Writerly Ways

[cornerofmadness]

So I've been thinking about crowdfunding as a means to publication, not so much for me but I have notice that a lot of the anthologies are being done this way including this one: Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors the one I wrote for. The thoughts started roiling around seeing it's about 1500 shy of the goal with less than 2 weeks ago. (Will I back it? Possible)

What I know is what if this doesn't make its goal, will the open call end? Possibly as I've seen that. I have the story done (I thought the opening date was the closing date so I broke my butt getting it done) so I might be sitting on something until I see another call it could fit. I could back it and not get in which is totally fair.

So I was thinking about the viability of this method. I'm talking strictly fiction here, not non-fiction. That's a different beast and behaves differently. I know some people, like ysabetwordsmith has used it well. I have another friend who has done well with it for her urban fantasy. On the other hand, I know even more failures.

Some of the difference I suspect is how big your following already is. I'm not sure if anyone has done the research on this (If you do, feel free to pop the links into the comments) but I would imagine an unknown author without a newsletter or one that's only reaching a few personal friends isn't going to do as well as someone better known.

The above linked kickstarter has a break down of the costs of publication (for those who might be wondering about the whole writers strike) for those maybe thinking about self pubbing which does have its costs.

So feel free to share your success and why you think it worked (or the converse) in the comments.

Open Calls

Spawn 2: More Weird Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies pays well but open to Australasian writers only

Why Didn’t You Just Leave one of those kickstarted funded anthologies. Pays very well. Very short open call.

Electric Spec November Issue 2023

Room x Augur Special Issue wants a very specific type of author

The Crow’s Quill September 2023 Issue

Flash Frogtober 2023 flash fic

Haven Speculative 2023 General Submissions Call #4 (Early)

Cosmorama

Apparition Lit August 2023 Window (Early) theme reclamation

Sci Phi Journal July 2023 Window hard sf

Spare Parts Literary Magazine: Now Seeking Submissions

Flyaway Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions children's books


From around the web

Storyville: The Pros and Cons of Prologues Finally someone admitting that not all prologues suck

Work in Progress

The (Bizarre) State of Social Media for Writers

Boosting Your Speculative Fiction: 5 Creative Writing Techniques to Explore Alternate Realities

10 Fellowships, Grants and Other Opportunities This July 2023

Writing Tips that Help Me Sleep: Plus Thoughts From Other Authors

How to Market Audiobooks as a Self-Published Author


What’s the difference between a Memoir vs. Autobiography vs. Biography?

How Self-Published Authors Can Sell Books (and make money doing it)

Procrastination and Writing: Four Snares That Stop the Flow

10 Self-Published Authors to Learn From



From Betty

Why You Should Divide Your Societies Into Factions

What Storytellers Should Know About Normalization

Three Painless Ways to Patch Plot Holes

Five Writing Advice Cultures to Watch Out For

Should My Hero Share the Audience’s Values?

The Intimidating Business Details of Contracts

13 Tips to Create Irresistible Stories with Powerful Pacing

Upping Your Word Count

5 Timeless Tips for Career Novelists

Upping Your Word Count

5 Timeless Tips for Career Novelists

Do Your Characters Have Agency?

Character Type and Trope Thesaurus: Grotesque

Do readers really want shorter novels? speaking for this reader, yes we do. Not saying 500+ page books have no purpose but I'm saying I'm rather over reading them.