Finding a home for a long story

For the most part, the length of stories that journal editors will consider has shrunk over time, in keeping with cultural attention spans, so if you write a story in excess of 6,000 words, it can be tricky to find a place to publish it.  This past spring I wrote a story that weighs in at just over 11,000 words, and it does take some digging, but you can find editors who are willing to consider the longer short story or novella.

In a moment I'll share some of my discoveries regarding editors who are open to lengthier submissions, but since I brought up the word novella, let me say a few words about that somewhat misunderstood form.  The terms short story, novelette, novella, and novel are often distinguished by their word count.  There are no strict rules (in fact, there are virtually no rules at all), but short stories are perhaps in the 10,000 word range as their limit, the rarely mentioned novelette 10,000 to 20,000 words, the novella maybe 20,000 to 50,000 words, and the novel, of course, any length beyond that.  I readily acknowledge that it would take you no time at all searching online (or, heavens, in some sort of reference book) to find definitions disagreeing with the number limits I've offered here.

It should be noted that length is a distinguishing factor, but other factors should be considered, too, like the number of major characters and the sleekness of the plot (elements that are even more open to interpretation than word count).

Nevertheless, if you do find yourself in need of placing a story that runs in excess of 6,000 words, here are some possibilities.  When I was searching for my own purposes, incidentally, I made use of a site that I've referenced several times in this blog:  Duotrope.  Duotrope has a search function that allows you to plug in all sorts of criteria, like genre and form, but also length.  So I searched for venues taking stories more than 10,000 words long, and while I didn't find a lot, I did find more than I'd expected.

One such venue is the aptly named Big Fiction magazine, which is interested in "long shorts and novellas of 7,000 words and up."  The editors, however, stress in their guidelines that they want more than length; they want "substance, texture [and] urgency."  Their reading period for the current issue closed at the end of May, but if you have a longer story, keep Big Fiction in mind for when it reopens to submissions.

Another option -- and one that is currently accepting submissions -- is Caketrain and its editors' chapbook competition in fiction, which allows for the entry of novellas and longer stories within the context of a collection of stories.  The editors are looking for manuscripts between 40 and 80 pages.  As with virtually all contests,  there is an entry fee and specific guidelines for formatting your entry, so read the competition page carefully.

A brand-new and exciting option is Pshares Singles, a digital-only extension of distinguished Ploughshares journal.  The editors are looking for fiction between 6,000 and 25,000 words that will be available for download in Kindle and Nook formats, as well as in digital text from the Ploughshares main site.

These are just a few options.  So don't be afraid to write that longer story or novelette or novella:  there are editors with stamina who are interested in these more substantial forms.

tedmorrissey.com
Men of Winter

Beware posting to a blog or Facebook

This summer my writer buddies Lisa Higgs, Tracy Zeman, Meagan Cass and I will be leading a series of workshops at The Pharmacy in Springfield, Illinois, and in the process of setting up the online components of the workshops it was underscored for me just how careful one must be about where and how one's writing appears online. As a writer, I've just taken for granted that everyone is aware of the need for caution, but it's occurred to me that maybe doing a post on the subject wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Here's the thing: Journal editors almost always want what's termed "First Rights" for your work, meaning that they want to be the ones to publish your story or poem or essay, etc., for the first time; then after it appears in their journal, the rights revert to you, the author, who can then do whatever you want with it -- see if an editor who does "reprints" will take it, or offer it to an anthology, or include it in a collection, or post it to your own blog or website. (Book publishing, by the way, is far more complicated, and contract language varies widely as to what authors can do with their own work after it's been taken by a publisher.)

