What Can Writers Do for Awards Season? (And Best of the Year Anthologies)
tldr; Make an awards eligibility post on your website/blog. Post a thread of your publications this year on social media. Don’t forget to pay the cat pictures tax. 😉
You can call it an awards eligibility post, or an end of year post, or you can just say “This is what I got published this year.” If self-promotion makes you uncomfortable, think of this as an opportunity to reflect on what you’ve accomplished this year and what you’re happy about. John Wiswell’s post is a great example of this (and his stories are also good! go read them!): https://johnwiswell.substack.com/p/all-the-short-stories-i-published. With each story include the link (if available), the wordcount, the date published, and a quick description of what the story is about and why someone might want to read it.
Keep an eye on social media for people who are keeping lists of awards eligibility posts. Don’t be shy in sharing yours! And after you’ve made your eligibility post, remember that this is also a great time to talk about stories that you’ve really enjoyed reading that were first published this year. A rising tide, etc.
Okay, you say, but what else can a writer do? That’s where it gets more complicated. There is definitely a decreasing return on investment at this point. But yes, for many awards, there are other things you can do to increase your story’s visibility.
This is not true of all awards. Notable awards where authors can not offer their work for consideration include the Arthur C. Clarke Award (unless you’re a UK self-publisher), the British Fantasy Award, the BSFA Awards, the Locus Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the Mythopoeic Awards, and the Shirley Jackson Award.
For a list of awards (and Best of the Year anthologies), click to view the full-size table of award info and the rest of the market list updates:
The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be between 11/15/2022 and 11/30/2022. If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/
As the seasons change, I’m reminded that when writers are most productive can change too. Our lives change, our schedules change, our responsibilities change. Hell, our brains change. What works best for you during the summer might not work at all in the fall and winter. Or switching to a new method might break you out of a rut. Knowing what works for you matters, especially if you’re planning on doing NaNoWriMo this year! And if you are planning on doing NaNoWriMo, that quantity of writing provides an excellent opportunity to experiment.
So how do you know when and what works best for you?
There are no shortcuts to this, I’m afraid! You have to try it to find out. Track the time you spend, when you spend it, how many words you produce, and how you feel about those words. You’ll probably want to give yourself a few days of trying something to see how it works for you, because the first day of a new system or schedule is always weird. Only alter one thing at a time–I suggest trying a different writing schedule first.
Here are some things to try, to see what works for you.
Schedule
Look at all the time you have available. Consider temporarily changing your wake-up time, your bedtime, your lunch break habits, your Disney+ habit, and any other “normally I do X now” times that you can move around. Schedule a particular time of day to be your designated writing time. Write at that time every day. Remember that this might change depending on the season, and on the darkest days of the year, a happy light is your friend!
Try writing in a block of at least 2 solid hours with minimal breaks.
Try writing in 25-minute intervals with breaks according to the Pomodoro Method.
Try writing in snippets throughout the day instead of one big chunk of time. Uninstall social media apps and write on your phone when you would normally check Instagram, or carry a notebook with you.
Try burst writing. Don’t write for a couple of days, then go to a coffee shop or turn off your phone and close your door and neglect everything else for a 4-6 hour block of writing.
Method
Outline the whole story first.
Outline the scene you’re about to write.
Don’t outline at all.
Write out of sequence. Focus on the scene you’re most excited about first.
Write multiple stories at once. Switch between them when you get bored. Try a few sentences and if you aren’t excited about what you’re writing, move on to the next one. (Note: this method only works if things eventually get finished!)
Means
Write longhand, then transcribe it later. (Remember to count transcription time.)
Write in a coffee shop, write lying on the couch, write at a desk, write in a museum. Try different locations.
Write with friends, or find a local writing meet-up (NaNoWriMo will offer several).
Write totally alone.
Write with strangers nearby, without interacting with them.
Try blocking the internet and social media while you write.
