Tag: dark science fiction

Last Chance to Submit This Year!

Okay, so it’s not necessarily your last chance to submit a story in 2023. But it might be! Many publications shut down for the holiday season. They won’t accept new submissions. Even if others don’t shut down, the odds are good that their response times will slooooooow down. This goes for agents, short story markets, book publishers, everyone.

What is the holiday season? The slowdown starts the week of the United States’ Thanksgiving break, which is the week of Nov 20th this year. And many publications are flat-out closed the entire month of December. The good news is that these publications often have one last submission period in the month of November.

So if you have something that you’re working on, you may want to put in some extra writing and revising time to get it out for submission as soon as possible. 

If you’re planning on doing NaNoWriMo, you have a couple more days to wrap up your writing-in-progress before that chaos begins! And remember, I’ve got a collection of useful links about increasing your productivity right here: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/#htoc-productivity

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

Sadly, I had to cancel my reading at Dreamhaven Books due to catching Covid. I’m fully recovered now, thanks to Paxlovid and Metformin. But between catching the really nasty chest cold that’s been going around, and then swapping cold-for-covid with my spouse, that was several annoying weeks of sickness and recovery for our family. The reading is likely to be rescheduled for early 2024.

I have a Halloween publication! My story, “You Are in the Heart of the Corn Maze,” came out in the Fall issue of Fear Forge. This story’s a bit about the pandemic, and parenting, and the parts of ourselves we suppress. And a corn maze!

Things Shiny or Useful

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

Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, is offering 14 free online events on the topic of “How to Write Your First SFF Novel”, covering inspiration, POV, outlining (or not), retellings, worldbuilding, tropes and trope subversion, magic, settings, romance, ensemble casts, heroes and villains, writing while working/caretaking, scene structure, and expanding a book. The guests include James S. A. Corey, C L Clark, P. Djèlí Clark, Megan E. O’Keefe, Tasha Suri, Fonda Lee, Ann Leckie, and more. Sign up here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/orbit-books/how-to-write-your-first-sff-novel/
Date range: Oct 11 – Nov 15. Recordings will be available after the scheduled live event, too.

Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere: https://indieweb.org/POSSE

The Indie Files: Wide For The Win 2 – Retail Promotions: https://www.sfwa.org/2023/10/17/indie-files-wide-for-the-win-2-retail-promotions/

Safety Dispatch: How to Establish and Use a Pen Name: https://www.sfwa.org/2023/10/24/safety-dispatch-how-to-establish-use-pen-name/

How to Get (& Stay) Ready for NaNoWriMo: https://careerauthors.com/how-to-get-stay-ready-for-nanowrimo/

GHOSTS WITH THE MOST! Five tips to make your ghost stories truly haunting: https://horrortree.com/ghosts-with-the-most-five-tips-to-make-your-ghost-stories-truly-haunting/

Money-Saving Guide for Authors and Writers (resource links): https://couponfollow.com/research/money-saving-guide-authors-writers

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI: https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/23/1082189/data-poisoning-artists-fight-generative-ai/

You Just Found Out Your Book Was Used to Train AI. Now What? https://authorsguild.org/news/you-just-found-out-your-book-was-used-to-train-ai-now-what/

How to Use Bookbub with a Limited Budget: https://insights.bookbub.com/bookbub-limited-budget/

How to Write Scary Novels Infused with Fun and Humor: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/how-to-write-scary-novels-infused-with-fun-and-humor

Plot Method: Jot, Bin, Pants: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17t0dYvl2noZS9WEQI-Cjx1Go0GUa1ZxmHnpMT-aiTeM/edit

Featured Market

Winter in the City: A Collection of Dark Urban Stories (House of Gamut) is looking for dark fantasy, dark SF, and horror themed to a real-world city in winter.

Noisy, crowded, ever in motion, the City can be more than a setting—it can be a character, as nuanced and as fickle as a human being, with as many traits and quirks as the best mapped out characters. The City can be the ever-present and constant companion (or foe) to the protagonist and antagonist alike. 