Just using myself as an example (because it is, after all, all about me), later this year my publisher Punkin House will be releasing my book Weeping with an Ancient God, which is a novella and story collection. The novella will constitute about half the book, and it hasn't been published previously, except for the first chapter, which appeared under the title "Melvill in the Marquesas" in the online journal The Final Draft (now listed by Duotrope's Digest as deceased), in the fall of 2010. In truth, I mainly sought a journal publication for the opening chapter in hopes of sowing some interest in the novella, which was originally slated for publication in 2011.  The Final Draft, however, only left "Melvill in the Marquesas" up for about three weeks before replacing it with another fiction piece (by someone else); and -- now, frankly, this is strange -- its editor didn't archive previous editions. So the stand-alone chapter disappeared off the Internet within a few weeks of its publication; and since The Final Draft was only online, that means my piece was in essence gone for good, leaving next to no opportunity for sowing interest in the forthcoming novella and story collection.

Luckily, since The Final Draft only had First Rights, I could do what I wanted with "Melvill in the Marquesas," so I "reprinted" it at another blog that I write, called 12 Winters Blog, thus archiving the piece online myself. As far as the stories collected in Weeping with an Ancient God, they're a dozen short stories that have appeared in various literary journals, all of which only took First Rights, leaving me free to include them in this book, with the usual understanding of my acknowledging where they appeared originally.

It's typical to try to publish individual chapters of books before the book itself is published (for example, with my novel Men of Winter I'd published three of the chapters as stand-alone pieces before the book found a home at Punkin House).

Before the advent of web publishing, journal editors tended to discount publishing in a really, really small outlet as publishing at all.  In other words, if you had a poem or story that appeared in a newsletter or tiny in-house magazine of some sort (like a college-campus lit journal or student newspaper), then you could still submit it to larger circulation journals as an "unpublished" piece, thus legitimately offering their editors First Rights. I suppose this may still be true, but only if those tiny outlets are traditional paper publications.

However, the web and specifically blogging have cast First Rights into a whole new light. Because even the most obscure of blogs (like mine) could be read by thousands (millions, billions?), journal editors now consider posting to a blog as publishing and thus eliminating the piece from further publication consideration, other than in those rare journals that are willing to do reprints.

Moreover, I've recently seen in submission guidelines the specific reference to blogs and Facebook as examples of publishing that prohibit a piece from being considered by a journal. The mention of Facebook caught my attention in particular because the site and co-sponsor of this summer's workshop series, The Pharmacy (with the Vachel Lindsay Association being the other co-sponsor) has a Facebook group called The Pharmacy Literati whose members routinely share work on Facebook to get feedback from other members of the Literati -- and, really I suppose, anyone who happens upon it.

I've been mindful of all this while setting up the online components for our workshop. We want participants to be able to post their work electronically in order to get feedback from the workshop leaders and from each other, but I didn't want to use the public-access blog that I've set up to broadcast information about the workshop, just for the reasons I've outlined here. I didn't want a workshop participant to share a poem or short story, only to discover later that he or she couldn't then submit that piece for journal publication because it had appeared on the workshop blog.

I considered closing down public access to the blog once the workshop participants were set, but that didn't seem like a good idea for all sorts of reasons. So what I've decided to do is to establish a private chat site via Google Groups which will allow workshop participants to share their work for critique without its being simultaneously published on the blog. Of course, the terrain of online publishing shifts underfoot minute by minute, but I think this Groups site will accomplish what we want for the workshop without risking coincidental publication of participants' work.

Obviously, this post has mainly been focused on our workshop to take place here in Springfield, Illinois, but the issue of posting to a blog or Facebook as a type of publication, and thus eliminating the opportunity for granting First Rights elsewhere, is one that all writers should consider.

tedmorrissey.com
Men of Winter

Four intriguing publishing possibilities to check out

Thanks to my weekly email alert from Duotrope's Digest, I've discovered three new journals and one that is expanding its scope which are all definitely worth noting, for writers and readers of excellent literature alike. (I've written about Duotrope's usefulness, bordering on necessity, for anyone looking for outlets for her and his creative work -- see the sidebar for older posts, several of which mention the digest.)

