Some interesting themed opportunities

In a post last December I discussed some of the advantages of pursuing publication in themed publications (or themed issues of publications) -- and perhaps chief among them is the fact that the competition is likely not as fierce as in a general interest publication. I thought I'd pick up that train of thought by looking at a few interesting opportunities currently available, especially for genre and cross-genre writers. These themed publications were found via Duotrope's Digest's weekly email bulletin -- as I've said many times before, an absolute must for poets and writers who are actively seeking outlets for their work.

Perhaps because I saw the new film Cowboys and Aliens this weekend, Pill Hill Press's call for submissions for its contest anthology "Conquest Through Determination" caught my attention. Specifically, Pill Hill is looking for stories in the Sci-Fi subgenre of steampunk. Steampunk, a variation on the term cyberpunk (think Matrix), plays with the idea of advanced technologies in a steam-engine era. The editors discuss the subgenre on their contest page and cite Jules Verne as a pioneer. Wikipedia, meanwhile, provides a thorough entry on steampunk. The editors also stress that they're looking for seasoned voices as well as new ones.

Red Skies Press currently has five anthologies for which they're accepting submissions: First Contact Imminent, Dreams of Duality, Celtic Blade, Frozen Fear Deluxe, and Medieval Nightmares. See the press's website for complete details.

Rune Wright has three themed deadlines fast approaching: Hallows Eve Vol. One, Holiday Spirit & Mayhem Vol. One, and Penny Dread Tales, Vol. Two. Editor Christopher Ficco stresses that the themes should not be taken as rigid, but rather they should inspire creativity. See Rune Wright's submissions page for complete details and deadlines.

Imagination & Place is planning its fourth book, titled "Imagination & Place: Weather," and is wanting fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and essays that explore weather "both interior and exterior, calm and turbulent." Check out the submission details.

There are many, many themed (and non-themed) deadlines in the next couple of months, so visit Duotrope's Digest and other sources, like NewPages.com, to see what's available.

tedmorrissey.com

Men of Winter

Some interesting outlets to consider

Taking advantage of Duotrope's Digest's weekly email update, I thought I'd highlight a few outlets that look especially promising for newer voices.

Here's a fledgling market to consider, especially if you're female: Adanna, "a journal for women, by women." Its homepage clarifies, however, that the journal is "dedicated to women ... [but] is not exclusive," meaning that men may submit material as long as it "reflect[s] women's issues or topics, celebrate[s] womanhood, and shout[s] out in passion." The online journal wants email submissions by April 31 for its debut issue, guest edited by Diane Lockward. Visit Adanna's homepage for complete submission details.

Here's another fledgling market that looks intriguing: Curbside Splendor, which publishes literary fiction and poetry "based on contemporary urban (and sometimes sub-urban) settings," according to their About Us page. Besides publishing work on a weekly basis on their website, the editors also publish a print journal, and from time to time chapbooks and novels. Their first issue is on sale here.

Write Right On is another fledgling online journal, but this one is based outside of the United States in Lebanon. The editors describe themselves as "a small writer's group involved with an Art space which is full of creative artists," and their mission is to "promote literacy in [their] community and the surrounding areas." They have very open guidelines, as long as the submission is under 5,000 words. Check out their current edition.

I thought I'd conclude with something a bit different: Pseudopod, "the world's premier horror podcast." Its homepage goes on to say that it "brings you the best short horror in audio form, to take with you anywhere." As one might imagine given the unique focus and format of the journal, the editors' submission guidelines are detailed, but well worth looking into if you write horror and would like to hear it via their "talented performers."

This is just a small sampling of the wonderful opportunities out there for publication. Check out Duotrope's Digest, but also my other favorite sources for outlets.

tedmorrissey.com

Men of Winter

Some picks worth perusing

Nothing too fancy this time (or any other time for that matter) -- just some journals that seem like they're well worth looking into for the un- and underpublished writer (which of course is just about all of us except Nora Roberts and James Patterson ... using the term "writer" pretty loosely here). These are by and large newer markets that sound especially open to new and emerging writers.

Fiction writers will want to take a look at Flywheel Magazine, whose editors "crave stories ... [even] the story the other magazine didn't want." See their submissions page for an exuberant narrative regarding what they're looking for (and not looking for); and for specific guidelines see their Submishmash page.

Here's an unusual journal, The Post Script, whose debut issue is due out soon. According to its homepage, it's "dedicated to preserving the art of the post card." Because of the journal's unique mission, its submission guidelines are nontraditional. They do both themed and general interest issues.

Genre writers, or writers whose work incorporates genre elements, will want to take a look at Pulp Carnivale, "an alternative short fiction site that follows in the tradition of the pulp magazines ... a space for authors to gain exposure and for audiences to discover quality new fiction without a lot of noise to sift through," according to their "about us" page.

Here's another fledgling journal to consider, for both prose writers and poets: StepAway Magazine -- "publishing the best urban flash fiction and poetry by writers from across the globe," says their submissions page. They are "hungry for literature that evokes the sensory experience of walking in specific neighborhoods, districts or zones within a city." The editors cite the Frank O'Hara poem "A Step away from Them" as the inspiration for their title.

