IWSG, Guide to Publishing, & Links

Good news! The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond is Out! You'll find a section from me on query letters, entitled "Querying Your Way to Publication."

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond

Tapping into the expertise of over a hundred talented authors from around the globe, The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond contains something for every writer. Whether you are starting out and need tips on the craft of writing, looking for encouragement as an already established author, taking the plunge into self-publishing, or seeking innovative ways to market and promote your work, this guide is a useful tool. Compiled into three key areas of writing, publishing, and marketing, this valuable resource offers inspirational articles, helpful anecdotes, and excellent advice on dos and don'ts that we all wish we knew when we first started out on this writing journey. 

ISBN 9781939844088
235 pages, FREE
IWSG sites – website, Facebook, and Facebook Critique Circle
Find the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords,Goodreads.

Coincidence of coincidences, it's also time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG invited you to share your writing insecurities or ways to cope with them. You can sign up at the IWSG website.

As I recently sunk into the rejection doldrums before climbing back out again, how about Five Things You Can Do to Beat the Rejection Doldrums?

1. Blast some music, sing, dance, and be ridiculous.
2. Talk to a friend. Especially if that friend is a writer/artist.
3. Go for a walk/hike/swim/bike ride. Something that gets you physical and/or relaxes you.
4. Create. Whether that's by writing, painting, playing music (or composing), taking photos, crafting, sewing, crocheting, or whatever other means of creation soothes you.
5. Research the next market and get it back out there.

I was going to do a Top Ten and be goofy, but I decided at the last minute to keep it serious. And I made it short so I could hear what YOU do to beat the doldrums. Let us know how you pull yourself back up after a rejection.

Now for some links. Always do your due diligence in researching a market before submitting to them. I am merely passing these along, and have not done any research into them.

Accepting Submissions:

Xchyler Publishing is seeking short story entries. They refer to it as a contest, but I'm putting it here since it's run just like anyone accepting submissions. This is for a steampunk anthology entitled The Strange Island of... Pays in royalties. Deadline December 31. 5,000-10,000 words.

WolfSinger Publications is looking for stories for their Weird Western Anthology. Deadline December 31. Pays $5/story + royalties. 500-10,000 words.

Dark Recesses Press is seeking novella length stories for their anthology A Collection of Untimely Hours. Dark fiction. Deadline December 31. Pays $.03/word. 15,000-25,000 words.

Monkey Star Press is putting together two anthologies on parenting. One on tantrums and babysitters, and one on moms, children, and lack of sleep. Essays, creative non-fiction, flash memoir, poems, top ten lists, dos and don'ts, humor, or inspiration. Deadline December 31. Pays $25-200. Up to 2000 words.

Black Beacon Books wants your stories about lighthouses and beacons. Deadline December 31. Pays $20 per story. 3,000-25,000 words.

Upper Rubber Boot Books is seeking submissions for their museum anthology: The Museum of All Things Awesome and That Go Boom. Deadline January 4. Pays royalties. Up to 10,000 words per story or 100 lines per poem.

Jitter Press is seeking horror-themed poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Token payment. Open submissions (no deadline.) 1500 word limit for fiction/non-fiction, 100 line limit for poetry.

Caesura accepts poetry year-round. Pays $20 per poem. Poems under 60 lines preferred.

Contests:

Nightlight Reading is holding a short story contest with the theme Adventure. Aimed at 10-12 year old boys to keep them interested in reading. Deadline December 31. Up to 5000 words. First prize is $1000, plus publication.

Stage of Life has a monthly contest. 100 words or less. Prizes are gift cards from sponsors. The contest is split out by life stages, such as high school, college, married without children, etc.

Have you picked up your copy of the IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond? Why not when it's free? What are your insecurities? How do you handle rejection doldrums? Any of the publications above interest you? Anything to share?

May you find you Muse.

