Once upon a time, the now-defunct Redbook Magazine was a key market for short fiction, especially from women writers. In a given week, Redbook received more than 42,000 submissions. They published only 12 a year so the market for short fiction has always been tight.
I think if you can successfully write short fiction, then you hone the skills that will serve you well in writing long fiction even though there is more distinguishing the two forms than mere length.
If you like the short fiction form, reading it, writing it, or both, you've probably wondered where are the markets? I wish I could list ten markets for short fiction that pay well, but I can't.
Short fiction has been dying out in print for the last couple of decades. Sometimes romance publishers produce anthologies of novellas, much longer than the typical short story, from multiple authors, but for the most part, you just don't see short fiction in print publications.
Online markets do publish short fiction, but the quality is uneven, and the pay isn't enough to tempt most pro writers into spending the numerous hours needed to craft the little gem that short fiction should be.
So what's a writer who likes the short fiction form to do?
In my case, as a pro freelance writer and a published novelist, I try to create my own markets. I write a lot of web content using fiction techniques. These little articles, told from the viewpoint of a character I've created, put the point across while entertaining. I liken them to a really good commercial you might see on television that captures your attention so much that you don't flip channels during the breaks.
I've also created an original series for a client's e-newsletter with a new short story each month. The series started in September 2007 and runs through August 2008 and has the premise "pay it forward."
I've loved writing this connected 12 month short fiction series. Sure, the client's product is an integral, though subtle, element in each story, but the story has all the elements good short fiction should have. I'm proud of it, and equally proud of the client's reaction to each month's story.
Take-away truth: sometimes, when there's little demand for a particular form of writing, you have to create your own market.
Moonlight On Snow
Here's some exciting news about a romantic comedy for you from me. MOONLIGHT ON SNOW: A LOVE STORY will be serialized and will run from January through December this year on Romantic4Ever.com, a site that celebrates romance.
Look for Chapter 1 of MOONLIGHT ON SNOW this month. It should be posted any day now.
Look for Chapter 1 of MOONLIGHT ON SNOW this month. It should be posted any day now.
More than good intentions
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
This was one of the first admonitions I remember hearing at church. Back in the day, men of the cloth really loved preaching about Hell and the many ways humanity has of reaching that fearsome place. Give me that old time religion? Nope. You can keep it. I'll take the revised version designed to make you feel good and empowered because I think people as a whole feel bad enough to begin with. We may have been born with original sin but every person I've ever seen seems to have received a heaping of low self-esteem as a side order.
So what does all this have to do with anything? Why it's New Year's Day, that 24 hour period where we all contemplate changes we want to make in ourselves and/or our lives. We are all filled with good intentions on this day.
Unfortunately, good intentions are about as useless as a screen door in a west Texas dust storm. You've got to arm yourself with more than your good intentions if you want to make a change. The real weapon of change is action. You must take specific actions to achieve specific results.
So if you're writing up that fantasy list of resolutions or goals or whatever you want to call them, write down specific actions to take this month, this week, this day that will bring about change in due course. Due course means set a deadline with markers along the way to achieve your goal.
Breaking down the steps between where you are now and where you want to be actually gives you a chance of turning good intentions into achievement.
Good luck and happy new year!
This was one of the first admonitions I remember hearing at church. Back in the day, men of the cloth really loved preaching about Hell and the many ways humanity has of reaching that fearsome place. Give me that old time religion? Nope. You can keep it. I'll take the revised version designed to make you feel good and empowered because I think people as a whole feel bad enough to begin with. We may have been born with original sin but every person I've ever seen seems to have received a heaping of low self-esteem as a side order.
So what does all this have to do with anything? Why it's New Year's Day, that 24 hour period where we all contemplate changes we want to make in ourselves and/or our lives. We are all filled with good intentions on this day.
Unfortunately, good intentions are about as useless as a screen door in a west Texas dust storm. You've got to arm yourself with more than your good intentions if you want to make a change. The real weapon of change is action. You must take specific actions to achieve specific results.
So if you're writing up that fantasy list of resolutions or goals or whatever you want to call them, write down specific actions to take this month, this week, this day that will bring about change in due course. Due course means set a deadline with markers along the way to achieve your goal.
Breaking down the steps between where you are now and where you want to be actually gives you a chance of turning good intentions into achievement.
