Aswiebe's Market List Update 2009-08
http://www.aswiebe.com/writing/markets.html
The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be on 09/15/2009.
Editor's Note
Never think that circumstances mean that you can't write. They might mean that you write less, or that you have to focus on shorter projects, but they never mean you can't write at all. Especially never allow yourself to think, "Well, I'm too [fill in excuse here] to write, so there's no reason to try." Give it an honest try and you'll be surprised.
A couple of weeks ago, I had knee surgery to replace a torn ACL. I couldn't sit in a chair. I was under the influence of painkillers. I slept an awful lot. Just as I was starting to sleep less and get a little bit done, some neighbor kids knocked on our door and handed us a very, very tiny kitten to take care of. Tiny kittens need a lot of being taken care of, and I was the one who was home all day.
Not the best writing circumstances. I didn't trust myself to do my best work, so I stayed away from my larger writing projects. Instead, I started work on a short story. It was slower going than usual, but I'm just about to finish it. And--surprise!--I'm quite happy with the results. I picked an anthology with a specific theme (because that right there increases the odds of a story that fits being accepted). I played with story structure as a necessary part of the plot. Even if it doesn't get accepted, I'll have an interesting story written. I'll call that a win.
Things Shiny or Useful
* Resources to write better: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/28/50-free-resources-that-will-improve-your-writing-skills/
* Weave in Backstory to Reveal Character: http://writersdigest.com/article/weave-in-backstory-to-reveal-character/
* Good, concrete suggestions on building a platform: http://writersdigest.com/article/how-to-build-a-marketing-platform/
* Making your writing exciting at the sentence level: http://ow.ly/iuk4
*Patricia C. Wrede's excellent and comprehensive discussion of questions to possibly consider when fantasy world-building: http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/
* How to Prevent Reader Boredom in Your Novel (Plot-Protagonist Secret #1): http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2009/07/22/HowToPreventReaderBoredomInYourNovelPlotProtagonistSecret1.aspx
* The danger in following the rules too closely: http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/2009/07/16/on-rules-of-writing-or-riffing-on-rechy/
* The myth of the muse: http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/505990.html
* 18 minutes to stay on track: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/07/an-18minute-plan-for-managing.html
* What to consider when you get the important call saying that they want to publish your book: http://romanticreads.net/2009/06/09/getting-the-call/
Featured Market
Baconology is a new anthology from the Library of Horror that's looking for bacon-themed horror. Mm, bacon.
Bacon has long been a staple in our breakfast diet, so it’s time bacon gets its due in literature - with a horror twist! Write a terrifying tale, from 1K-5K words, where bacon is the star of the show! Let’s not just make it fun, but a wee-bit unpredictable (no bacon kills because of the cholesterol - positive portrayals of bacon are encouraged). Remember, as a Library of Horror production there needs to be an element of horror, but good sense of humor and a dose of the surreal are appreciated. Other traditional monsters are allowed as long as bacon is a major component of the story (and yes, let’s make sure they are stories with a beginning, middle, and end).
The basics: horror (humorous a plus), 1,000 - 5,000 words, pays $.01/wd, doesn't specify if reprints are okay.
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, download the latest version of the spreadsheet, and look at the entries changed since 07/15/2008.
New, Changed, and Dead
Name
What they want
Pay Per Word - Fiction
Flat Pay - Fiction (Lowest)
Website
Baconology ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE UNTIL FILLED
Bacon-themed horror (humorous a plus)
$0.0100
http://libraryofthelivingdead.lefora.com/2009/07/08/baconology-the-new-baconhorror-anthology-from-libr/page1/
Ghostlight Magazine
Dark, esp. dark humor, preferably with Michigan or Great Lakes connection
$5.00
http://www.greatlakeshorror.com/images/Guidelines.pdf
Hint Fiction ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 08/31/2009
ALL
$25.00
http://www.robertswartwood.com/?page_id=8
Lesbian Fairy Tales Erotic Romance ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 10/15/2009 OR WHEN FILLED
Fairy tale retellings with an erotic (romantic) lesbian slant.
$10.00
http://www.emlynley.com/cfs.html
Shadows & Light: Tales of Lost Kingdoms ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE UNTIL FILLED
Fantasy with clearly defined forces of good and evil.