(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
This newsletter of markets updated in October is going out a little late, thanks to Halloween shenanigans. Other than that, I’ve been writing on my WiP. It’s kind of boring giving status updates on writing a novel, right? Because mostly it’s just, “Yup, still writing a novel. Recently researched skullcaps, skullstripping (actual medical terminology!), and the decay rate of brains.” You know, the usual. Also, turns out brains liquify fairly quickly because they are already so liquidy.
I’m over 25% of my wordcount goal for the novel, though. And I think the plot’s about in the same place. Hurray! 1/4 done!
The Nebula Conference is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now ($75) still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942
Entries must satisfy two requirements: First, stories must be written in a steampunk style, including by taking place at least partially during the 1800s. Transport us to Meiji Japan; La Belle Époque in Paris; gritty, smoky Manchester; or a camp of immigrants unfurling a railroad across the American west. Feel free to set your story partially in the future; time machines are welcome.
Second, each entry must feature at least one quantum technology, real or imagined. Real and under-construction quantum technologies include quantum computers, communication networks, cryptographic systems, sensors, thermometers, and clocks. Experimentalists have realized quantum engines, batteries, refrigerators, and teleportation, too. Surprise us with your imagined quantum technologies (and inspire our next research-grant proposals).
Quantum-Steampunk Short-Story Contest
Basics: quantum steampunk stories, up to 3,000 words, grand prize $1,500 Visa certificate plus other whimsical categories up to $4,500 total, reprint acceptability unspecified, due 1/15/23.
Ah, the joy of research! It’s amazing how much research writers use to build purely imaginary science fiction and fantasy worlds. And I love it. There are the tiny little bits of research that make pleasant diversions (hey, what’s the etymology of spick-and-span anyway?) and the big chunks of research that are a necessary part of realistic world- and alien-building (carapaces and mandibles and cuttlefish, oh my!). As long as you don’t get lost down a research rabbit hole, and words still get written, research can be great refreshment for the imagination. And sometimes, indulging in “research” and random facts can inspire your writing.
Here are some excellent research-based sources of inspiration:
Dan Koboldt’s “Science in Science Fiction, Fact in Fantasy” articles are written by experts in a wide variety of topics: http://dankoboldt.com/science-in-scifi/
Eleanor Konik’s newsletter, Eleanor’s Iceberg, covers all kinds of interesting and weird things that she learns in the course of her writing, and you can learn about them too! https://newsletter.eleanorkonik.com/
(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
The current chapter in my WiP (work-in-progress) seems to be all vibes, no driving plot action. It’s Chapter 6, so that’s far enough in that it should be okay, right? Right??
The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942
Featured Market
Phantom wine 2022 Ghost Story Writing Contest wants ghost stories, only 250 entries accepted, winner takes $5,000.
TELL US A GHOST STORY THAT’S NEVER BEEN TOLD
Phantom Wine
Basics: ghost stories, up to 2,500 words, pays $5,000 to the winner, no reprints, due 10/31/22 or until full. Guidelines: https://phantomwine.com/ghoststories/
Market List Updates
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
Name
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Website
Notes
Artifice & Craft (Zombies Need Brains) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 12/31/22
All speculative fiction, themed to enchanted artwork
An Escape Artists publication. Original work up to 6,000 words. Reprints up to 7,500 words. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIODS: 9/15/22-5/31/23, 9/1/23-5/31/24
Fiyah
Speculative fiction. LIMITED DEMOGRAPHIC: authors from the African diaspora
Prefers < 5,000 words. SUBMISSION PERIODS: 2x yearly, usually March and September. Special flash fiction submission periods. Do not submit if rejected by Lightspeed, okay if rejected by Fantasy Magazine. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIODS: 9/26/22-10/9/22
Award-nominated
Solar Flare (Zombies Need Brains) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 12/31/22
…And if you’re focusing too much on it, save it for your edits!