Good luck and happy new year!
Tech Wars: Survival
In the beginning, I didn't know computers were out to dominate my world. They appeared innocuous, a play thing, possibly a boon to productivity. After the first gray hairs, I realized the truth. The electronic marvels with their chips and their boards were out to get me.
I've been fighting the electronic menace ever since. This week, a mortal blow has been struck against me. Witness it in the wrinkles on my brow, bags under my eyes, sleepless nights, curses ringing in the air wherever I sit or walk. (I'm one of those triple-cussers. If you're from the South, you know what I mean.) All because of this blankety-blank (trying to be genteel in case my mom reads this) new computer with its seductive wide-screen, gigantic hard drive, big ram, and soft purr.
Yes, a new computer is more a pain than a pleasure. Try loading a program that should run perfectly on it except for maybe one file that wasn't upgraded. XP to XP should present no problems. Right? Wrong!
I finally slapped the electronic bitch into submission after I've had to "ghost" it to get it back to factory default a couple of times. I may triumph in the end. Lost the battle but won the war. I hope.
Let me say two words in the event you're thinking about doing the same thing with a year-end clearance bargain of a deal. Restore point. Trust me. You'll save yourself a lot of time, trouble, and gray hair. Create a restore point when you get it working perfectly. Then before uploading each new application, create a restore point.
So say we all.
I've been fighting the electronic menace ever since. This week, a mortal blow has been struck against me. Witness it in the wrinkles on my brow, bags under my eyes, sleepless nights, curses ringing in the air wherever I sit or walk. (I'm one of those triple-cussers. If you're from the South, you know what I mean.) All because of this blankety-blank (trying to be genteel in case my mom reads this) new computer with its seductive wide-screen, gigantic hard drive, big ram, and soft purr.
Yes, a new computer is more a pain than a pleasure. Try loading a program that should run perfectly on it except for maybe one file that wasn't upgraded. XP to XP should present no problems. Right? Wrong!
I finally slapped the electronic bitch into submission after I've had to "ghost" it to get it back to factory default a couple of times. I may triumph in the end. Lost the battle but won the war. I hope.
Let me say two words in the event you're thinking about doing the same thing with a year-end clearance bargain of a deal. Restore point. Trust me. You'll save yourself a lot of time, trouble, and gray hair. Create a restore point when you get it working perfectly. Then before uploading each new application, create a restore point.
So say we all.
National Treasure Book of Secrets
In case you didn't know, my family and I fancy ourselves as movie critics. We discuss our movie list for major holidays. It's usually a family expedition to the local cineplex as long as I promise to keep my mouth shut during the screening. You see, I have an unfortunate habit of pointing out plot loopholes and inconsistent characterization.
What you also may not know is that I get paid to review films for an Internet client so I'm not your typical amateur critic. I've done a few hundred reviews. I'm sometimes amazed at the obscure facts I know about equally obscure films as well as the blockbuster flicks everyone sees.
Today we saw National Treasure. I won't spoil it for others. In a dumbed down world, it was as close to intellectual as you'll probably get this holiday season. It was okay. Nice pacing. Good action sequences. Good emotional tugs at the right spots. I guess I wasn't enthralled because it didn't have as much puzzle as the first movie.
That lovely historical element of following the clues, all supposedly based in history, was a huge part of the first film's appeal, even for non-history lovers.
Book of Secrets did a good job of picking up the previous movie's characters with Helen Mirren added as Mom to Ben Gates and ex-wife of Ben's dad. The characters were believable with good relationships between them. Riley is so adorable, and the part where his closest friends didn't buy his book was, unfortunately, too believable.
I've seen that happen, and not just to me. You write a book and get it published. You think all your family and friends will run out and buy the book. Not! Too many times, they ask you to give you a copy for free. Guess none of them know that your royalties are based on sales. Not giveaways. But, *sigh*, I digress.
I like the Ben Gates character as someone who cares deeply about his country, his history, his family, and all those other old-fashioned qualities I hold so dear. Cage does a nice job in the way he plays Ben Gates.
Don't be surprised at the blatant setup for National Treasure 3. I think they might need a little help in coming up with another mysterious treasure though because they don't seem to have thought of some more doable scenarios than the one with which they ran.
Hey, Hollywood! Have your people call my people. We'll do lunch. I'll give you a list of treasure scenarios for #3.