A brand-new, and sassy, journal that is seeking submissions for its inaugural issue is What the Fiction, "a journal of great fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry," according to its webpage. WTF was inspired by a creative writing class at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and its editors plan to release their first issue online in early 2012. They also intend to do a "best of" print anthology by the end of the year. Edited by Michael Brantley, the journal's webpage provides a plethora of information about its editors and their inspirations and attitudes. It's worth checking out for the insight -- and as reading entertainment in itself.

Executive editor Sarah Rae of Poydras Review has an ambitious agenda for her gestating journal. In addition to short fiction, nonfiction and poetry, the journal will include articles on theory -- and the editors hope to attract "the largest public possible by using a variety of mediums including print, online, and ebooks," according to their mission statement. A woman after my own heart, Ms. Rae has an MFA in creative writing and MA in psychology (all right, I have neither an MFA in creative writing nor an MA in psychology, but my dissertation devoted much space to trauma theory and neuropsychology).

Another intriguing journal, nearly brand-new, is From the Depths, produced by Haunted Waters Press. From the Depths is a print journal, the first issue of which will be out this winter, but the website will also feature work by its contributors -- in fact, some of that work is already posted and well worth checking out. I must say, while I really appreciate the attitude of What the Fiction and the ambition of Poydras Review, I love the feel and look of Haunted Waters Press, founded by Savannah Renee Warren and Susan Warren Utley.

Finally, Noctua Review, a journal of the MFA program at Southern Connecticut State University, is expanding the mission it began in 2008 (to publish the work of SCSU graduate students) by including work from "writers and artists across the country," and will release this new incarnation of itself in 2012. Editor in chief Julie Oliver appears to have a full masthead of editors to undertake the journal's rigorous new scope.

These are just four engaging journals in the process of launching and expanding. In addition to Duotrope's Digest, also check out NewPages and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses for other great possibilities.

tedmorrissey.com
Men of Winter

Submishmash seems to be leading the submission race

In an earlier post, I wrote about the various ways that writers and poets can submit their work to editors and publishers -- via email, an online portal, or snail mail -- and it remains true, but even though it's only been a few months since that post the submission landscape has changed appreciably. I completed a novel in June, after five years of working on it, and I began writing a series of short stories. As such, I've been quite active in the last few months in terms of contacting publishers (regarding the novel) and editors (regarding the stories). Based on my experience, it seems that more and more people are utilizing the submission service known as Submishmash. There are others, including Tell It Slant, but far and away Submishmash is leading the pack.

In fact, Submishmash now calls itself the number-one submission management tool, used by over 2,000 publishers and universities, according to its website. It's hardly scientific, but since the first part of July, I've contacted 84 editors, including publishers about my novel, and 25 (or nearly 30 percent) have used Submishmash. Two have used Tell It Slant (about 2 percent), and seventeen have used some other online portal system (just over 20 percent). Of course, email continues to be an option, but my sense is that the majority of editors/publishers who were already attracted to electronic submissions have moved to a service like Submishmash, if not Submishmash itself. Of that 84, only seven were email contacts, or about 8 percent. I mentioned in my post regarding writers' guidelines that perhaps email submissions required the most care in that journals/publishing houses tended to have very specific -- and idiosyncratic -- instructions about how to prepare your submission. I imagine that those e-submission enthusiasts prefer the simplicity a service like Submishmash offers.

A few journals still prefer snail-mail submissions, perhaps believing that it keeps the number of submissions manageable. And along with the rise in submission service use, like Tell It Slant and Submishmash, there's been a rise, from my perspective, in journals that require a nominal reading fee (usually $2 or $3). This may be an opportune time for me to acknowledge that the unscientific statistics that I used in the previous paragraph were undoubtedly skewed by the fact that I'm increasingly attracted to journals who use online submission managers. I cannot put a number to it, but I know in my perusals for outlets for my new novel and newly written stories that I passed up a few possible contacts because they were requiring snail-mail or email submissions, and at that moment I didn't have the patience or ambition to pursue them. By the same token, I passed up a handful that required a reading fee. Now, however, I've become comfortable using PayPal to dole out the two or three bucks, so I'm more inclined today than I was even a couple of months ago to pay the reading fee.