Winter in the City: A Collection of Dark Urban Stories is an anthology that takes place in different cities around the world during the bleak—sometimes harsh—season of winter. Your story submission must conform to the guidelines listed below and feature the City—in fact, the title of each story will be the City of which you write. 

We are not looking for vampire/werewolf love trysts. We are looking for fantastical elements within the City itself. 

Because we all know—deep in our hearts—that nightmares and fairies, monsters and ghosts, and terrors of the real and imagined call the City their home. 

GUIDELINES: 

• Short stories (3000-7500 words) that feature something fantastical in a city during winter. Your story will be titled by the city name (i.e. “Boston” or “Sydney”). 

• In this case a “city” should be considered a large population center (over 200,000 permanent inhabitants. 

• The “city” should be a real place—no “Gotham City” or “Hogsmeade.” 

• PLEASE Confirm which city your story will take place in before starting to write.House of Gamut

Basics: dark speculative fiction, themed, 3,000 – 7,500 words, $.10/word, no reprints. Submissions due: 3/31/24

Guidelines: https://houseofgamut.moksha.io/publication/house-of-gamut

Market List Updates

To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, go to https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/new/. For all the hundreds of listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet, or view it online at https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/marketlistonline/. Best read on a bigger screen!
A snippet of the October updates

Click to see details of the latest updates!

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists Feel free to share this blog post/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 11/15/2023. 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/

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What Belongs In Fiction Submission Guidelines? plus Aswiebe’s Market List updates

Thoughts in Passing

What Belongs In Fiction Submission Guidelines?

Here are the basics of what should be in short fiction submission guidelines. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen me rant about some of these in “Dear Editors…” posts. This post is aimed at editors because that’s how much of it was originally phrased, but as a writer, it’s also helpful to know what you should expect to find in the guidelines.

0. Just starting out?

Are you in the process of establishing your publication? Not sure what your final pay rates or accepted wordcounts will be? That’s okay! It’s fine to adjust your guidelines later, as long as you are clear about what current accepted submissions will be paid, etc. You can say, “We are figuring out our long-term policies. Right now, we are reading for our first issue. Stories accepted for this issue will be paid $.08/word.” Changing your policies after you accept a submission is shady. If you plan to change your guidelines, consider pausing submissions and changing guidelines before the next submission period.

1. What kind of story do you want?

Genre, subgenre, any themes or particular vibes. It would be lovely if every writer had time to read several issues of every publication they ever might submit to, but that isn’t the reality. Putting this info up front will save you a lot of time in the slush pile. Genre magazines are generally pretty good about this. Realist literary magazines are generally pretty terrible at it.

2. How much do you pay?

Per word or a flat rate is the usual. “We pay at or above the industry standard rate” is not actually saying how much you pay. Industry standard can mean many different things. Pro rate changes depending on genre. Paying in “exposure” = non-paying. If you don’t list a pay rate, the assumption is that you don’t pay. One exception to this assumption is “Best of the Year” anthologies, which usually pay $.01/word. (They should still list the pay rate on their guidelines, but they often don’t.) If your pay rate depends on the success of a Kickstarter, be upfront about this! If you don’t pay in U.S. dollars, please specify your currency. Sorry, but USD are the standard.

Note: Charging submission fees is a common practice for realist literary magazines. But in science fiction and fantasy circles, Yog’s Law dictates that money flows to the writer. Charging submission fees is taboo, and patting yourself on the back for not charging fees is … weird.

3. What rights are you buying?

The subject of rights is really a whole essay by itself. Usually this is some version of First Rights for original (never-before-published) stories and Reprints Rights or One-Time Rights for reprints. Often there is a period of exclusivity and a right to archive the story for a particular length of time. Never say, “All rights stay with the author!” That is impossible. If you didn’t get any rights, you wouldn’t be allowed to publish their story. Publishing a story automatically uses First Rights, for one thing.

Don’t try to take All Rights. Don’t be a jerk.

