Thoughts in Passing
What’s with the new logo? Why do I suddenly have a new website?
tldr; My credit card number was stolen.
Okay, that explanation might be a little too short! As you may remember, I’ve been working on transferring my author website. This project got a sudden boost when my credit card number was stolen. As a result, that credit card was cancelled and I got a totally new card number. Now, my old legacy webhost was notorious for being difficult to cancel their auto-payment plans. But they no longer had my credit card number.
I’ve just barely squeaked under the wire by getting this done by the end of March. 
Squeak, squeak!
Thanks to the excellent Torknado.com’s One-Hour Author Website site, which helps authors set up the basic framework for an author website in an hour and then takes a lotlonger to go into all the customization nitty-gritty, I have a new website! More or less. My market list site is pretty solid, but I’ll be tweaking it for a while yet. My main author site is still a mess-in-progress, though, so don’t judge me on it (yet)!
(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:
Taxes and building a new website have taken up almost all my “writing” time. Elvis is still stuck in the LHC. (Yes, if I can’t work on a story for a while, I feel like my poor characters are stranded in the middle of whatever was going on.)
Things Shiny or Useful
Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/
- How to Boost Productivity with the Flowtime Technique: https://clockify.me/blog/managing-time/flowtime-technique/
- Stuff You Do Not Have to Do as a Writer: https://katemckean.substack.com/p/stuff-you-do-not-have-to-do-as-a
- How to Promote Any Book with Bookbub Ads: https://insights.bookbub.com/promote-any-book-bookbub-ads/
Upcoming Virtual Conventions/Workshops
(Any registration fees are noted.)
Flights of Foundry, April 8-11 (time zone depending): https://flights-of-foundry.org/
Norwescon, April 14-17: https://www.norwescon.org/
Nebula Conference, May 20-22 ($150): https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942 (Membership includes recorded panels and year-round special events.)
Featured Market
The Bioluminescent anthology (Android Press) wants optimistic SF with a lunarpunk aesthetic, pays $.08/word.
Lunarpunk is a very young, still somewhat nebulous and developing aesthetic — much more so than solarpunk at least— so it isn’t really possible to define exactly, specifically what that aesthetic is. But in many ways it can be thought of as a gothic take on solarpunk.
This site does a good job of putting forward an idea of what the Lunarpunk aesthetic entails. But to put it briefly, think of solarpunk and lunarpunk in terms of a dicotomy. If solarpunk is about bright colors, daylight and sun, science, community, etc… then lunarpunk is about darker colors, nighttime and moonlight, spirituality (though not necessarily a negation of science), introspection and more individual focus (though not a negation of community).
A lunarpunk world might include bioluminescent plant life, or other special tech to help societies function in the dark. A Lunarpunk community might live underground, in caves, on the moon, or elsewhere. Pagan nature worship, flowing robes and clothing, blacks, greys, silver and sparkle, purples, blues, and greens, mushrooms and night blooming plants, and various other elements of the gothic aesthetic are all common among what little, already existing lunarpunk work is out there.
Android Press
Basics: SF, 500-7,500 words, $.08/wd, no reprints, due 4/30/22.
Guidelines: https://www.android-press.com/lunarpunk-anthology-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.
