Author, Writing Coach, Speaker
Just popping in to say … I absolutely love Cindi Myers Market News. She’s posted some interesting markets for you. Check out the Jack the Ripper story request, and the call out from Heroes and Heartbreakers. There’s more, and these are paying markets, people! Always a good thing.
https://cindimyersmarketnews.wordpress.com/
Let me know if you send something. I’ll cross my fingers for you.
Today is IWSG day-the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Our purpose is to share and encourage. You can follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.
I submitted a mini-mystery about three months ago to Woman’s World magazine, and received the rejection a week or so ago. I felt so certain it might find a home with them. We never know, do we? But I think it’s good to feel positive about our work. It makes it a little harder when the rejection comes but still … maybe next time. Hope some of you are getting acceptances instead of rejections.
I can’t think of a better way to encourage you than to share Cindi Myers’ newsletter with you.
Every year Cindi attends the annual Romance Writers of America conference and comes home to share market info with her readers. As usual, she allows us to pass the info on to our blog readers too. I think that’s incredibly generous of her so invite you to check out/subscribe to her blog HERE.
This week Cindi is spotlighting St. Martin’s Press. Read on:
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The Spotlight on St. Martin’s Press was presented by Publisher Jennifer Enderlin, Associate Publisher Ann Marie Talberg, Associate Editor Rose Hilyard, Executive Editor Monique Patterson and Associate Editor Eileen Rothschild. St. Martin’s publishes all formats and all kinds of fiction. They produce three to four romances a month in hardcover, trade paperback or mass market formats. In addition to the editorial staff, they have an 11 person marketing team. All the St. Martin’s romance editors will accept queries from unagented authors.
Jennifer Enderlin began by talking about “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Publishers”:
1. They know their authors are a resource. They want the author’s feedback on covers, marketing, etc.
2. They are not slaves to trends. Once you identify a trend, it’s over.
3. They do not give up quickly.
4. They know they are working with an author. It is not a case of ‘us vs. them’ but ‘we.’
5. They understand we live in a global world, and take a global approach to marketing and publishing.
6. They listen to editorial passion. If an editor is passionate about a project, they will take a chance.
7. They have fun. They are readers and book lovers who are excited about their work.
Ann Marie Talberg is a former bookseller and romance buyer for Waldenbooks. She oversees the Heroes and Heartbreakers website and St. Martin’s ebook original program and welcomes romance submissions of both novels and novellas for the ebook program, and short stories for the website. Find out more details about Heroes and Heartbreakers here.
Monique Patterson is interested in all kinds of romance, except sweet and inspirational. She’d also like to see some high concept commercial women’s fiction, and she’s open to contemporary fantasy with strong romantic elements. She also edits some literary fiction. She loves paranormal romance and is still buying it. She prefers a snail mail submission of a query, synopsis and first three chapters of the book.
Ellen Rothschild is actively building her list of authors. She loves Alpha heroes, redemption stories and “quirky, sassy, interesting heroines.” She’d love to see a contemporary trilogy about brothers. She’s open to all sub-genres of romance except historical romance. She prefers an email query.
Rose Hilyard is open to submittions of all kinds of romance, including sweet romance, Young Adult, New Adult, women’s fiction, and erotic romance. Her favorite books are either really sexy or really sweet. She loves historical romance, and she’d love to see more Christmas books in all sub-genres. She accepts both email and snail mail queries.
The editors did not give out their email addresses at the workshop, however, the standard form for email there seems to be firstname.lastname@stmartins.com.
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Tor.com, the online short story magazine for science fiction stories, is closed to submissions until October 1. The magazine is separate from Tor Books, the publisher, which remains open to both agented and unagented submissions.
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Eldritch Press is seeking steampunk horror stories for an upcoming anthology, Lost Worlds. Stories may be up to 17,500 words and should focus on post-prophetic or end-times scenarios in which the world has been reconstructed with mechanized curiosities and steam power. Payment is 6 cents a word and the deadline for submissions is December 30, 2014. Find all the details here.
Thank you Cindi Myers. Readers, for more about Cindi and her books, check out her websites here and here. And good luck with your submissions!
Join me as I blog through the alphabet. We post every day in April except Sundays. There are many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge too, which is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. I’d like to encourage you to visit their entertaining, informative blogs. I’m amazed at the many talented people who participate in the A to Z Challenge.
Today I’m blogging about Submissions. I haven’t submitted anything to publishers or agents lately. Writing has been minimal because of wedding plans and home renovations. I’ve barely been online except for this A to Z Challenge. I love it, so it has my undivided attention–when it comes to posting. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to visit a lot of other blogs every day. Some days, I can visit up to eight or ten, but yesterday–nothing.
But, back to Submissions.
A few weeks ago I got frustrated and killed myself in a short mystery. When I say I killed myself, I mean I had someone else (a fictional character) kill me. It was fun to write and geared toward Woman’s World Magazine. That’s the colorful tabloid that’s on the racks at grocery store check-outs. They publish one romance and one mystery in each issue. Remember I told you my friend Janie had a mystery accepted and published last month.
These short stories are only 700 words. Tricky. Every word must count. I’m not certain I was very successful. We’ll know soon, because that’s my one and only Submission, other than my assigned article to Southern Writers Magazine.
Oh, and by the way, Woman’s World Magazine requires the traditional stick-it-in-an-envelope-with- an-SASE. Feels strange to do it that way, but when I get it back, I’ll know they’ve read it.