Watch your openings. Watch out for repetitive paragraph beginnings. He, she, then, while, next, [character name] are common offenders. My critique group recently flagged me for using “He” to open too many paragraphs in a section. Similar sentence structure at the beginning of each paragraph can also be a problem.
Go against the grain. This depends on your natural tendencies. Do you normally write short and choppy? See if you can blend some sentences together. Do you normally write long sentences? Break them up (while preserving the natural flow). Long sections of dialog? Add action or description. Heavy on “looking at”-type description? Work action into the description. Figure out what your normal tendencies are and train yourself to look for places to go against them. This flows best not as large sections of something different, but occasional changes within a paragraph.
Mix it up. This is similar to going against the grain, but it depends less on your natural tendency and more on paying attention to what you’ve done. Then do something different. This is also a good way to figure out what your natural tendencies are. Were the last 4-5 paragraphs long? Write a short one. What sentence structures have you been leaning on? Try a different one.
End strong. Humans naturally put more weight on endings. The last item in a list. The last word or clause in a sentence. The last sentence of a paragraph. That’s where to put things you want to hit home for the reader: an evocative image; a sound; a shocking emotion; or a hook to pull them on.
Save it for your edits! As always, your mileage may vary. Different techniques work for different writers. If you find yourself getting bogged down in the sentence- and paragraph-level of your writing, save it for edits of sections that you really want to shine.
(Inspired by someone else’s locked Patreon post.)
(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
I’m deeply enjoying leaning into the weird and grotesque in my writing. When I cackle as I write, it’s a good sign. I’ve been cackling a lot as I write my latest project…
The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942
We’re sounding the ship’s bell for stories about malevolent and merciless merfolk of all kinds. Give us your mermaids who fought for the wrong reasons, made tough by their circumstances or by their own choices. Show us their schemes and villainous wiles, the fairytales that end in blood. Or laughter. Tempt us with their twisted workings across time and space, colors and creeds.
…Original “dark mermaid” short stories and poetry in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, and romance, appropriate for a “PG-13” audience. Mermaids must be integral to the story. Diverse cultures and non-traditional legends and persons welcomed. Please, no copyrighted characters.
Merciless Mermaids
Basics: all speculative fiction, themed, up to 5,000 words, pays $.06/wd, no reprints, due 8/31/22 – 10/7/22.
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
OK to submit even if previously rejected by sister publications Nightmare Magazine or Lightspeed. SUBMISSION PERIODS: ONE-TIME open to BIPOC authors all of 2022. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIOD 10/1/22 – 10/7/22.
Feel free to share this newsletter with others by whatever means you like, as long as you include all of it.
The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 9/15/2022. If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/
Life happens. It’s a truism because it’s true. After the past couple of years, we all understand how quickly our lives can be disrupted. Some disruptions are predictable (summer vacation, a new baby), others are less so (sickness, a dying relative, job loss). In my household, the last couple of months have been a little of column A, a little of column B. We’re all fine now.
My writing schedule, however, is shot. My Pacemaker.press wordcount graph looks terrible. You can really see when my kids came home from school, followed quickly by our whole family getting sick and then having an activity-packed family reunion.
I am not good at giving myself grace. I’m a fairly slow writer, and if I don’t drive myself to write on a schedule, suddenly weeks have gone by without words on the page. And I don’t write well in short spurts. I really need a few uninterrupted hours to sink into deep work mode.
So, grace. Giving yourself grace is not the same thing as giving up. Grace can be saying, “I can’t do as much as I want while [current circumstances], but I will if [better conditions].” Then you do what you can, when you can, under the current circumstances. Sometimes that’s a little, sometimes that’s nothing. Then you can either wait or do what you can until your circumstances change. That might be because they are temporary and have a natural end date. Or it might be because you have worked to get your life closer to those better conditions.
For me, knowing that there is an end condition and planning for it makes all the difference. I can give myself grace, even if right now all I can do is make a list, or take a few notes, or add a reminder to my calendar for later.