I'll end with a more traditional suggestion: Artifice Magazine, which is "devoted to fiction and poetry aware of its own artifice," according to its "about the magazine" page. See Artifice Magazine's submissions page for further details.

Incidentally, I didn't have to go far for these suggestions as they're all included in my weekly email from Duotrope's Digest, one of my favorite sources for finding outlets.

tedmorrissey.com

Men of Winter

Themed outlets, and some interesting possibilities

In my last post I talked about so-called fledgling markets and why newer writers may be well served to check them out: namely, newer markets attract fewer submissions than more established ones, so, statistically, the odds for having a piece accepted are much improved. This same rationale could be applied to themed publications, or, especially, themed issues of publications. 

Most outlets, while they have some brackets around what they want to look at (see my post on writers' guidelines), are open to almost any topic, submitted by almost any sort of writer or poet. Some outlets, however, have an overarching theme that limits, often pretty narrowly, the kinds of work they want to consider. I'm probably using theme here in a broader way than some might, but from the perspective of up-and-coming writers who are looking for places to publish their work, any sort of qualifiers placed on submissions by a journal or publishing house constitute a theme. Some outlets, for instance, only want to see specific genres (sci-fi, or western, or romance). Others may be dedicated to specific topics (food, travel, zombies). Others limit their focus geographically, only wanting work written by people from a specific area (West Coast, Upper Peninsula, Canada), and/or pieces that are set or somehow about that area may qualify, even if the writer/poet doesn't hail from that place. And a lot of outlets are dedicated to highlighting the work of specific sorts of people, either by gender, age, ethnicity, orientation, occupation, or some combination thereof (like work by lesbian Latinas who live in Los Angeles -- all right, I made this example up because I like the alliteration, but it's certainly plausible).

Another sort of themed publication -- and here I'm using theme more conventionally -- is an outlet that usually is open to any topic by any sort of writer, but the editors decide they want to step out of that mode for a single issue and concentrate on a specific theme. Some publications have a regular schedule for doing themed issues; for example, they may do one open issue a year, and one themed issue. While others may only do a themed issue for a special occasion, like the publication's tenth anniversary or to note the passing of a literary figure.

In a few posts I've mentioned Duotrope's Digest as a very handy tool for helping writers find outlets for their work (see, for example, my post on my favorite resources). Duotrope's is handy for finding themed publishing opportunities as well in that their weekly email updates that they send to writers include a list of themed outlets. Just as a sampling, here are a few from the most recent update.

Here's a multi-themed possibility, Tales of Blood and Roses, which publishes "horror and thriller" fiction, poetry, art, and photography. Plus, for its debut issue, the editors have an even more specialized theme of "love gone wrong," according to their submissions page. This is also a fledgling market, which means it's not on a lot of people's radar just yet. So for a writer or poet who has something that seems to fit the editors' needs, this market is a great opportunity -- but you need to get in gear because their deadline is December 31!

Here's another multi-themed one, also with a tight deadline: May December Publications is wanting fiction about zombies (3,000 to 10,000 words), but only fiction written by women, for an anthology titled "Hell Hath No Fury ..." to be released, appropriately, in time for Mother's Day 2011. It'd be best to get your email submission to the editors by January 1, however. See their submissions page for further details.

This publication stood out for me, as well, because of its unique focus: you are here: the journal of creative geography, published out of the University of Arizona. Its 2011 issue is focused on the topic of "dislocation," and the editors are looking for a variety of creative projects that explore dislocation. See their submissions page. Another fast-approaching deadline, however: January 1.

These three possibilities are just the proverbial tip of the theme iceberg. It takes some time to peruse the options, and I suppose some industrious writers and poets (poets especially) may feel inspired to write something new to match an outlet's theme -- though more likely you have something available that happens to align with the theme. In either case, the competition for publication will likely not be as stiff as with an unthemed publication, whose editors may be sorting through tens or hundreds of thousands of unsolicited submissions.

tedmorrissey.com

Men of Winter

The cover letter -- a sample and some personal preferences

When you snail mail a submission to a journal, it's standard practice to include a brief cover letter. Some journals claim they don't want one at all; others make it optional; but most at least expect it, or even encourage it. Even if you're submitting electronically -- via email or a site's submission portal -- you'll probably supply cover-letter-esque information, commonly in the body of the email, or in the comments window of the submission portal form. There's no definite right and wrong when it comes to what to include in these accompanying bits of information, but here are some suggestions, including my personal preferences.

First, though, I'm discovering that young folks are losing the hang of letter writing. They text and email and increasingly when they apply to a school or for a job or scholarship, there's an online form into which they simply input the requested information. In short, they aren't required to write letters on a regular basis. I recently invited my 18-year-old students to submit a letter expressing interest in a scholarship opportunity in order to be considered a candidate, and not one of the seven respondents actually wrote a letter; in fact, they seemed rather nonplussed as to what a letter should even look like. Therefore, briefly, here's a typical format for a business-style letter:

Ted Morrissey

1111 My Street

My City, IL 65555

11 January 2011

Samantha Jones, editor
Great Lit Journal
Great University
Great University Town, NY 11111

Dear Dr. Jones [I usually research the editor online to see if he/she holds a doctorate or not so that I can address the editor appropriately; if the information is unavailable, perhaps simply Editor Jones.]