IWSG - Query Letters, Progress & Links

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. All are welcome to participate in airing their insecurities or supporting those who are feeling insecure. To do so, click on the link above, sign up, and post your insecurities in about 300 words or less. Then hop around and visit some of the others airing their doubts.

Today is a little different, because it's also the day we're to turn in our submissions for The Insecure Writer's Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond. You can post it as part of your IWSG post or email it in, which I'm choosing to do. It can be on writing, publishing, or marketing. Click the link for more information. I submitted a piece on query letters since there were a lot of submissions flowing in for the writing aspects.

I've been using IWSG day as a reminder to check in with my publishing progress each month, while airing the insecurities innate in the submission process. My update this month is not up to par with past months. I hit a slump this month, got too many rejections at once, and thought maybe I needed to pull everything as it was rejected and edit it through before submitting again.

But then I didn't do that.

I kept jotting down where I could submit, but didn't do it. I was too caught up in punishing myself for not editing, writing, and submitting, and too depressed about the influx of rejections.

Of course, I was beating myself up for nothing, and what I should have been doing was what I'd been doing before: turning those pieces right back around and re-submitting them elsewhere. I know that now, and will be jumping back in. I was also busy this month putting together and coordinating a bunch of extra programming for the organization I volunteer for in the next two months, which distracted me from my own writing. I should have been putting my writing first, but I allowed my stress to put on events without major flaws to overrule that and push my writing into the background. I have to stop that.

Well, I've warned you that the numbers this month are pitiful, but I want to stick with my monthly updates, so here we go:

2 rejections since last month's post
20 rejections for the year
2 stories out on sub
10 stories to re-sub
4 stories from critique group needing editing before sub

Believe it or not, I'd like to see that rejection number higher, because it means I've submitted more, but I also want to see a lovely number on there for acceptances.

Now for some links.

Accepting Submissions:

Walrus Publishing is looking for short stories for Building Red: The Colonization of Mars. Respond to the prompt. 1000-6000 words. Deadline November 1. Science fiction. Payment is $25, five free copies of the anthology, and 50% discount on more copies.

Literary Hatchet is taking submissions through November 1. Dark fiction. Essays, short stories, poetry, photography, and art. Pays between $5 and $15, depending upon type of submission.

Liz McMullen Show Publications is looking for a Valentine's Day Anthology. Deadline November 1. Genre is open, but it must follow the theme of "appetite." 3000-4000 words. Pays $30 and 2 copies of the anthology.

Ellipsis is seeking poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Deadline November 1. Paying market, though exact pay is not listed.

Contests:

Apex Magazine is holding the Steal the Spotlight Micro Fiction Contest. Five categories. 250 words or less. Deadline October 15. Five winners will be in the November issue, get paid $.06/word, get a free 12 month subscription to Apex, and get a short story critique from an Apex editor.

The Center for Fiction is accepting submissions for the 2014 Christopher Doheny Award. Book length manuscript by an author dealing with a life-threatening illness (their own or a friend/family member's). $10,000 prize and publication. Deadline October 30.

Zimbell House Publishing is holding a contest for placement in The Fairy Tale Whisperer, an anthology. Must be on one of the 7 topics they've put up. Deadline October 31. 20,000 words or less. First prize is $250, 2nd is $100, 3rd is $50.

Blog Stuff:

Susanne Drazic and Sherry Ellis are hosting the Bucket List Blog Hop on October 20. Simply post your bucket list to take part.

The theme for the WEP (Write Edit Publish) October Challenge is Ghost Story. All genres. Up to 1000 words. Flash fiction, poetry, nonfiction, artwork, or photos.

The Armchair Squid hosts a monthly gathering called The Cephalopod Coffeehouse. You're asked to post about the best book you've read this month on the last Friday of the month, which will be October 31 this time around.

What are your insecurities? Are you submitting a piece for the IWSG anthology? Any of these links of interest to you? Participating in any of the blog hops?

May you find your Muse.