Writerly Ways
Oct. 5th, 2025 11:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessI don't have much to say today. I'm burned out. Seriously. Hell I didn't even look at Whumptober until the 2nd and you know how much I like that. I have put off fridge repairs for nearly 6 weeks because I have no energy to get things cleaned up. I have an event this coming weekend for which I have neither the tickets nor the hotel. This is what depression does. Sigh.
But today DID have a bit of fun and I wanted to make that the focal point of my writerly ways. Networking and bookstores. This weekend a new bookstore opened up in my small town (by one of my former students) It's not that new. It was inside the antique store but that didn't last (sigh) and she's now up near the bank. There were so many women in this small space today you couldn't move. I was glad to see it. Look at the readers!! Whee. Yes I bought something (I was taking up space and it was a new horror I've been eyeballing of a harder to find letter for my alphabet challenge (well for 2026).
So I asked her would you be willing to host author signings and book releases? I know several local authors other than me (I think my next release is going to be 100% ebook. The publisher has not mentioned paper.) She lit up. Yes she is. I know not every author is comfortable with this. Some of us (a lot of us) are introverts but hopefully you can balance this with at least getting out there a little. Will you sell scads? Unlikely. Will you sell nothing? (possible. I've been there done that) Will it kick you in the heart (yes) But it's worth a try.
Like me, who was invited to be author in residence/judge at two local cons this year. Yes it fell apart before both cons (including the above mentioned one) but that does make your ego sing a little. If you do do the in person sales, let me suggest bookmarks (or at least a poster) with QR codes with ebook buy links or your webpage or your newsletter sign up. (or all of this)
Open Calls
Into the Deep, Dark Woods (downside to this one, they insist on copyright proof which could easily cost more than you're going to earn
It Came From the Trailer Park: Vol 6 Horror Comedy creature feature with the sub-theme of Prison Planet Earth the downside to this one is they want LONG short stories and if you don't get in you'll be like me with a drawer full of stories too long for nearly every other publisher
Stone’s Throw November 2025 Window Your story must have the setting of an office holiday party (relatively low pay)
Strange Pilgrims, Surreal, speculative, and fabulist stories; unhinged, lyric, and fragmented essays; voice-driven experimental narratives and slow-burn realism; cultural and literary criticism; hyper-intellectual riffs and children’s stories
Speculative fiction from a South Asian perspective that deals with folk tales. narrow perimeters but good pay
No Laughing Matter Fiction which embraces the horror/thriller genres with elements of bleak, black humour, wry observation, a touch of irony and satire, and hints of the absurd.
Walpurgis Witcheries Stories set in Central Europe, and Walpurgis must be integral to the plot with witchery afoot
Ten Manuscript Publishers Open to Direct Submissions in October 2025
72 Specialized Publishers Open to Manuscript Submissions
From around the web
Amazon Advertising For Books With Geoff Affleck
Can Set Up and Backstory Actually Work in Chapter One?
Three Lessons From My First Podcast Tour
From Betty
Five Problems Caused by Tone Mishaps and How to Fix Them.
How Three Book Series Kept Readers Interested.
Three Options for Heroes Who Disobey Orders
10 Dialogue Tips to Consider before You Start Writing
Reviews Light the Way
The Pros and Cons of Writing for Anthologies
Craft a Raptor Hero Not Villain
Picturing Your Characters
What Kind of Writing Monster Is Lurking in Your Brain?
Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Self-Medicating
Writing Through Fear: How to Turn Anxiety Into Creative Strength One for all of us right now
Self-Publishing Success: How to Format Your Book for Print and Ebook (Vellum, Atticus, Kindle Create & More)
How to Know the Ending of Your Story from the Beginning: Using Goal, Motivation, and Conflict
Single vs. Multiple Narrators: Pros and Cons for Novelists
Can Set Up and Backstory Actually Work in Chapter One?.
Your Brain Is a Story Machine
But today DID have a bit of fun and I wanted to make that the focal point of my writerly ways. Networking and bookstores. This weekend a new bookstore opened up in my small town (by one of my former students) It's not that new. It was inside the antique store but that didn't last (sigh) and she's now up near the bank. There were so many women in this small space today you couldn't move. I was glad to see it. Look at the readers!! Whee. Yes I bought something (I was taking up space and it was a new horror I've been eyeballing of a harder to find letter for my alphabet challenge (well for 2026).
So I asked her would you be willing to host author signings and book releases? I know several local authors other than me (I think my next release is going to be 100% ebook. The publisher has not mentioned paper.) She lit up. Yes she is. I know not every author is comfortable with this. Some of us (a lot of us) are introverts but hopefully you can balance this with at least getting out there a little. Will you sell scads? Unlikely. Will you sell nothing? (possible. I've been there done that) Will it kick you in the heart (yes) But it's worth a try.
Like me, who was invited to be author in residence/judge at two local cons this year. Yes it fell apart before both cons (including the above mentioned one) but that does make your ego sing a little. If you do do the in person sales, let me suggest bookmarks (or at least a poster) with QR codes with ebook buy links or your webpage or your newsletter sign up. (or all of this)
Open Calls
Into the Deep, Dark Woods (downside to this one, they insist on copyright proof which could easily cost more than you're going to earn
It Came From the Trailer Park: Vol 6 Horror Comedy creature feature with the sub-theme of Prison Planet Earth the downside to this one is they want LONG short stories and if you don't get in you'll be like me with a drawer full of stories too long for nearly every other publisher
Stone’s Throw November 2025 Window Your story must have the setting of an office holiday party (relatively low pay)
Strange Pilgrims, Surreal, speculative, and fabulist stories; unhinged, lyric, and fragmented essays; voice-driven experimental narratives and slow-burn realism; cultural and literary criticism; hyper-intellectual riffs and children’s stories
Speculative fiction from a South Asian perspective that deals with folk tales. narrow perimeters but good pay
No Laughing Matter Fiction which embraces the horror/thriller genres with elements of bleak, black humour, wry observation, a touch of irony and satire, and hints of the absurd.
Walpurgis Witcheries Stories set in Central Europe, and Walpurgis must be integral to the plot with witchery afoot
Ten Manuscript Publishers Open to Direct Submissions in October 2025
72 Specialized Publishers Open to Manuscript Submissions
From around the web
Amazon Advertising For Books With Geoff Affleck
Can Set Up and Backstory Actually Work in Chapter One?
Three Lessons From My First Podcast Tour
From Betty
Five Problems Caused by Tone Mishaps and How to Fix Them.
How Three Book Series Kept Readers Interested.
Three Options for Heroes Who Disobey Orders
10 Dialogue Tips to Consider before You Start Writing
Reviews Light the Way
The Pros and Cons of Writing for Anthologies
Craft a Raptor Hero Not Villain
Picturing Your Characters
What Kind of Writing Monster Is Lurking in Your Brain?
Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Self-Medicating
Writing Through Fear: How to Turn Anxiety Into Creative Strength One for all of us right now
Self-Publishing Success: How to Format Your Book for Print and Ebook (Vellum, Atticus, Kindle Create & More)
How to Know the Ending of Your Story from the Beginning: Using Goal, Motivation, and Conflict
Single vs. Multiple Narrators: Pros and Cons for Novelists
Can Set Up and Backstory Actually Work in Chapter One?.
Your Brain Is a Story Machine
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no subject
Date: 2025-10-06 10:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-06 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-06 08:40 pm (UTC)(also, got a place to submit a short story via your links!)
no subject
Date: 2025-10-07 03:11 am (UTC)oooo cool, good luck with whichever you're submitting to.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-07 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-09 04:02 am (UTC)