(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
I’ve tinkered with the way the new market listings table shows up on the website. It should be more responsive for cellphones and smaller screens (will still display best on a larger screen). And now it has a search function! Please do leave a comment in my contact form letting me know what you think.
Other than that, I’m getting snippets of writing done on my space opera novel, when I can. Trying not to wince at how far behind my Pacemaker.press chart thinks I am!
The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942
We’re looking for speculative stories with a strong humor element. Think Resnick and Sheckley, Fredric Brown and Douglas Adams. We welcome quality flash fiction and non-traditional narratives. Take chances, try something new, just make sure that your story is funny.
Puns and stories that are little more than vehicles for delivering a punch line at the end aren’t likely to win us over. The best way to learn what we like in general is to read a previous volume. You can buy them here and also read the online stories for free. WHAT WE DON’T WANT These are the tropes we see entirely too much of in the slush pile.
You will improve your odds if you steer clear of these:
* Zombies * Vampires * Deals with the Devil / Djinn in a bottle variants * Stereotypical aliens probing people, abducting cattle, and doing other stereotypical alien things.
Unidentified Funny Objects
Basics: humorous speculative fiction, 500 – 6,000 words, pays $.08/wd, no reprints, 2022 submissions close 8/25/22.
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
July '22 Update
New and updated science fiction, fantasy, and horror publication listings for Aswiebe's Market List, July 2022 edition.
Name
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Website
Notes
Unidentified Funny Objects ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY - DUE 7/26 – 8/25
What even is flash fiction? Because the major awards don’t have a “flash fiction” category, there is no standard definition. Most publications agree that if it’s under 1,001 words, it is flash fiction. Some stretch that to under 1,501 words or even 2,001 words. Some ask for fiction that’s under 501 words. (And then there’s micro-fiction, which is usually under 300 words, and drabbles, which are exactly 100 words long.)
How do you know if a publication is flash fiction friendly? Even if they don’t list a minimum wordcount in their guidelines, flash fiction may be a hard sell. If they specifically mention flash fiction in their guidelines, that’s a good sign! If they say that they have more room for shorter stories, that’s a good sign!
What’s the best place to sell flash fiction? Flash fiction contests are worth considering. Low risk, high reward! Publications that specialize in flash fiction are a good bet. When comparing publications, remember that a flat pay rate instead of a per-word pay rate may be a better deal for flash fiction. And for these very short pieces, it’s great to find publications with a minimum guaranteed payment.
Here are 27 places to sell your flash fiction.
Name
Min Wordcount
Max Wordcount
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Payment Notes
Website
Notes
Factor Four Magazine
0
1,000
All speculative flash fiction, especially SF, fantasy, supernatural, and superhero fiction
Horror flash fiction, themed to When We Were Getting High, My Last Trick ‘r Treat, Body Grotesquerie, Ominous Visitors from Deep Space, or Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes
An Escape Artists publication. Original fiction up to 6,000 words, reprints up to 17,000. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION THEME: Indigenous Magic (#ownvoices) 7/1/22 – 7/31/22
Submission periods: 2/15 – 2/28, 5/15 – 5/31, 8/15-08/31 (ONE-TIME 2022 THEME: Nostalgia), 11/15 – 11/30, with a 1-week extension each period for BIPOC.
SUBMISSION PERIODS: Recommended Reading (short stories) has 2 1-week open submission periods, usually in Spring and Fall, The Commuter (flash fiction) has 4 1-week submission periods. NOTE: Long response time.
Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
My cozy, funny, queer story about a haunted drag show and an unusual pest control specialist is now up at PodCastle! Go to Episode 740 to read or listen, or find it in your preferred podcast stream.
Note: ASL is its own language, with its own grammar and syntax that is different from English. This story is written to convey the meaning, not as a direct word-for-word translation. Special thanks to Anna Dudda for providing a Deaf expert reading.
Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer
The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942
Featured Market
Mysterionwants speculative fiction that engages with Christianity. Open for submissions during July 2022.