Have you submitted anything in the past month or two? If not, take a look at the markets below. You might have something that fits. If you have submitted, share what you have out and how long you’ve been waiting for a response. Or share the last thing you submitted and got accepted.
Good luck with the markets below. They’re good ones!
Suddenly Lost In Words is a digital anthology looking for short stories, memoirs and poetry for Young Adult readers. Stories should be no more than 3,000 words. Payment is 5 cents a word. No deadline for submissions is listed, but you can find all the guidelines here.
Hofstra Law is sponsoring a mystery writing contest for the best crime story featuring a lawyer as the main character. First prize is $500, second place gets $200 and the third place winner receives $100. Stories should be no more than 3,500 words. The deadline for entries is May 1. See the details here.
MeeGenius, the top-selling ebook ap for children 2-8, is looking for book manuscripts geared toward this age group. Manuscripts should be 15-20 pages, with 20-70 words per page. You do not need to illustrate the work, but you may include illustration descriptions/suggestions. Find more submission details and see a sample manuscript here.
So … I’m setting goals to reach by July 27th because I have no idea what will happen once we get home. I know it will take awhile to get acclimated, and I hate unpacking boxes!
Slice Magazine is open to submissions from now through August 1 for short stories of up to 5,000 words that explore the theme “Escape.” “We’re looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share—basically any work that really knocks our socks off. We’re not drawn to experimental or heavy-handed genre fiction. The best way to get a sense of Slice‘s content is to read the magazine.” Slice pays $100 for published stories. Find out more details here .
Samhain Publishing is seeking contributions for a fall 2014 gothic horror anthology. Editor Don D’Auria “wants to feel that claustrophobic, shadowy, oppressive gothic atmosphere” Stories may be supernatural or non-supernatural, historical or contemporary, and may feature ghosts, vampires, werewolves, homicidal maniacs, or almost anything your imagination can create. 25,000 to 30,000 words. Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2013. Stories will be published individually as ebooks in Spring 2014, then compiled into the anthology for the fall. Find all the details here.
Do any of these interest you? What are you working on? SHARE!
It’s a kid’s world. At least from my perspective these days. I can remember how fun it was to run through my grandmother’s pasture chasing butterflies, digging for earthworms or trying to catch crawdads in the creek. By the time I became a teen, time stood still. I couldn’t grow up fast enough.
Now, looking back, I’m wondering why such a hurry?
My mother can no longer live in her home. I’ve been going through her things–trying to decide what gets dumped into a trash bag, what goes to Goodwill and what I should keep (and what my brother keeps). I think brother and I are falling all over ourselves trying NOT to step on each other’s toes. We’ve both inherited the pack rat gene since both parents had it, so I think he feels like I do–no matter who gets what, we always have access to it. 
The house above was my grandparents house. My brother bought it years ago and renovated/updated it. Before the renovation, he moved it to the woods. No cable tv–no Internet. Just the sound of coyotes at night, wind whipping through the tall pines … and bugs. Lots of bugs.
See John Wayne? I bought him for my dad back in the 70s when we both enjoyed a drink or two. John was filled with something … I can’t remember what. He’s perched on the empty shelf… waiting to see who will get him. I’m tempted, but I know deep down in my gut, someone else wants him. I’ll wait … wait… wait … The empty shelves are depressing.
So… now you know why I’m not posting regularly. My head/heart isn’t in it, but I’m thinking about you.
And for those of you who truly believe it’s a kid’s world, and you write for kids, check out these two markets:
Speeding Star is a new trade imprint from Enslow Publishers, a company known for its educational titles. Speeding Star will focus on stories geared to boys, and the editors are actively seeking submissions. Unagented writers are welcome. Fiction manuscripts should be between 5,000 and 12,000 words, written at a fourth-grade reading level. The editors are especially interested in adventure stories, mysteries, sports stories and fantasy fiction with boy protagonists. Submit the manuscript through their online submission form, found here.
Amazon.com is adding two new imprints for children’s books to its growing list of publishing endeavors. Two Lions will be devoted to children’s picture books through middle grade books, while Skyscape will focus on YA and New Adult titles. Margerey Cuyler heads up Two Lions and Tim Ditlow will oversee Skyscape. Together, the two imprints make up Amazon Children’s Publishing. Query to acp-submit@amazon.com. Attach the complete manuscript for a picture book and the first three chapters for all other works.
Harlequin’s new Kiss line will launch February 13, 2013. Check out the guidelines HERE
For FAQ’s and guidelines for other Harlequin lines, go HERE.
For previous winners, go HERE.
Markets for your writing are everywhere. You just have to search for them. Make certain you always follow the magazine’s submission guidelines. If you’re entering a contest, follow their rules to perfection. Here are a few markets you might be interesting in.
Pockets magazine teaches 6- to 12-year-olds about God’s love and presence in life. Pockets accepts freelance submissions of stories, puzzles and games, activities, recipes, and poems.Alive Now is a devotional magazine that nurtures the spiritual lives of individuals
hungry for God. For themes and deadlines, go HERE.
FirstLine Literary Journal: Every story starts the same. The first line: Rachel’s first trip to England didn’t go as planned. Deadline 5/1/2012. Be sure to look at the upcoming first lines.
Delta Sky Magazine is looking for expertly executed stories about travel, lifestyle and business. Features range from 600-2,000 words. Departments include very small 100-word pieces to longer 500-word columns.
Go HERE for guidelines and where to send submissions.