Uh oh! I forgot. I don't have any people. Okay. Email me. I'll start that list tomorrow.
What you also may not know is that I get paid to review films for an Internet client so I'm not your typical amateur critic. I've done a few hundred reviews. I'm sometimes amazed at the obscure facts I know about equally obscure films as well as the blockbuster flicks everyone sees.
Today we saw National Treasure. I won't spoil it for others. In a dumbed down world, it was as close to intellectual as you'll probably get this holiday season. It was okay. Nice pacing. Good action sequences. Good emotional tugs at the right spots. I guess I wasn't enthralled because it didn't have as much puzzle as the first movie.
That lovely historical element of following the clues, all supposedly based in history, was a huge part of the first film's appeal, even for non-history lovers.
Book of Secrets did a good job of picking up the previous movie's characters with Helen Mirren added as Mom to Ben Gates and ex-wife of Ben's dad. The characters were believable with good relationships between them. Riley is so adorable, and the part where his closest friends didn't buy his book was, unfortunately, too believable.
I've seen that happen, and not just to me. You write a book and get it published. You think all your family and friends will run out and buy the book. Not! Too many times, they ask you to give you a copy for free. Guess none of them know that your royalties are based on sales. Not giveaways. But, *sigh*, I digress.
I like the Ben Gates character as someone who cares deeply about his country, his history, his family, and all those other old-fashioned qualities I hold so dear. Cage does a nice job in the way he plays Ben Gates.
Don't be surprised at the blatant setup for National Treasure 3. I think they might need a little help in coming up with another mysterious treasure though because they don't seem to have thought of some more doable scenarios than the one with which they ran.
Hey, Hollywood! Have your people call my people. We'll do lunch. I'll give you a list of treasure scenarios for #3.
Uh oh! I forgot. I don't have any people. Okay. Email me. I'll start that list tomorrow.
I Am Legend
I'm trying to decide whether to see this flick. Anyone know if it is true to Richard Matheson's 1954 novel on which it's based? Or is it a departure like the second film adaptation of it, The Omega Man?
I won't spoil it for you in case you haven't seen the latest adaptation starring Will Smith or read Matheson's seminal book, but this just doesn't strike me as a Christmas feel-good movie. Why didn't they make this for a summer blockbuster premiere?
I won't spoil it for you in case you haven't seen the latest adaptation starring Will Smith or read Matheson's seminal book, but this just doesn't strike me as a Christmas feel-good movie. Why didn't they make this for a summer blockbuster premiere?
Click to give aid and comfort
By a simple click, you can help feed shelter animals, fund literacy, feed the hungry, save the rain forests, and find a cure for breast cancer.
This is legit. My friend Perry in Oklahoma sent this to me. He verified it through Snopes. Just click to verify for yourself if you wish.
Please help! It's simple and takes just a couple of seconds.
The Animal Rescue Site is in dire need. They're having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. I did it. It just takes a few seconds. I also clicked the other tabs and their CLICK button too.
Doing this doesn't cost a single penny. The sites have corporate sponsors and/or advertisers who donate according to the number of daily clicks. They donate food for abandoned or neglected animals in exchange for advertising.
Please forward this to other people by email or blog. The need is real. You can do something worthwhile that will make you feel good and won't cost a thing. Unless you order some of the really great products they offer at each site. Yeah, I did a little January birthday shopping.
The campaign to get people to go to the site and click the appropriate button needs your help. Visit the different tabs and CLICK to donate today.
This is legit. My friend Perry in Oklahoma sent this to me. He verified it through Snopes. Just click to verify for yourself if you wish.
Please help! It's simple and takes just a couple of seconds.
The Animal Rescue Site is in dire need. They're having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. I did it. It just takes a few seconds. I also clicked the other tabs and their CLICK button too.
Doing this doesn't cost a single penny. The sites have corporate sponsors and/or advertisers who donate according to the number of daily clicks. They donate food for abandoned or neglected animals in exchange for advertising.
Please forward this to other people by email or blog. The need is real. You can do something worthwhile that will make you feel good and won't cost a thing. Unless you order some of the really great products they offer at each site. Yeah, I did a little January birthday shopping.
The campaign to get people to go to the site and click the appropriate button needs your help. Visit the different tabs and CLICK to donate today.
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