There is some debate in publishing circles about the ethics of charging a reading fee, and tied into that debate is whether or not a reading fee suppresses the number (and hence overall quality) of submissions. I'm sure that some editors/publishers, especially those over the age of, say, 25, are disinclined toward the fee because in the "old days" only disreputable journals charged a reading fee. Professional and serious outlets would never lower themselves to charge a fee -- which no doubt led to the creation of so many writing contests, as it was seen as more noble to charge $15 to enter a contest (which in various ways was returned to the winners and entrants) than to charge everyone a couple of dollars, almost none of which would be returned to the writers and poets, in terms of a subscription or sample copy, etc.

The journal I read for, Quiddity, has recently switched to using Submishmash (from snail mail); and I find it quite handy. I receive an email from one of the editors letting me know there are submissions for me to read. My account is the same for both my Quiddity reading and for my own submissions to journals/publishers which use Submishmash. As a  reader, I simply log in, click QUIDDITY, then click on a story (I'm only reading prose), and it pops up on the screen. I generally increase its magnification a couple of times to make it exceptionally easy to read, and when I've reached a decision I either click the thumb-up or thumb-down icon (there's a maybe option, but as a group we decided even before Submishmash that maybes are virtually useless -- it's yes or no, or get off the pot).

There's also an option of adding a comment to the submission, which I don't bother with either. If I read something wonderful and I fear that Quiddity may lose it if we don't act promptly, I'll email or text the appropriate editor and alert her or him that we have a live one we may want to act on as soon as possible.

Just a couple of side notes regarding using Submishmash: I was having trouble at first receiving email notifications from the editors that I had something to read, so I contacted Submishmash support and received a response literally within the hour (it turned out to be a minor technical glitch that was immediately cleared up) -- and this was on a Saturday morning. Even though using Submishmash as a reader is handy, I do sort of miss having to haunt the campus, where I only teach part-time, to pick up fresh or drop off read submissions, and likely running into one of the editors or interns in the Q office. And in addition to the human contact, I miss the feel of the submissions, the bulk and smell of them, and the knowledge that the actual writer who composed the piece physically handled the material and signed the cover letter. I liked looking at the signature to see what it may imply about the author.

Would I want to go back to snail mail? Probably not, but one does lose something of the experience by going to electronic submissions. And based on the trend I'm seeing as a writer, it's full steam ahead for e-submissions, with Submishmash in particular leading the field.

tedmorrissey.com
Men of Winter

Three new journals planning fall launches

In my last post I talked about the fact that summer offers fewer publishing opportunities for writers and poets but "fewer" isn't none -- so I wanted to call your attention to some editors/publishers who are currently reading for their inaugural issues, all found courtesy of Duotrope's Digest's email newsletter.

Orange Quarterly caught my eye. It's a brand-new online market "showcas[ing] both emerging and established artists and writers from around the globe." Founded by Allison Leigh Peters, OQ is currently accepting work for their debut issue, which is scheduled to launch this Halloween night just before the clock strikes midnight. As a drama-building tool, the site has a countdown-to-launch clock. The editors are accepting work via email, and as such there are quite a few do's and don't's, so read their submission guidelines carefully. Prose writers should note that they'll read work up to 7,500 words, which is more than many journals are interested in considering. I must say I like the look of OQ's site; it appears professionally constructed and well thought out. In short, it looks to me like an online journal put together by folks who know what they're doing (even though it doesn't appear that any of the "OQ crew" will be applying for their AARP card anytime soon).

Whether you submit or not, Orange Quarterly will be a journal worth keeping track of as the editors get their first issues out into the cyberworld.

