Big News!
My full market list is now, finally, fully searchable online! I am so excited about this!!!
I’ve been fiddling with the page for the last couple of weeks … mostly learning which things I can’t do using these plug-ins. So the actual updates from this newsletter are from the middle of April, and you should expect another update in the near future. Going forward, I’ll update the online version at the same time that I send the newsletter out. Of course, you can still download the complete spreadsheet and keep your own copy on your own computer.
Go ahead, go to the Online Market Listings, search for “anthology theme” and see if any of your stories match current calls!
What Does Easy Writing Mean for You?
What kind of scene is easiest for you to write, and why? I was asked this question recently, and I think it’s a good one for any writer to think about.
For me, it’s food scenes. This isn’t terribly surprising. I like to savor my food, I like to watch cooking shows, I’m the main cook for my household so I have some idea what I’m talking about, and description is one of the writing tools that I got for free. But those aren’t the deepest reason why feasts are easy for me to write, they’re just the price of admission.
Food is visceral. It draws me in. Writing about it kicks my imagination (and my salivary gland) into overtime. I hit flow faster. The movie that plays in my mind as I write becomes more vivid. And when it’s more vivid for me, hopefully I do a good enough job writing it that it also becomes more vivid for my reader. And if they are my ideal reader, they are probably drawn in by the same things that I am.
The other kind of writing that I find easy, for the same visceral reasons, is body horror. This despite the mid-writing research required to keep it physically possible. Theoretical research only, I assure you. 😉
Now, does this mean that I should put a feast scene (or a body horror scene) in every chapter I write? Well, no. Although if I did both, I could probably churn out a pretty good horror novella in a month or two (note to self). Balancing scene types and tension and plot is important. But it does mean that I can lean in when I see an opportunity for a feast scene or some good old-fashioned enucleation. And if I’m plotting a story and there’s a choice between a cannibal feast or a dramatic love scene, I know which one will fit my voice and style better.
Writer, know thyself!
What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:
Let’s just say there’s nothing like a 4theWords special event to get me pushing to meet new word challenges … or to leave me with a hot mess of a chapter that has a lot of “put this bit here, move that bit there, double-check this detail, did I already say this?” inline notes that I now need to go through and clean up to get a proper first draft.
Things Shiny or Useful
Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/
How to Pitch: 3PO Edition: http://candleinsunshine.com/musings/how-to-pitch-3po-edition/
An Open Letter to the 2023 Hugo Finalists: http://corabuhlert.com/2023/05/01/an-open-letter-to-the-2023-hugo-finalists-whoever-they-may-be/
Clock Outline: http://candleinsunshine.com/musings/clock-outline-blades-in-the-dark-style/
7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Writing: https://careerauthors.com/7-ways-to-spring-clean-your-writing/
The Basics of Crafting Terror: https://horrortree.com/how-to-write-horror-the-basics-of-crafting-terror/
Email Lists From Scratch Tutorials: https://sellingforauthors.wistia.com/projects/2nsyj3aru4
Query Shark October Newsletter-Personalization: https://tinyletter.com/QueryShark/letters/query-shark-october-newsletter-personalization
Isabel Yap’s thread: how i write with a full-time job: https://twitter.com/visyap/status/1638337852256710656
Upcoming Virtual Conventions/Workshops
(Any registration fees are noted.)
The Nebula Conference, May 12-14, 2023 ($150). Purchasing a membership also gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://events.sfwa.org/
Wiscon, May 26-29, 2023 ($25): http://wiscon.net/
The Orange County Library System has many upcoming free virtual writing talks: https://www.ocls.info/writers-corner
Featured Market
Uncanny Magazine‘s novella call is still open until 5/15/23!
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.
Uncanny Magazine
Basics: speculative fiction novellas, 17,500 – 40,000 words, pays $.10/wd, no reprints, due 5/15/23.
Guidelines: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/
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.Click here to keep reading! (Best viewed on a wide screen.)
