body. Up to 6000 words. Paying market, but pay is not specified. Deadline January 5.
The Fantastic Other is seeking short stories, poetry, and flash fiction with the theme of "Mirrors." Up to 3500 words. Pays $5. Deadline January 7.
Cosmic Horror Monthly is seeking...cosmic horror. 3000 to 5000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 7.
DBS Press is seeking short stories with the theme of "Renfield." 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline January 15.
Neon Literary Magazine is seeking dark short pieces with the theme "Machines." Up to 5000 words. Pays 2p/word. Deadline January 15.
ev0ke is seeking poetry, short fiction, essays, and other forms with the theme "Tarot and Oracle Decks." Pays $5. Deadline January 15.
The Saltbush Review is seeking short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Up to 3000 words. Pays AUD$150. Deadline January 20.
Alienhead Press is seeking stories about the paranormal around the holidays. 2000 to 4000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline January 20.
Improbable Press is seeking stories of literary women given a second chance to really live for "Anna Karenina Isn't Dead." Up to 5000 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline January 31.
Zoetic Press is seeking prose, poetry, and art with the theme of "Food." Up to 3000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline January 31.
Dragon Soul Press is seeking short stories with the theme of "Sirens." 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline January 31.
What are your insecurities? Are you getting any writing done? Are any of these calls of interest? Anything to share? Have you been submitting?
May you find your Muse.
14 comments:
Thanks for the info and belated happy birthday!
Happy birthday! Glad your deadlines have shifted a bit.
Happy Belated Birthday! That's great your busy days at work are shifting. A lot of people only blog once a month so don't feel ba if that's what you need to do.
Good luck to your exam writers - those are stressful times for everyone. Such a relief when they're done!
Happy belated birthday!
Happy Birthday, Shannon. You're living a great age, not a kid, not an old boot. Celebrate. And remember, teenagers aren't teenagers forever!
Some of these calls for submissions are intriguing. I will have to explore.
Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Good luck with the Ghoulidays! I hope you have a happy birthday and a wonderful holiday season!
What’s the best way to find and appear on a podcast? Also, happy belated birthday!
Happy birthday-oh to be just 45! :) Glad to hear your work schedule won't be quite as awkward, and hope you enjoy the holidays!
Your monthly submission stats are always amazing.
High school final exams are hectic! I know. We just wrapped up another school year.
Happy holidays!
Well, Happy Birthday and Happy Holidays as well! And speaking about Happy, Happy Ghoulidays sounds like a neat title. Good luck with that book!
It sounds like have a big load: two kids in high school! You must be really good at multitasking.
That's neat that you were featured in that podcast. I'll have to try and tune into that episode sometime.
Liza - thank you!
Alex - the new deadline is so much better! I was having to compile information from the previous month in a week. Having more time hopefully means fewer mistakes.
Natalie - thank you! I do think I need to do it for now. I was constantly feeling bad about not keeping up.
Jemi - thank you, and now it's officially done! I'm glad I took the class.
L. Diane - thank you!
Joylene - indeed! I'm enjoying my teens now, but it's such a strange age, watching them become adults so suddenly.
Bish - I hope you find something you like!
Loni - thank you! I've established a release date and working on it now. Exciting!
Kristina - check out something called Pod Match. I've enjoyed using it as a guest. As a podcaster, I get a lot of people who completely ignore what I say the podcast is about and pitching things that have nothing to do with true crime and our other content.
Rebecca - thank you! 45 is certainly an interesting age.
Michelle - Enjoy summer! The school my kids are going to seems to be much smarter and fairer about how they approach finals, at least compared to when I was in school, but there's no way to make it not stressful, even with improvements.
Steven - thank you! I could definitely be better at multi-tasking.
Happy (belated) birthday! :) This time of year does get very busy. I don't get much done writing-wise either. I slip in more reading, though! Good luck with your submissions. I've done much better this year at submitting short stories. Have a very merry Christmas and a fantastic new year!
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