Just an fyi that in the next week, I'll have a new section on this website (thanks to Deena Warner!), where short stories and excerpts of longer fiction (both published and works-in-progress) will be posted. I'll be starting off with a bit of my novella "At the Edge of Ellensburg", in the hopes that if people read and like the first section (which is completely sex-free and safe for work, btw), they'll want to pick up the collection. I've been a bit lazy in promoting this book, although honestly - I'm never going to be reading sections of it at any genre conference! However, I do need to start practicing good marketing & self-promotion techniques. It's kind of like exercising or eating right. If you do a little at a time, eventually it'll become second nature.
In the meantime, I've been polishing a story I just recently pulled from a market (a dark fantasy that'd been out for over a year). I have a shortlist of markets to send it to, and one of them is an online pro-paying magazine (Ideomancer, to be specific). I've read pretty much every story in their archives, and yet I still don't seem to have a handle on what they're "about". I know what kind of story I'd send to Dark Wisdom, and what kind of story I'd send to Asimov's - but Ideomancer is still eluding me, and I don't know why. Therefore, I'm not sure if my story is the right fit for them, even though there's obviously something about it that makes me think "this might be an Ideomancer story". I've thought a lot about sending it: I absolutely loathe, LOATHE, writers who send stories to markets just "because", and not because they've put any thought into it. (Whenever someone says they're sending their story to F&SF even though they know it's not appropriate or good enough, but just to get the quick rejection slip, I literally LOSE MY FUCKING MIND....)
Anyway, I decided to do something strange and yet hopefully helpful: I created a private Livejournal, and put my story on it as a locked post - with the exact same formating and font that Ideomancer uses for its magazine. I'm letting it sit there for 24 hours, then I'm going to read it - online, and as a web document. Yes, I've printed the story out in double-spaced Courier font multiple times, and will probably do that one last time before I send it. But I think it's helpful for writers to see their work online as others might see it - it gives you an overall picture of whether or not your work can pass muster with the other stories, or if it's just [word deleted so this guy from Slovakia will stop googling my blog for one-handed fiction - hi! yes, I see you!] off on a blog. If, when I read it tomorrow, my reaction is "yes, this is an 'Ideomancer' story", then I'll know it should go there. If my reaction is "nice livejournal post", then I'll know I need to do a bit more research as to which market it's most appropriate for.
FYI, this isn't about which market is the best, it's about which market is the best match for the story. It's about serving the best interests of my story, in other words. "Jetsam" was perfect for Sybil's Garage, and no other market - a good match is, for me, more desirable than higher pay rates and "pro-only credits". My rationale is that, in the long run, the best matches of story-to-market will create a better (i.e. more well-respected) career, even if I make less money at the start.
Does any of this make sense? God, I hope so. If it doesn't, I'm blaming it on the Long Island beer I just drank. Beer from Long Island? Not so sure about that... maybe it wasn't the best match.
*burp*
In the meantime, I've been polishing a story I just recently pulled from a market (a dark fantasy that'd been out for over a year). I have a shortlist of markets to send it to, and one of them is an online pro-paying magazine (Ideomancer, to be specific). I've read pretty much every story in their archives, and yet I still don't seem to have a handle on what they're "about". I know what kind of story I'd send to Dark Wisdom, and what kind of story I'd send to Asimov's - but Ideomancer is still eluding me, and I don't know why. Therefore, I'm not sure if my story is the right fit for them, even though there's obviously something about it that makes me think "this might be an Ideomancer story". I've thought a lot about sending it: I absolutely loathe, LOATHE, writers who send stories to markets just "because", and not because they've put any thought into it. (Whenever someone says they're sending their story to F&SF even though they know it's not appropriate or good enough, but just to get the quick rejection slip, I literally LOSE MY FUCKING MIND....)
Anyway, I decided to do something strange and yet hopefully helpful: I created a private Livejournal, and put my story on it as a locked post - with the exact same formating and font that Ideomancer uses for its magazine. I'm letting it sit there for 24 hours, then I'm going to read it - online, and as a web document. Yes, I've printed the story out in double-spaced Courier font multiple times, and will probably do that one last time before I send it. But I think it's helpful for writers to see their work online as others might see it - it gives you an overall picture of whether or not your work can pass muster with the other stories, or if it's just [word deleted so this guy from Slovakia will stop googling my blog for one-handed fiction - hi! yes, I see you!] off on a blog. If, when I read it tomorrow, my reaction is "yes, this is an 'Ideomancer' story", then I'll know it should go there. If my reaction is "nice livejournal post", then I'll know I need to do a bit more research as to which market it's most appropriate for.
FYI, this isn't about which market is the best, it's about which market is the best match for the story. It's about serving the best interests of my story, in other words. "Jetsam" was perfect for Sybil's Garage, and no other market - a good match is, for me, more desirable than higher pay rates and "pro-only credits". My rationale is that, in the long run, the best matches of story-to-market will create a better (i.e. more well-respected) career, even if I make less money at the start.
Does any of this make sense? God, I hope so. If it doesn't, I'm blaming it on the Long Island beer I just drank. Beer from Long Island? Not so sure about that... maybe it wasn't the best match.
*burp*
Labels: free fiction, short story submissions
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