Official author website for Abra Staffin Wiebe

http://www.aswiebe.com/writing/markets.html

The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be on 06/15/2009.

Editor's Note
This month, I had one of the most frustrating (software) experiences imaginable. For the last couple of years, I've used OpenOffice, a free open-source word processor. I work in their format and then save the document in whatever format the editor wants before submitting--usually doc or rtf. I recently had occasion to open up one of those old rtf documents, and what I discovered was disheartening. OpenOffice was not saving the formatting correctly. It only preserved line spacing for the first couple of paragraphs, and if there was any bold or italics in a paragraph, it bolded or italicized the whole paragraph. The alignment got messed up occasionally too. Any writer who's tinkered to get the spacing and the emphasis and the headers exactly the way an editor wants them knows how bad this is. I'm trying very hard not to think about how this must have reflected on my submissions.

AbiWord, another free word processor, can open OpenOffice docs and save them in rtf, preserving the line spacing and emphasis. Woo-hoo! But it had trouble preserving headers. However, if you delete out the headers before you open it in AbiWord and then add the headers in, everything's fine. But, if you then open up the rtf version in OpenOffice or Word, it puts the headers in on the first page too. It's still the best bet for (free) appropriate formating, though. And yes, I'm giving in and acquiring Word, which will presumably save rtf just fine.

The moral of the story is that when you're saving something in another format, you should always open it up and check to see what it looks like--preferably in a couple of different programs.

Learn from my mistake.

Aswiebe's Market List
Aswiebe's Market List is a searchable, sortable spreadsheet of paying fantasy, science fiction, and horror markets. This way it's easy to find, for example, only horror markets that accept reprints greater than 10,000 words. For more information on what it is and how to use it, see About Aswiebe.com's Market Spreadsheet. If you find it useful, please consider donating via PayPal to help support it. If you get a story published in a market you found through this list, let me know and I'll add a note to the next newsletter!

Things Shiny or Useful
* Writing-World feature article, "Music to Write By" (http://www.writing-world.com/newsletter/2009/WW09-09.shtml). I use music to set the writing mood, but the idea of "anchoring" is a new and interesting one. Now I just need to figure out what my starting song should be.
* "Twelve Blunders: How Aspiring Writers Get It Wrong" by Jack McDevitt, via Maggie on the MinnSpec Meetup board: (http://www.sfwa.org/members/mcdevitt/12Blunders.html)
* Ahmed A. Khan's article about lateral thinking for story generation (http://www.writing-world.com/newsletter/2009/WW09-08.shtml).
* Mur Lafferty's "I Should Be Writing" podcast (http://isbw.murlafferty.com/). It's a friendly, approachable podcast that would be great for beginning writers, but is entertaining for (slightly) more advanced ones as well.

Featured Market
Panverse One is the first volume of a planned series of all-novella anthologies.

What we're looking for:

Pro-level novellas of between 15,000 and 40,000 words. Stories should be Science Fiction (any flavor) or Fantasy (except Heroic/High/Superhero/S&S). We'll also look at Magic Realism, Alternate History, and Slipstream (whatever that is). The story should be original and unpublished in any medium (this includes web publication).

What we don't want:

High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Horror, RPG, superhero, or shared-universe stuff, etc. Vampires or Cthulhu stories are strongly discouraged unless you've done something absolutely original with either theme. No gratuitous or wildly excessive sex or violence: what this means is that sex or violence which serves the plot is okay, within limits; the same goes for language. Think R-rated rather than XXX-rated.

Submission basics: Science fiction or some types of fantasy (see above), 15,000-40,000 words. Pays $60 + 2 hardback comp copies. No reprints. Closes to submissions 09/30/2009 or when filled.

Market List Updates
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, go to Aswiebe's Market List, download the latest version of the spreadsheet, and look at the entries changed since 04/15/2008.

New

Bucket o' Guts Press (http://bucketoguts.wordpress.com/guidelines/)

Butterfly Affects, The ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 05/31/2009 (http://atomjackmagazine.com/butterfly_affects_gls.html)

Flash Scribe (http://flashscribe.net/?page_id=3)

Horror Library Vol 4 ANTHOLOGY - DUE WHEN FILLED (end of 2009) (http://cuttingblock.net/submissions.html#hl4)

I, Executioner ANTHOLOGY (Rymfire Books) – DUE 06/15/2009 – 08/15/2009 (http://rymfireebooks.com/submissions.html)

Kid's Ark, The (http://www.thekidsark.com/guidelines.htm)

M-Brane SF Queer ANTHOLOGY - DUE 07/15/2009 (http://mbranesf2.blogspot.com/)

