AI Archives - Aswiebe's Market List

The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 3/15/2023.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/

Nothing on the Internet Lasts Forever, Plus Market List Updates

Don’t fall victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is if you put something on the Internet, it’s there forever. But only slightly well less-known is this: nothing on the Internet lasts forever.

We’ve had a reminder of that recently–and no, I’m not just talking about the Fowl Site. Those who’ve been submitting short stories for a minute might have started out using Ralan.com to learn about the latest SFF market listing updates. Recently Ralan closed their doors, replacing their website with a thank-you to everyone for the last 26 years and 57 days. Wow. That is a truly impressive accomplishment! I learned a lot about following SF and fantasy publications from watching Ralan. So long, Ralan, and thanks for all the fish.

So, what does “nothing lasts forever” mean for writers?

Keep your own records. Track your submissions. I use a spreadsheet to track my submissions, because I’m old school like that. If you use an app or an online website for that purpose, make sure it allows you to download a backup. And do keep that backup updated! Once or twice a year, just save it to your computer and back it up along with all your other writing files. Pair the habit with something memorable, like tax time or Halloween, and add a reminder to your calendar.

Plan to be rejected. If you see a submission call that seems like a good fit for a story that is already currently out on submission, make a note. If/when you get rejected, go check it out.

If you submit to an anthology or a contest, save the submission guidelines. You can just save the webpage as html. The vast majority of the time, these submission guidelines go *poof* the second the submission call closes. You might want to reference them later. For example, to see what they said their submission reading process would be, or to find the name of an editor that you can stalk on the internet to see if they’ve mentioned how progress on the anthology is going. (Stalking only, do not contact directly!)

And finally, once you get a story published, save the good stuff about being published. Save a copy of the published version of your story. Save the story illustration (you can’t use it, but it’s pretty, right?). Save positive reader comments. Not only are they an ego boost you can look at when writing feels hard, but you might be able to use those quotes sometime.

That’s just the actual submission process. There’s a lot more that you might want to think about saving your own copy of–useful articles, ebooks you bought, etc. And of course, there’s the whole “when social media goes away” and “why we should control our own newsletters” thing, but that’s a separate editorial all by itself (psst, I’m over at https://wandering.shop/@abracanabra).

What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:

I’ve hit that sticky spot where I have to stop and plot the ending of my WiP, in exact detail, before I can write further. Uggggghhhh! I have a bunch of things that need to happen, and some of them seem mutually contradictory. I will figure it out, but in the meantime I’m writing a lot of curse words in my writing notebook. You know. For posterity.

Things Shiny or Useful

Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/

Covers, Costs, and Artists: https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2023/covers-costs-and-artists

Random Name Generator: https://www.behindthename.com/random/

Ask the Editors (of SFF Magazines): https://industry.metaphorosis.com/ask-the-editors/

You Should(n’t) Be Writing: https://medium.com/swlh/you-should-nt-be-writing-8a3da5c44794

How to Build an Amazing “About the Author” Page: https://kindlepreneur.com/build-about-the-author-page/

Scrivener Alternatives: https://alternativeto.net/software/scrivener/

How to Become a Professional Writer (humor): https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/how-to-become-a-professional-writer

Novel Subplots: http://candleinsunshine.com/musings/novel-subplots/

Melissa Caruso on main characters: https://twitter.com/melisscaru/status/1613169173513003009

TV Tropes Story Generator: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/storygen.php

Indie Author Project: https://indieauthorproject.com/authors/

Christie Yant’s Writing Tools 2023: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R9IRbolmTr42z-9l7kN9tN0De7WTDGmXv3jbVhM_kXk/

How to (Maybe) Get Out of Your Contract When Your Scam Re-Publisher Ghosts You: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/12/02/how-to-maybe-get-out-of-your-contract-when-your-scam-re-publisher-ghosts-you/

Upcoming Virtual Conventions/Workshops

(Any registration fees are noted.)

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

The Orange County Library System has many upcoming, free virtual writing talks: https://www.ocls.info/writers-corner

Featured Market

The Beauty in Blood-Drenched Circuits (Starward Shadows) anthology wants dark speculative fiction written by ChatGPT (with prompts from you).

All submissions must contain speculative elements, and we prefer stories with a dark and contemplative tone. For this anthology, we’re particularly interested in exploring the relationships that humans form with those different from themselves–be it AI, aliens, or even their own kind. We’d also like to see some space-age twists on the classics we’ve always loved. The weirder and less mainstream, the better. Bonus points if you can prompt your writing partner to write a Sword and Sorcery for the ages. We’d also love to see if you can get your new friend to open up and share a laugh. (Black humor only, of course).
Starward Shadows

Basics: dark speculative fiction, no word limit, pays $35, no reprints, due 3/30/20023. Guidelines: https://starwardshadows.com/submissions-open-beauty-in-blood-drenched-circuits-an-ai-only-anthology/

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.