Here's another interesting-looking online journal in its embryonic stage: Specter Literary Magazine (also featuring a countdown-to-launch clock -- maybe that's a new trend).  SLM's editors have a somewhat narrower focus than Orange Quarterly's in that they want poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction with "themes rooted in the generation of the 1980s and forward from a multi-cultural/multi-sexual perspective." That sounds intriguing but to be honest I'm not 100 percent sure what it means, and in fact I'm not even certain who "the generation of the 1980s" is.  The editors' guidelines offer some clarifications, and, as you'll see, they're taking work via Submishmash. SLM's blog has links to additional information, like the journal's masthead.

The editors are eager to see your work regardless of background (publishing or otherwise), so check out Specter Literary Magazine. It will be interesting to see how their focus manifests itself once it begins to publish in (let me check) about three months.

Speaking of interesting-looking online journals in their embryonic stage, here's another: S/WORD. Founded by husband and wife Seth and Chelsea McKelvey, S/WORD (which can be pronounced a multitude of ways) has a very, well, philosophical mission regarding text and reader interpretation. Trying to paraphrase it wouldn't do it justice, so please read the editors' about page  -- but it seems to me an important distinction of their journal is that, at the risk of oversimplifying, the editors are interested (even) in pieces that are not necessarily "finished" but are clearly still forming in the author's mind.

S/WORD, too, is accepting work via email. The editors want to see poetry and prose, but they also want to hear about creative work that doesn't quite fit into either of those pigeon holes, which is interesting. See their submission guidelines. S/WORD's site has a sort of New Age feel, but it's visually engaging and easy to maneuver within.

These are just three publishing possibilities. Check out Duotrope's Digest and NewPages for even more opportunities.

tedmorrissey.com

Men of Winter

Yes, Summer Is a Quiet Time, But It Still Has a Pulse

For writers and poets eager to get their work into print, summertime can be a bit frustrating in that the vast majority of literary journals are directly or indirectly affiliated with colleges and universities; and thus their staffs take a break from reading (and also from the mundane bureaucracy of keeping track of incoming submissions) in the summer. However, "vast majority" is not "all," and there are journals that read during the quiet months of June, July and August. It just requires a bit more effort to find places to submit. In an earlier post, I talked said that when I became serious about getting my work into print, I vowed to make a minimum of six contacts per week. I managed to meet that number in the summer months, but it did require additional research.

When you start looking at submission guidelines, you discover that there are essentially two sorts of places that accept submissions in the summer: those that claim to actually read them (some of whom acknowledge that response times are slower in the summer), and those that accept submissions but say upfront that the submissions won't be read until the academic year commences. As I've said previously in this blog, it's important to read submission guidelines carefully, as there's no point in sending work to journal editors who say they don't want summer submissions; and by the same token, if you're truly "eager" to get work in print, you may want to think carefully before submitting to a journal that acknowledges its slow response time in the summer, or one that tells you your submission, while accepted, won't be read until fall.

By the way, it's worth mentioning that "summer" is a bit hazy (ha) -- meaning that the front- and tail-ends of reading periods tend to vary greatly. That is, one journal may stop reading at the end of April, another the end of May, another part way into June; and a journal may start reading again August 1, another September 1, or perhaps September 15 or later. So, again, read guidelines carefully.

A quick perusal of Duotrope's Digest's weekly email bulletin can give one a sense of the summertime submissions landscape. The bulletins list markets that have been added, ones that have opened or reopened to submissions, ones that have closed, and ones that seem to have dissolved or at least gone on indefinite hiatus. Here are some highlights from the most recent bulletin (this one tailored for fiction writers).

A Few Lines appears to be reading in the summer, and their editorial board "actively seeks emerging young writers."

Paper Nautilus reads year-round, but warns that their response time is slowest October through January (so this may be a good bet for the truly eager).

Stoked Press, which seeks a variety of types of work and which publishes them in a variety of print and electronic formats, appears to read year-round as well.

Caper Literary Journal reopened to submissions May 25. Caper, like Stoked Press, is looking to publish all kinds of creative material via all kinds of formats.