$0.0100
http://www.pillhillpress.com/open-submissions.html
Through Blood and Iron ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 10/01/2009
Heroic action fantasy
$0.0050
http://ricassopress.com/contactus.html
Wolfology ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 08/31/2009 UNTIL FILLED
Werewolf-themed horror
$0.0100
http://libraryofthelivingdead.lefora.com/2009/08/04/the-library-of-horror-presents-wolfology-i-tales-o/page1/
Space Squid
Speculative/humor, prefers strange, experimental
$5.00
http://www.spacesquid.com/contributorguidelines.htm
Big Pulp
pulp, all genres
$0.0100
http://www.bigpulp.com/submissions.html
Handsome Laundrette, a Box of Lovers, and Two Dozen Happy Seacows, A ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY, DUE 08/31/2009
experimental, odd, or surreal - pref. Australian
$41.81
http://moonlighttuber.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/submissions-open-for-moonlight-tubers-first-e-anthology/
Scheherazade's Facade ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 11/01/2009 - 02/28/2010
Themed to gender-bending, cross-dressing, and gender transformation
$0.0200
http://www.michaelmjones.com/facade/
Jim Baen's Universe - DEAD MARKET
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Fact
$0.0600
http://www.baensuniverse.com/subguide.html
Farrago's Wainscott - DEAD MARKET
Experimental and cross-genre
$20.00
http://www.farragoswainscot.com/submissions.html
Book of the Dead Volume 2 ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE FALL 2009
Classic zombie stories
$25.00
http://www.livingdeadpress.com/submissions_book_of_dead_two.php
Dark Crime (Comet Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 09/01/2009
Dark and disturbing crime horror.
$0.0025
http://cometpress.us/guidelines/dark-crime-horror-anthology-09.html
Dark Moon ONE-TIME CONTEST - DUE 10/01/2009
Zombie-oriented
$100.00
http://www.stonymeadowpublishing.com/horror_fiction_contest.htm
Dead Christmas ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE FALL 2009
Classic zombie stories themed to Christmas
$25.00
http://www.livingdeadpress.com/submissions_dead_christmas.php
Dead Worlds 4 & 5: A Zombie ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE FALL 2009
Blood, gore, and guns zombie stories
$25.00
http://www.livingdeadpress.com/submissions_dead_worlds_threeandfour.php
End of Days: An Apocalyptic ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE UNTIL FILLED
Apocalyptic, no supernatural
$25.00
http://www.livingdeadpress.com/submissions_end_of_days.php
Abyss & Apex
Spec-fic
$75.00
http://www.abyssandapex.com/guidelines.html
Ballista - DEAD MARKET
dark or bizarre
$10.00
http://www.flapjackpress.co.uk/page4.htm
Bitter End, The: Tales of Nautical Terror ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY DUE 10/31/2009
Horror at sea or on landlocked bodies of water.
$0.0100
http://www.pillhillpress.com/open-submissions.html
Dead Bells ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY DUE 10/15/2009
Protagonist wakes up 01/01/2010 to find every other person dead--NO ZOMBIES
$0.0100
http://www.jodilee.ca/deadbells/
Four Horsemen, The: An Anthology of Conquest, War, Famine and Death ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY DUE 12/31/2009
Any genre as long as themed to conquest, war, famine/pestilence, OR death.
$0.0100
http://www.pillhillpress.com/open-submissions.html
Science Fiction - What if? ONE-TIME CONTEST DUE 08/31/2009
Themed to "What if?"
$50.00
http://www.readme.us.com/contest.html#
Whodunit Halloween, A ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY DUE 04/15/2010
Halloween mysteries
$0.0100
http://www.pillhillpress.com/open-submissions.html
Aswiebe's Market List
Aswiebe's Market List is a searchable, sortable spreadsheet of paying fantasy, science fiction, and horror markets. This way it's easy to find, for example, only horror markets that accept reprints greater than 10,000 words. For more information on what it is and how to use it, see About Aswiebe.com's Market Spreadsheet. If you find it useful, please consider donating via PayPal to help support it. If you get a story published in a market you found through this list, let me know and I'll add a note to the next newsletter!
Links
Aswiebe's Market List
About Aswiebe's Market List
Abra Staffin Wiebe's main website
Abra Staffin Wiebe's blog
Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!
Abra Staffin Wiebe, Compiler of Lists
Please feel free to forward this email on to people you think might find it useful. You're also encouraged to link to Aswiebe's Market List on your blog or webpage. If you were forwarded this email and want to subscribe, go here. To report a new paying market, go to my contact page. To unsubscribe, simply reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. But that will make me sad.