Short Story Markets

One of my goals for 2018 was to submit at least three short stories to anthologies, magazines, or e-zines. I'm happy to report I've already reached this goal, though I don't want to say too much about the stories or submissions out of the (admittedly irrational) fear that I'll jinx them. Of course, any stories that do get rejected can be sent to other markets or indie-published. (I will say that two of the stories are set in my Season Avatars and Catalyst Chronicles worlds, so it might make sense to indie-publish them if they get rejected.) In the meantime, I thought I'd discuss briefly how I've been learning about and selecting markets.

I'm a member of the Facebook group Open Call: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Pulp Markets. As the name suggests, it's a place for publishers, editors, and writers to share open calls for the specified markets. Many of the listings that I see are for themed markets that pay subpro rates. If the theme inspires me or aligns with a story world I've already developed, then I'll look at the pay and rights requested. If they seem reasonable, and if there's still enough time before the deadline, then I'll write the story and send it out.

I've been writing and submitting short stories for several reasons, but the two most important ones are to develop my writing craft and to potentially find new readers for my novels. (Working on short stories also allows me to work on other projects besides Dryads to Discover, which has been slow going. I'm not sure if working on other projects is helpful or harmful with this novel.) I would say more, but as I took a break from writing this blog to take care of a few things in the kitchen, I got another idea for a short story. This one's geared toward a professional market that closes March 15th. There are only a couple of openings, so this is very much a long shot. When you're not typing, please keep your fingers crossed for me!