Also recently reopened to submissions is Knockout literary magazine. Note that its editors are "primarily looking for poetry," but they also want to see shorter prose pieces as well. They also emphasize that they are "as GLBT-friendly as ever."

These journals listed here tend to be start-up -- and up-start -- journals, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some writers/poets are mainly interested in more established (perhaps traditional) journals, and these sorts of summertime submission opportunities are more rare, but they do exist. A good source to begin one's search for the more established who may be reading in the summer is the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) database of members.

American Short Fiction, a highly respected journal, is open for submissions.

Granta reads year-found, but like all the well-established and well-respected journals, competition is, let's say, fierce.

Quiddity, a print journal that I helped found and now still read for, accepts submissions year-round.

Again, those more traditional/established possibilities exist, but it takes a bit of digging sometimes to unearth them.

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

Contests can be an excellent avenue to publication and recognition

Contests, especially those targeted at new writers and poets, are another option worth looking into for un- and underpublished authors. There almost always is a fee associated with the contest, which is how the publishing entity (usually a literary journal or small press) can afford to publish the winning entries, but it's money well spent: Obviously one is purchasing the chance to have an entire manuscript published, win a monetary prize, and gain the publicity; but even if you don't win, you very well may place or show or receive an honorable mention -- which could get you noticed by another editor or agent who just might want to publish or work with you -- and almost always you get something back for your money, like a copy of the winning entry and/or a subscription to the journal. 

And, quite frankly, contests are a significant revenue source for many journals/small presses, without which they may not be able to publish at all, so at the most fundamental level you're supporting the literary community as a whole -- at a time when it sorely needs supporting.

Using NewPages.com (one of my favorite resources) and its book contests page, here are a few contests that seem to me especially attractive for the writer or poet looking for that first manuscript-length publication. Contests for poetry outnumber prose contests, but writers of fiction and creative nonfiction have good opportunities as well.

For poets, Tupelo Press' 12th Annual Award for First or Second Book of Poetry is a wonderful opportunity, as Tupelo Press is an excellent and well-respected small press. As its website reports, the contest is open to all poets who are looking to publish either their first or second full-length collection. In addition to publication and national distribution, the winning poet receives $3,000. Deadline for submission is April 15, and the fee is $25.

Also for poets, 42 Miles Press' Lester M. Wolfson Poetry Award also caught my eye as it is a new contest and therefore may not attract as many submissions as a more established one. In addition to book publication, the winning poet will receive $1,000, fifty copies of her/his book, and an invitation to read at Indiana University South Bend. Also of note is the fact that the editors are open to "experimental as well as work of a more formalist bent." Deadline for submission is March 1, and the fee is $25.

Permafrost literary journal sponsors contests for both poets and writers of fiction: The Midnight Sun Chapbook Contest, and the Midnight Sun Fiction Contest. The winning poet receives thirty copies of her/his chapbook and $100 (a chapbook is a stapled booklet), while the winning fiction writer receives $100 and publication in the journal -- all fiction entries are eligible for publication. Deadline is March 15, and the fee is $10.

Unpublished novelists will want to check out The 20th Annual James Jones First Novel Fellowship, sponsored by Wilkes University. In addition to novels in progress, "novellas and collections of closely linked short stories" are also eligible for consideration. The winner receives $10,000, and there are two runners-up who receive $750 each. Deadline is March 1, and the fee is $25.

Another notable contest is Black Lawrence Press' The Black River Chapbook Competition for either a collection of poems or short stories. Deadline is May 31, and the fee is $15. Black Lawrence Press has other contests as well, including book contests (in addition to the chapbook competition) for poets and short-story writers, and even a contest for novelists. Thus its website is well worth perusing.

Competitions for creative nonfiction writers exist, but at this time NewPages.com is not listing any with deadlines in the near future. And, of course, the contests listed here are just a small sampling. Go to NewPages.com for a wealth of information on upcoming competitions, especially if you're a poet.

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