4. What wordcounts do you accept?

What’s your minimum? What’s your maximum? If you don’t specify, please don’t be mad if you get flash fiction or novellas. If you don’t specify because you’re honestly good with getting flash fiction or novella submissions, it’s lovely to say so. Some of us have been snarled at by editors who assume their idea of acceptable story length is universal. It’s fine to say that people must query first for stories over X words.

5. How do you feel about reprints?

Do you accept reprint submissions? It’s also great to specify if they are given the same preference and if they will be paid at the same rate or not. If you don’t say you don’t accept reprints, expect to get some queries about them.

Beyond the basics…

6. Are simultaneous submissions okay? 

For bonus points, you could also specify if you accept simultaneous submissions–authors submitting to other magazines at the same time, which might mean a story you like gets accepted elsewhere before you respond.

7. What’s your submission schedule?

Once you figure out a submission schedule (Open all the time? Only open the third week in October in leap years?) and average response time, it’s very kind to include that information too.

Finally, please please please keep submission guidelines up even when you’re closed to submissions. Don’t erase the whole page. Just put a big SUBMISSIONS CLOSED UNTIL X at the top of the page, and temporarily hide the submissions email address if you need to.

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

If you’re in the Twin Cities area, I have a reading coming up in October at Dreamhaven!

On Wednesday, October 4, ABRA STAFFIN-WIEBE reads and holds a reception as part of the Speculations Reading Series, from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Abra Staffin-Wiebe is a science fiction author who loves futuristic fairy tales, cheerful horror, and dark science fiction. Dozens of her stories have appeared at award-winning publications including Tor.com, Escape Pod, and Fireside Magazine.

Bring a friend! There will be cookies and soda as well as giveaways during the reading. Afterwards, we usually adjourn to Parkway Pizza for some social time.

Things Shiny or Useful

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

Five Secrets to Writing Suspense: https://careerauthors.com/five-secrets-to-writing-suspense/

IMHO: What Remedies Do Authors Have When Fraudulent Work Appears on Amazon? : https://hotsheetpub.com/2023/08/imho-what-remedies-do-authors-have-when-fraudulent-work-appears-on-amazon/

5 Ways to Survive a Publishing Draught: https://careerauthors.com/5-ways-to-survive-a-publishing-drought/

My Book is Coming Out This Month. Here are Ten Things I Learned on the Way to Getting Published: https://horrortree.com/my-book-is-coming-out-this-month-here-are-ten-things-i-learned-on-the-way-to-getting-published/

How to Market Your Book to Get Worldwide Exposure: https://insights.bookbub.com/ideas-for-getting-your-book-more-international-exposure/

Rambling About Revisions: https://pcwrede.com/pcw-wp/rambling-about-revisions/

The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World (how people traveled in olden days): https://orbis.stanford.edu/

Featured Market

Nightmare Diaries anthology wants dark speculative fiction, pays $.10/word.

Moonstruck Books will publish an anthology of dark fiction titled Nightmare Diaries in Spring 2025. We are seeking short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas of 500-10,000 words.Moonstruck Books

Basics: dark fiction, 500 – 10,000 words, $.10/word, unknown reprint policy, due 12/27/23.

Guidelines: https://www.moonstruck-books.com/submissions

Market List Updates

To see all the details about these new listings and what they’re looking for, go to https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/new/. For all the hundreds of listings, go to Aswiebe’s Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet, or view it online at https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/marketlistonline/. Best read on a bigger screen!

Screenshot of updated market listings.

Click to see details of the latest updates!

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists 

Feel free to share this blog post/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 9/15/2023. 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/
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Remembering Promises to Your Reader

The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 06/15/2023.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/

Website Update!

A reminder that my full market list is now, finally, fully searchable online! Of course, you can still download the complete spreadsheet and keep your own copy on your own computer.

And I’ve added a new page that is all the very latest updates (the same markets as in the table below, now with even more details!), searchable and sortable in the same way as the full market listings page. Both of these pages are, of course, best viewed on a wide screen.