We are looking for speculative stories that meaningfully engage with Christianity.
Your story doesn’t need to teach a moral or cleave closely to an approved theological position.
Your story doesn’t need to be pro-Christian. We’re unlikely to publish anything that insults us, but we do want to read stories that challenge us. Having said that, there are tropes we see too often in stories critical of Christian faith and tradition: evil preachers, theocratic dystopias, Christians abandoning their faith because something inexplicable happened, crazy Christians trying to bring about the apocalypse by doing something in Israel, an unambiguously evil God. Any of these will be a hard sell.
There are tropes we see too often on the pro-Christian side, too. Stories where the plot resolution hinges on one or more characters becoming Christian, apocalypse stories based on a literal reading of Revelation, rapture stories, spiritual warfare with angels and demons as characters, retold Bible stories, allegory, theocratic utopias, anything that reads like C.S. Lewis fanfic. You’d have to do a very unique take on one of these to get anything other than a quick rejection.
Mysterion
Basics: themed speculative fiction, up to 9,000 words, pays $.08/wd for original work, $.04/wd for reprints, reprints okay, annual submission periods in January and July.
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
Test
Name
What they want
Pay Per Word USD (originals)
Flat Pay USD (originals)
Website
Notes
Alternate History (Flame Tree Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/11/22
This (theoretically May) update is going out a couple of days late, so it’s extra large. More new markets! More useful links! So the timing seems right to talk about extra large stories: novellas.
tldr; Be patient, keep an eye on current submission calls (YES, I will list novella calls in this market list when I see them), and consider the advantages and disadvantages of publishing in a magazine.
How long is a novella? A novella is 17,500 – 39,999 words long, as defined by the Nebula Award categories.
Selling a novella is hard. Here are some options for science fiction, fantasy, and horror novellas, both publishers and magazines. There are a few publishers known for publishing novellas, but their unagented submission windows tend to be very short and far between, and there’s a lot of competition. Other publishers who occasionally publish novellas will often have special novella calls, but information about their novella publishing schedule is not even listed on their website the rest of the time. There are several magazines who accept novella-length submissions, but although they are open to the idea, they do not publish many novellas, they don’t pay royalties, and your novella will only be distributed as part of that magazine’s issue. (Yes, self-publishing a novella is always an option–there are special challenges there too!–but this is about selling it to a publisher.)
Options:
PUBLISHERS – OPEN
Pressfuls Novellas wants fantasy, horror, adventure, romance, and crime/mystery, pays 35% royalties. (Pressfuls Magazine appears defunct, but they’re still publishing longer works.) https://pressfuls.com/submit-a-story/
Midnight Bites ANTHOLOGY SERIES wants novelette and novella horror, 10k – 25k words themed and unthemed, pays $50 plus 25% royalties. Currently seeking carnie horror and medical horror. https://cronegirlspress.com/submissions/
PUBLISHERS – UPCOMING SUBMISSION CALLS
Neon Hemlock wants SF, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, and slipstream, especially queer. Pays royalties, or advance plus royalties. Award-winning. Open June 12th to 25th 2022 for trans women writers and writers of color. Open to all writers October 11th to 24th 2022. https://www.neonhemlock.com/submissions
Interstellar Flight Press has a one-time call for horror novellas including SF horror and fantasy horror, pays 30-40% royalties plus possible advance. Open to submissions 10/1/22 – 12/1/22. https://www.interstellarflightpress.com/submissions.html
PUBLISHERS – CURRENTLY CLOSED UNTIL ??