| Name | What they want | Pay Per Word USD (originals) | Flat Pay USD (originals) | Website | Notes |
| Factor Four Magazine | All speculative fiction, especially SF, fantasy, supernatural, and superhero fiction | $0.110 | https://factorfourmag.com/submissionsinfo/ | ||
| Baen Fantasy Adventure Award ANNUAL CONTEST – DUE 2/1 – 4/30 | Adventure fantasy | $0.080 | https://www.baen.com/contest-faa | ||
| Bioluminescent (Android Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 4/30/22 | Optimistic SF with the lunarpunk aesthetic | $0.080 | https://www.android-press.com/lunarpunk-anthology-submissions | ||
| Cyberpunk-Solarpunk Anthology (Android Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 3/31/22 | Cyberpunk and solarpunk stories | $0.080 | https://www.android-press.com/cyberpunk-vs-solarpunk-anthology | ||
| Jim Baen Memorial Writing ANNUAL CONTEST – DUE 10/01 – 02/01 | Near future positive space exploration SF | $0.080 | https://www.baen.com/contest-jbmssa | ||
| Nightmare Magazine | Horror/dark fantasy | $0.080 | https://adamant.moksha.io/publication/nightmare/guidelines | Prefers < 5,000 words. SUBMISSION PERIODS: 2x yearly, usually March and September. | |
| Planet Democracy (Mithila Review) ONE-TIME THEMED ISSUE / ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/20/22 | Hopepunk and solarpunk | $0.080 | https://mithilareview.com/hopepunk/ | ||
| Galaxy’s Edge | SF and Fantasy | $0.070 | https://www.galaxysedge.com/submissions/ | Submissions open every week, then close when they hit their quota | |
| Halloween Ghost Anthology (Alienhead Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/31/22 | Halloween ghost stories | $0.060 | https://www.gabytriana.com/alienheadpresssubmissions | ||
| Shoreline of Infinity | SF and Fantasy | $0.052 | http://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/submissions/ | RIGHTS: Also takes audio rights. ONE-TIME 2022 SUBMISSION PERIODS: 4/4 – 4/14 (SF fairy tales), 6/13 – 8/28 (flash fiction competition), 9/11 – 9/14 | |
| Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao (Hellnotes) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/31/22 | Horror themed to Lovecraftian god Azathoth and order out of chaos | $0.050 | https://hellnotes.com/open-call-azathoth-ordo-ab-chao/ | ||
| Planet Scumm | SF and weird fiction | $0.050 | https://www.planetscumm.space/submit | ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIOD: open until 5/2/22 | |
| Translunar Travelers Lounge | Fun speculative fiction | $0.030 | https://translunartravelerslounge.com/submissions/ | SUBMISSION PERIOD: 3/15-3/21 (POC), 3/22-4/15, 9/15-9/21 (POC), 9/22-10/15 | |
| Fission (British Science Fiction Association) ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY – DUE 2/1-3/15 | SF | $0.027 | https://bsfa.co.uk/fission | ||
| Shacklebound Monthly Newsletter | All speculative fiction, especially dark | $0.020 | https://shackleboundbooks.wordpress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Dread Space (Shacklebound Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE UNTIL FULL | Military SF horror | $0.010 | https://shackleboundbooks.wordpress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Maelstroms (Shacklebound Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE UNTIL FULL | Dark fantasy, themed to the sea | $0.010 | https://shackleboundbooks.wordpress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Electric Literature | Literary, all genres, incl. experimental. The Commuter takes flash fiction. Recommended Reading takes short stories. | $300.00 | https://electricliterature.submittable.com/submit | 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. | |
| Fairy Tale Review | Fairy tale poetry and prose | $50.00 | https://fairytalereview.submittable.com/submit/ | ONE-TIME theme 3/21/22-6/30/22: queer fairy tales | |
| Futures that Never Were (Broadswords and Blasters) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22 – 7/15/22 | Sword and planet fiction | $40.00 | https://broadswordsandblasters.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/open-call-broadswords-and-blasters-presents-futures-that-never-were/ | ||
| Out of the Darkness (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/15/22-10/15/22 | Speculative fiction, themed to escaping the darkness | $20.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/out-of-the-darkness | ||
| War Torn (Shacklebound Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 4/1/22 OR UNTIL FULL | Reprint SF featuring war | $20.00 | https://shackleboundbooks.wordpress.com/submissions/ | ||
| Never Cheat a Witch (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 5/15/22-7/15/22 | Speculative fiction, themed to cheating a powerful magical entity | $15.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/never-cheat-a-witch-guidelines | ||
| Ring of Fire (WolfSinger Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22 | Speculative fiction, themed to a ring of fire | $15.00 | https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/ring-of-fire-guidelines | ||
| Luna Station Quarterly | Fantasy, science fiction, creepy horror by women-identified writers only | $5.00 | http://lunastationquarterly.com/submissions | Submission periods: Sept 15 – Nov 15, Dec 15 – Feb 15, Mar 15 – May 15, June 15 – Aug 15 | |
| Fireside Fiction (novellas and novels) – DEAD MARKET | All genres, explicitly including spec-fic | $0.000 | https://firesidefiction.com/submissions | ||
| Fireside Fiction (short stories) – DEAD MARKET | All genres, explicitly including spec-fic | $0.125 | https://firesidefiction.com/submissions |
Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!
Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Compiler of Lists
Aswiebe’s Market List
Abra Staffin-Wiebe’s Author Website
- To unsubscribe, simply reply to this email with “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
- Feel free to share this newsletter with others by whatever means you like, as long as you include all of it.