Enclosed for your consideration is my short story "A Great Read" (2,000 words).

My fiction has appeared in a few journals, including The Cat Review, The Dog Review, and The Goldfish Review. I hold an MFA in fiction writing from East Coast University, and I teach English at Terrific Liberal Arts College.

Thank you for considering my story. This is a simultaneous submission.

Respectfully.


Ted Morrissey [leaving space above the name for my signature]

If you're including information in an email or in the comments window of an online submission portal, you may not follow the formal style of the cover letter, but the basic information will be the same. Here are some points to consider:

Writers tend to believe their work will be more attractive to an editor if they can supply some sort of credentials. These credentials usually come in the form of previous publications, but alas you may not have any meaningful publications. In lieu of meaningful publication credits (I acknowledge that "meaningful" is a nebulous term), writers may be tempted to fill in that space with, what I consider, dubious information. For example, they may mention publication credits that are, well, less than impressive (like very small circulation newsletters, or good showings in contests that only attract a few participants). I would say, though, if all you can offer is a less-than-impressive credit, don't mention it at all.

Another thing I often see from writers who are still looking for their first legitimate credit is to mention fairly well known teachers or mentors who like their work. My sense, however, is that namedropping doesn't work very well. It tends to cast you in a secondary role, as student or groupie, and therefore doesn't carry much clout with an editor.

Instead, just be honest and make it clear that you haven't been published yet. Editors love to publish somebody for the first time -- it's like discovering the next supermodel carhopping at the local Sonic. So you're more attractive as a "virgin" writer or poet who can be discovered by an insightful editor, than you are as someone who's so desperate to appear worthy that you include unimpressive credentials with your submission.

Check the writers' guidelines to see if the editors have said anything about what they want in the cover letter or accompanying information. Some want only the basics. Others want you to provide a third-person biographical statement that they can use in their contributors' notes if your piece is published. Some encourage a sort of chatty letter in which you talk about your interests beyond writing.

As an editor receiving submissions, I always preferred a cover letter that was professionally presented but also casual in tone -- from someone who takes his or her work seriously, but not him- or herself; that is, someone who sounds like it'd be fun to talk to over a cup of coffee, about books or writing or fly-fishing.

Whatever you decide to include in your cover letter (or cover-letter-like material), be sure to proofread it carefully. Many editors purposely read the accompanying material after they read the story, essay, or poem itself, as they don't want their reaction to the submission to be colored, positively or negatively, by the cover letter. But others do read the cover letter first, and therefore are influenced by it -- so a poorly written cover letter, with typos or incorrect information, could put your story or poem in a bit of a hole before the editor ever starts reading it.

Be professional; be respectful; be appreciative.

tedmorrissey.com
Men of Winter

Terminology I: literary versus genre writing

I'm cleverly titling this post "Terminology I" because I know it's not going to be exhaustive. I want to talk about some of the more common terms associated with shopping your work to potential publishers, but I know (gods willing) there will be future posts that deal with other terms. The first terms I should deal with are "literary" and "genre." For lack of a more useful definition, literary writing (either fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry) is, well, serious; while "genre" writing describes work that fits into various categories like science fiction, western, romance, horror, and so forth.

The problem with these definitions is immediately obvious: they imply that genre writing isn't serious writing, but that's clearly not true. Science fiction writing, for example, is very often serious (leaving be the fact that serious itself is a slippery term). And, for that matter, literary fiction can involve science, it can be set in the West, it can involve romantic relationships, it can describe events that are horrific, and so forth.

Nevertheless, this blog will discuss placing literary writing -- just because that's the sort of writing I do, so that's what I'm familiar with in terms of trying to find outlets for it. But even if you're writing what you feel is genre material, I hope this blog can be helpful to you too. For one thing, there are issues that are universal when it comes to seeking places to publish your work. Also, there are many journals that embrace all kinds of writing, and they expressly state that they are wanting to read genre work as well as literary.

Another reason why this blog may be useful to you even if you're writing what seems to be "genre" pieces is that, while I say I write literary fiction, it doesn't always fit neatly into that category. Much of my work is historically based. My novel Men of Winter, for example, is set (maybe) in early twentieth-century Russia. My novella Weeping with an Ancient God, which I plan to bring out next year, is fictionalized biography based on the life of author Herman Melville and set in 1842 (I published an excerpt of the novella under the title "Melvill in the Marquesas" in The Final Draft). Another example is my short story "A Wintering Place", which is a sequel to Mary Shelley's gothic horror/science fiction novel Frankenstein, and the story appeared in the lit journal Eleven Eleven.

So, in short, I have experience placing pieces that blur the line between literary and genre.

That seems enough for now. Shortly we need to talk about where to search for outlets and how to determine fairly quickly if that outlet may be well suited to your style of writing.

tedmorrissey.com