Tor.com (novellas) wants fantasy and SF, pays pro rates of advance + royalties or higher royalty-only rate. Award-winning. CURRENTLY CLOSED. Unclear if/when they will reopen for unagented novella submissions, but it’s been a couple of years. https://www.tor.com/fiction-submissions-guidelines/
Nightfire (Tor) wants horror novels and novellas, pays pro rates of advance + royalties or higher royalty-only rate. CURRENTLY CLOSED. Unclear if/when they will reopen for unagented novella submissions. https://tornightfire.com/nightfire-slush-submission-guidelines/
Uncanny (novellas) wants SF/F, pays $.10/word. Publishes 1 novella a year depending on funding. Award-winning. CURRENTLY CLOSED – LOOK FOR THEM TO OPEN NEXT YEAR. https://www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/
Stelliform wants science fiction, fantasy, quiet horror and literary works with speculative elements, pays 2¢ CAD per word advance (up to $2000), plus royalties. CURRENTLY CLOSED. https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/submissions/
Wyldblood Press wants speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy or horror) novellas and novels, pays royalties. CURRENTLY CLOSED. https://wyldblood.com/guidance-submissions/
Magazines that accept full length novellas or have no wordcount limit include Analog, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and ParSec. Be cautious about submitting to places that don’t list a maximum wordcount; they don’t always expect or accept novellas.
June’s update will be shorter, and I’ll talk about where to sell flash fiction!
(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
I’ve started work on a new novel, working title Desolation Station Salvage. I love this stage. Everything is shiny and new, and all kinds of fun random ideas are popping up as I write.
I’m looking forward to in-person convention 4th Street Fantasy in a couple of weeks, where I’ll be on panels discussing ambiguous endings and PoV.
The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942
Featured Market
Award-winning Neon Hemlock will be open for speculative fiction novella submissions June 12 – 25, 2022 for BIPOC and trans women authors, October 11 – 24, 2022 for all. Pays royalties, or advance plus royalties.
:Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Slipstream, & Weird. Hybrid work or difficult to categorize novellas are also welcome.
Standalone works, although they may be connected to other series or work.
We are particularly interested in work that explores some element of queer experience, broadly speaking.
Neon Hemlock
Neon Hemlock
Basics: speculative fiction, 17,500-40,000 words, pay ?, no reprints, due 6/12/22-6/25/22 and 10/11/22-10/24/22.
To see all the details about these new listings and what they’re looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe’s Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
Horror flash fiction, themed to When We Were Getting High, My Last Trick ‘r Treat, Body Grotesquerie, Ominous Visitors from Deep Space, or Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes
An Escape Artists publication. Original fiction up to 6,000 words, reprints up to 17,000. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION THEME: Indigenous Magic (#ownvoices) 7/1/22 – 7/31/22
Librarian, The (Air and Nothingness Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/30/22
Speculative fiction, themed to a helpful traveling librarian
Submissions open early on Mondays when they’re taking submissions, then close when they hit their quota. May be closed to submissions even if Moksha says they’re open, if there is no submission type to select. Long response time.
Fiends in the Furrows III, The: Final Harvest ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22
Submission periods: 2/15 – 2/28, 5/15 – 5/31, 8/15-08/31 (ONE-TIME 2022 THEME: Nostalgia), 11/15 – 11/30, with a 1-week extension each period for BIPOC.
Story Unlikely
All genres, including bizarro and speculative fiction
How can you make writing a treat? Sure, we all love it when we hit flow state while writing, or when we craft that perfect sentence (that we later delete during edits, half the time). But you can’t rely on that happening. What can you choose to pair it with that will, itself, make writing a reward?
Working in a coffee shop is a good option for me, and not only because there are often yummy treats there. My brain loves going places. A museum, an art gallery, or a public garden are also rewards for me. And now that we are theoretically* approaching patio weather, there are even more options.
I’m also an extrovert, which means that coworking writing events work well for me, whether they are in-person or via Zoom. My brain sees meeting other humans as a reward, too!
If you’re looking for an in-person coworking event, try checking Meetup for writer’s groups in your area, or even general coworking events. There is also a weekly Zoom writing date that is included with Nebula conference membership.
So–what can make writing into a reward for you?
* It is Spring, but it is SO COLD here in Minnesota, you guys. So cold. I wore my winter coat this morning when I took my offspring to an Easter egg hunt.