NewFoundSpecFic - BI-ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY - DUE 07/06 & ? (http://www.newfoundspecfic.com/submissions.html)

Niteblade #2 (as yet untitled) ANTHOLOGY - DUE 10/01/2009 (http://niteblade.com/dec09anthology.htm)

Out of Order ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 05/31/2009 (http://eposic.org/submissions/fiction.php)

Panverse One ANTHOLOGY - DUE 09/30/2009 (may close early) (http://www.panversepublishing.com/subs.htm)

Revenant ANTHOLOGY (Rymfire Books) – DUE 06/01/2009 – 08/01/2009 (http://rymfireebooks.com/submissions.html)

Review Fuse Short Story Writing CONTEST - DUE 06/27/2009

(http://www.reviewfuse.com/blog/2009/04/novelette-writing-contest-june-2009/)

State of Horror: Louisiana (Rymfire Books) ANTHOLOGY – DUE 07/01/2009 – 09/01/2009 (http://rymfireebooks.com/submissions.html)

Steampunk Magazine (http://www.steampunkmagazine.com/inside/deadlines-submissions/)

Tweet the Meat (http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.com/)

Writing Shift (http://writingshift.com/guidelines.html)

Changed

Dark Recesses (http://darkrecesses.com/submissions/)

Drabblecast (http://web.me.com/normsherman/Site/Submission_Guidelines.html)

Pedestal Magazine (http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/submitguidelines.php)

Silver Blade - added novellas (http://www.silverblade.net/about4.html)

Tower of Light Fantasy Magazine (http://www.tolfantasy.com/)

No Longer Pays

Bust Down the Door and Eat All the Chickens (http://www.absurdistjournal.com/guidelines.htm)

Dead

The Maguszine

Links
Aswiebe's Market List
About Aswiebe's Market List
Abra Staffin Wiebe's main website
Abra Staffin Wiebe's blog

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin Wiebe, Compiler of Lists

Please feel free to forward this email on to people you think might find it useful. You're also encouraged to link to Aswiebe's Market List on your blog or webpage. If you were forwarded this email and want to subscribe, go here. To report a new paying market, go to my contact page. To unsubscribe, simply reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. But that will make me sad.

http://www.aswiebe.com/writing/markets.html

The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be on 04/15/2009.

Editor's Note
You may remember my venture into self-imposed editing deadlines last month. So far, it's going well--as long as I'm not working full-time (I have an entirely unpredictable schedule at my day job). I'm about 1/3 of the way through my edits.

I also had unexpected good writing news this month. A couple of years ago, I had a story accepted by a publication with a really long publication lead time. I'd expected the story, "Periwinkle Eyes," to be published sometime in 2010, if that gives you any indication! However, it came out in this month's issue of Art Times. Unfortunately, it's distributed by subscription only outside the Northeast (New York and the like), but if you're in the area, pick up a copy and take a look!

Excerpt:

For our first session, she wore a white dress. Even if she hadn't told me, I think I would have guessed. The sound of her movements was stiffer, more abrupt, than when we’d first met. I link that sound to the color white, but maybe she was just shy. I feared she was a skeptic who thought my paintings were popular only for their novelty value.

“Isn’t it the most amazing thing, darling, the man who painted this is blind!”

Aswiebe's Market List
Aswiebe's Market List is a searchable, sortable spreadsheet of paying fantasy, science fiction, and horror markets. This way it's easy to find, for example, only horror markets that accept reprints greater than 10,000 words. For more information on what it is and how to use it, see About Aswiebe.com's Market Spreadsheet. If you find it useful, please consider donating via PayPal to help support it. If you get a story published in a market you found through this list, let me know and I'll add a note to the next newsletter!

Things Shiny or Useful
* 10 Disciplines for Fiction Writers (http://writersdigest.com/article/10_Disciplines_for_Fiction_Writers) - I think that particularly the making lists of rewards and goals would be a good thing for me.
* Article on contacting and following agents and editors on social networks (http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,949f368f-9d02-4035-935e-ca9871e55685.aspx)
* Hilarious publishing 911 "transcript": http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2009/03/publishing-911.html
* Post about "The 5.75 questions you've been avoiding": http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/575+Questions+Youve+Been+Avoiding.aspx
* Via Nathan Bransford's post (http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-week-in-publishing_13.html), the wonderful Query Shark (http://queryshark.blogspot.com/).

Featured Market
The Tangled Bank anthology (http://thetangledbank.com/guidelines/) seeks fiction, artwork, poetry, and comics about evolution and Darwin.