Remembering Promises to Your Reader

Every story makes promises to its readers, even if the author doesn’t realize that they’re doing so. The trick is recognizing which promises you’ve made, and making sure that the ending pays those promises off in a way that either the reader expects … or will be delighted to have not seen coming. Handle that last one with care.

Critiquers can help. As I go, I ask my critiquers to write down questions they have (so that I can make sure they’re answered), the details they think are significant (so I can check if I want them to be), and things they expect to be resolved by the end.

I also train myself to notice the promises that I’m making. Is there a countdown to something? Is there unresolved tension (romantic or otherwise) between characters? Is there a big event coming up? Have I been foreshadowing anything? Did I set a gun on the mantelpiece and forget about it? Either that gun has to be removed from the mantelpiece, or it has to go off. That metaphorical gun can be a character, a conflict, a looming failure, or a striving for success.

I can’t keep track of all that stuff in my head. The promises that I make intentionally as I write, I also note down in my plot notes for the ending. (I’m approaching the ending of my novel now, which is why I’m thinking about this.) On my current project, I’ve been getting critique notes as I go, which is not something I always do and definitely not something I recommend for everyone! But it has helped me get a feeling for what promises my readers are picking up on, and that has shifted some of the details of the satisfying ending that I hope to provide.

During revisions, I keep a separate page just for notes of what I am promising and foreshadowing, and I check them off when I pay them off. I only write down the promise or foreshadowing when I actually see it on the page. Sometimes I need to work it in earlier to give it more impact. Sometimes the payoff isn’t good enough to be worth the promise, and I decide to take out the set-up entirely. It depends. Ah, the magic of revisions!

If all goes well, readers end up feeling satisfied with the ending, even if they don’t see all the moving parts that set up that emotional response.

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

I am at 120K on my “if T. Kingfisher wrote The Expanse” novel, about a derelict alien space station and the scrappy salvagers existing at its mercy. (Yes, I still need a better elevator pitch and comps!) If all goes according to plan, I should be able to finish the first draft of this book before the next edition of Aswiebe’s Market List. And then laugh. A lot. About how I was once worried that it would be “too short.”

Things Shiny or Useful

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

6 Ways to Write Characters You Love to Hate: https://savethecat.com/tips-and-tactics/succession-barry-6-ways-to-write-characters-you-love-to-hate

8 Promises You’re Making to Readers—and Then Breaking: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/8-promises-youre-making-to-readersand/

Six Lessons from my Writing Crush: https://writerunboxed.com/2023/05/19/six-lessons-from-my-writing-crush/

How to Brainstorm Original Ideas for Christmas Horror Stories: https://horrortree.com/how-to-brainstorm-original-ideas-for-christmas-horror-stories/

Featured Market

Qualia Nous, Vol. 2 wants dark science fiction and all blended sub-genres of science fiction (horror, fantasy, etc.), pays $.10/word (capped).

The first volume of Qualia Nous (2014), edited by Michael Bailey, won the Benjamin Franklin Award for science fiction and was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. It was a Foreword ReviewsBook of the Year finalist in horror, science fiction, and a bronze winner for anthologies, as well as a silver medal finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards, a finalist for the Indie Book Awards, and a winner of the International Book Award. It was also the first Written Backwards anthology (of eventually many) to contain work by Stephen King.

… While not many like the term “literary,” that is what this anthology is looking for: groundbreaking work that break normal conventions and will stand the test of time, propelling emerging and undiscovered writers into the mainstream.

Written Backwards

Basics: speculative fiction and poetry, 3,000 – 10,000 words (fiction), pays $.10/wd, no reprints, due 7/31/23.

Guidelines: https://nettirw.com/submissions/

Market List Updates

Go read the very latest updates. They are searchable and sortable. Best viewed on a wide screen.
Click to see all the latest updates!

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists
Aswiebe’s Market List
Abra Staffin-Wiebe’s Author Website

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