(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)
Award-winning Uncanny Magazine will be open for SF/fantasy novella submissions May 1-15, 2022. Novella pay rate unclear; they pay $.10/word for short stories.
Uncanny Magazine is seeking passionate, diverse SF/F fiction and poetry from writers from every conceivable background. We want intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel.
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
OK to submit even if previously rejected by sister publications Nightmare Magazine or Lightspeed. SUBMISSION PERIODS: ONE-TIME open to BIPOC authors all of 2022. General submissions: 1st – 7th of April, July, and October 2022.
Throwback Thursday! Some Thursdays, I will post a Market List newsletter from way back and comment on what's changed since. After major sections, I'll add a Where Are They Now? comment. (Yes, this is my sneaky way of moving my archives to my new website. 😉You caught me.)
Because of rapid publication market changes, I only include the Featured Market in Throwback Thursdays.
How do you motivate yourself to write, day after day (assuming you’re not a binge writer, that is)? As my writing time shrinks, thanks to my darling toddler, I’ve become more and more concerned about how to squeeze the words out during those brief times when I *do* have uninterrupted time for writing. I no longer have the luxury of dilly-dallying around all day in order to get my word count. I’m trying:
2. Rewards! Kelly Barnhill, author of Iron-Hearted Violet, mentioned that she uses the reward of a chocolate chip every so many words. I find that Hershey’s Mint Bliss chocolates do the trick for me, and every hundred words or so, knowing that I’ve earned 1/4 of a chocolate really does seem to light up those reward centers in my brain.
3. Gold stars–just like in kindergarten. I’m trying putting a gold star on my calendar for every day I write, and a fancy multicolored star for when I write more than a certain number of words. The jury is still out on whether this works for me. I forget to put the stars up as often as not, which argues that they aren’t an effective motivator for me.
4. Spreadsheets! I’ve started using The Magic Spreadsheet (of myth and lore): http://murverse.com/at-long-last-the-magic-spreadsheet/ . It does seem to be working for me, at least in the sense of strongly motivating me to write that minimum 250 words every day, no matter what. It isn’t as effective at motivating me to write swiftly enough to increase my wordcount, but the “writing every day in a row” thing sure is working, and I know that for me, that can be crucial.
Where are they now?
1. I need to work more on pre-visualization. It really works for me, and I should remember that!
3. I literally bought a calendar to start doing this again this year. I have yet to hang it up.
4. This is still up, but it's huge and way too complicated to figure out now. Not sure if it's even still active.
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
(Note: You may have noticed this newsletter skipped last month. My grandmother died about the time that the newsletter was due to go out, and after we’d traveled for the funeral and come back home and gotten up to speed on everything else, the newsletter would have been late enough that I decided to just wait for the next month.)
I’ve confirmed that I’ll be attending CONvergence, a large fantasy and science fiction convention in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Schedules are still being finalized, but I will likely be talking on panels about things writingy, apocalyptic, and conspiracy-related (shh–don’t tell anyone).
From Their Cradle to Your Grave is now available on Amazon.com! This includes my reprinted short story, “The Perfect Costume.” This horror anthology is all about tales of terrifying tots, toddlers through teenagers. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but doesn’t that sound like a great gift for the new parents in your life?
Where are they now? Out of print! I didn't realize this until I checked the link. Now I have some publication updates to make.
Where are they now? We stopped doing the MinnSpec podcast a long time ago, but the links are still up!
Featured Market
Glitter and Mayhem is a spec-fic anthology about, well, they say it best….
A fiction anthology filled with Roller Derby, nightclubs, glam aliens, (literal) party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, debauchery, etc
. . . why just throw a glow-in-the-dark roller skating party when you can also make it a book release party? And what’s better than a glow-in-the-dark roller skating party celebrating a book about the secret history of 20th Century nightlife/party culture?
Read more The basics: due March 15, all speculative fiction, less than 6,000 words, pays $.05/word.
): 