This year marks 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin, and 150 years since the publication of The Origin of Species. To mark the anniversaries, Tangled Bank Press invites submissions for The Tangled Bank, an e-anthology of speculative fiction, artwork, comics, and poetry exploring the legacy of Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution. Illuminate — or obscure — the line between the real and the fantastic. The fiction may be of any speculative genre or cross-genre; demand to be included by the quality of your submission. Artwork and poetry need not be strictly speculative in nature, but must engage with Charles Darwin or evolution. For more about what we’re looking for, see this post.

Explore the process of evolution in any of its forms. Breed us a story that engages the heart and the brain, a story that explores what evolution means to you, a story that evokes wonder or fear, laughter or despair. Take us on a voyage of discovery. Bring back specimens from old worlds, or new ones. Shine a light on dark corners. Illuminate what it means to be human, or inhuman. It could be a hard sf story, a contemporary tale of atheists and creationists, a magic realist story in Charles Darwin’s backyard, a myth of origin, a fairy tale, steampunk, cyberpunk, horror, new weird, old weird, or something entirely different.

Submission basics for fiction: All speculative fiction, 1,000-7,500 words. Pays AU$.01/wd + royalties. No reprints. Submission period 05/01/2009 - 06/30/2009

Market List Updates
To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, go to Aswiebe's Market List, download the latest version of the spreadsheet, and look at the entries changed since 02/16/2008.

New

14th Sam's Dot Drabble Contest, The ONE-TIME CONTEST - DUE 03/31/2009 (http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/drabbler/drabbler14.htm)

All About Eve ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 08/31/2009 (http://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/AllAboutEve.html)

April Devours May Flowers ONE-TIME CONTEST – DUE 03/20/2009 (http://www.snmhorrormag.com/snmsubmissions.htm)

Chimeraworld 6 New World Disorder ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE UNTIL FILLED (http://www.horrorquarterly.com/chimericanabooks/cw6guidelines.html)

Destination: Future ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 03/01/2009 - 06/30/2009 (http://www.hadleyrillebooks.com/DestinationFutureSubs.html)

Ghost Stories and Unusual Tales ANTHOLOGY - DUE 03/31/2009 (http://tampamarketingcompany.blogspot.com/2009/02/get-your-stories-published.html)

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/?page_id=39)

Hideous Evermore ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 03/31/2009 (http://www.shadowcitypress.com/Submissions.htm)

Inclinations (http://inclinationshf.wordpress.com/contribute/)

Innsmouth Free Press (http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/submissions.html)

L&L Dreamspell Publishing (http://www.lldreamspell.com/Guidelines.htm)

New Bedlam Project, The (http://www.newbedlam.com/guidelines.html)

Side Show 2 ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE UNTIL FILLED (http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/sideshow2gl.htm)

Silent Character ONE-TIME CONTEST – DUE 04/15/2009 (http://www.readingwriters.com/contest.htm)

Skulls and Crossbones ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 09/01/2009 (http://mindancerpress.wordpress.com/books/skulls-and-crossbones/)

Tangled Bank, The ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY - DUE 05/01/2009 - 06/30/2009 (http://thetangledbank.com/guidelines/)

Uncharted Sky Podcast (http://unchartedsky.com/?page_id=3)

Back From the Dead

Darwin's Evolutions (http://darwinsevolutions.com/wordpress/index.php/submissions-2/submissions/)

Changed

Dark Recesses (http://www.darkrecesses.com/SubInfo.htm)

Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine, The (http://dunesteef.com/submission-guidelines/)

Martian Wave, The (http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/tmw/guidelines.htm)

Necrotic Tissue (http://www.necrotictissue.com/subguid_O.html)

Sci Phi (http://sciphijournal.com/submission-guidelines/)

Silly Western ANTHOLOGY – DUE 08/01/2009 (http://residentialaliens.blogspot.com/2008/10/silly-western-antho-call-for.html) - deadline extended.

Dead

Cat Tales

Cats with Wings

Dark Krypt

Dreams & Visions

Gemini Novellas

Grendel Song

Thaneros

Yog's Notebook

Anthologies Now Closed to Submissions

Thoughtcrime Experiments

02/15/2010 Market List Update

01/16/2010 Market List Update

12/15/2009 Market List Update

11/15/2009 Market List Update

10/15/2009 Market List Update

09/15/2009 Market List Update

08/15/2009 Market List Update

07/16/2009 Market List Update

06/14/2009 Market List Update

05/15/2009 Market List Update

04/15/2009 Market List Update

03/16/2009 Market List Update

02/15/2009 Market List Update

Lofty guidelines

ADD guidelines

Concrete guidelines

01/16/2009 Market List Update

12/17/2008 Market List Update

11/02/2008 Market List Update