Other publication opportunities
Thanks to Alyson Hilbourne for the link to Fiction On The Web. The publish two stories a week, which can be from 1,000 to 10,000 words. The pay is £15 (or $15 or €15). They'll consider reprints as long as they're not currently available anywhere online, including ebooks.
I thought I'd test them out for you, by sending a story I'd previously had published in a magazine. Submission is by Submittable, so you'll need to set up a (free) account if you don't have one.
The story I sent had been previously published in a womag. It was rejected within days. The feedback suggested they'd have preferred something less light. Feedback is optional. There's a thing to click when submitting if you'd rather not have it.
Bluesky
Alyson saw the above market mentioned on Bluesky. That's a platform I feel could be very useful, but which I'm not currently making the best of. If you're on there, please share your profile and/or that of others you find useful or interesting with regards writing, and I'll add them to the list.
For those unfamiliar with Bluesky, it's just like Twitter used to be, before it got swamped with adverts and bots. If you feel you already have enough social media platforms you're happy with, I wouldn't advise you to add more, as they all take up time, but if you want to add one, or make a switch, it might be worth you taking a look.
Thanks Patsy. I tried with around 8 stories with fiction on the web last year. Most were edgy and not womag stories. All were rejected.
ReplyDeleteI guess the ed didn't like my work! I may try again later but I'll expect a no.
I submitted 2 stories to TPF. One was rejected within 1 day but the other took 4 days. I don't know if that means that I'm getting close.
Just a reminder that if you subscribe to Scribble, you can enter their comp for free and there's unlimited entries, too.
Thanks Patsy & Alyson for all the info. Now I looked up the details of the Jim Baen memorial competition & the cut off for submission is midnight tonight so you would need to have something ready & get it off today.
ReplyDeleteTo add- on fiction on the web, I received feedback on rejected stories, whether I wanted it or not. I'd said that I wasn't bothered, but he provided it anyway, despite the fact that he was overwhelmed with work.
ReplyDeleteI'd also told him that in the event of an acceptance, I'd be unable to accept the £15, as I don't have a PayPal account.
The unwelcome feedback can be quite hurtful at times, so be prepared!
Thank you, Patsy and Alyson. I have to admit, I find feedback useful, but yes, you have to either want it/ask for it, or be prepared to accept/ignore. The thing is, most of us have had things accepted, so in the end, you have to realise you can't please everybody all of the time. I hope to give Fiction on the Web a go. Toasted cheese results out tomorrow... Hmm... Oh, and yet another rejection from TPF so no change there... except it was two days, and it wasn't sent on a Friday night! ;) Like Sharon, I wonder whether the number of days they sit on it reflects how far you are down their line? ;)
ReplyDeleteCan I ask... the PF rejections... Are they standard one liners with the same text each time? Just steeling myself before submitting...
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the info, it's always good to know what opportunities are out there. I'm also on Blue Sky seemed a better option to that other one but I'm not very active on it, perhaps I need to rethink that tactic! Happy writing everyone and fingers crossed for all those submitting.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are. It's a standard reject wording if you're not a published TPF writer.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patsy. Did you try another story with Fiction on the Web?
ReplyDeleteI'm not very active on Blue Sky either. I'm not very active on any social media any more tbh. The amount of advertising on most of the platforms, stops me interacting with the people I want to! (Gripe over)
Alyson
I didn't bother signing up to Bluesky or Threads because I figured that sooner rather than later they'd be as bad as the other social media platforms have become. I'm nowhere near as active on social media as I used to be because I see fewer friends' posts and more and more stupid reels about things that are completely irrelevent to me. I've gone back to email with quite a few friends.
DeleteThanks everyone for the comps info and interesting to read all the comments.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the PF rejections.
I sent off a 3,000 word early summer story to
them on Monday and had it accepted on Tuesday. I wish I could share a formula!
Will have a look at Fiction in the Web - always worth trying.
Happy writing everyone!
Don't worry, Fiona, it's good to know there is success for several from this blog. 🙂
DeleteCongratulations Fiona, that's an amazingly quick turnaround you must have hit the spot! :)
DeleteJust watched a recorded episode of The Repair Shop, featuring a potter's wheel. Was that you and your sister, Fiona?
DeleteHB
Yes it was!
DeleteIt was a lovely piece. Makes for a great story! Do you 'pot' too or stick to being creative with words?
DeleteCongratulations Fiona, on your PF acceptance and also your tv appearance! How wonderful.
DeleteDee
I still enjoy messing with clay but am definitely not a potter.
DeleteKirsten loved being on The Repair Shop while I was definitely in the supporting sister role. (She’s a brilliant singer and actor, still appearing in amateur productions and was on Stars in Their Eyes years ago. All my idea of hell!)
Well done to all with positive news.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, Patsy.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Fiona on the quick TPF acceptance. It's well over a week since I sent a summer story, so I guess that's a no ☹️
HB
Thank you Alyson and Patsy. Lovely to see those blue skies Patsy!
ReplyDeleteDee
If it's been well over a week, with no rejection, I'd be keeping my fingers crossed. I wouldn't guess it's a no at all. I hope it means that they are seriously considering it.
ReplyDeleteSharon, I agree, but since having an editor, I tend not to hear anything back.
DeleteI sent a short story to People's Friend yesterday, so I'll keep my fingers crossed, but...
ReplyDeleteOops = the comment I made above contains a typo. It should say 'irrelevant'. Ugh. I hate making mistakes like this!
ReplyDeleteI'm not on blue sky and I don't intend joining it. I don't have anything to promote or sell. I'm just on FB but there are so many ads on it now and like Liz, i find the unwanted reels irritating. I don't want to waste my time watching videos on FB.
ReplyDelete@ Sharon – I don't know whether or not a longer wait with TPF means anything - but it's possible that a longer wait could mean it's been pased further up the chain.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why FOTW ask if you want the feedback, if they're going to give it anyway,
@ Sheelagh - ooops, I hadn't realised there was so little time! The end of the month must have seemed a long way off when I found the competition.
@ Marguerite - Generally feedback is useful. In the case of FOTW theirs might help you get published with them, but might not be helpful with other markets.
@ Ruth - With all womags you're most likely to get a standard rejection if they don't take the story. If you get anything more personal / specific to your story then consider it a very good sign.
@ Elizabeth - found you!
@ Alyson – I will try them again.
Alyson and @ Liz – I've not tried Threads. Bluesky is moderated and ad free currently (well, people post about their books etc, but you don't see ads or anything else from people you don't follow unless you chose to.)
I'm less active on social media than I used to be too. It seems less fun than it was.
@ Fiona - Congratulations!
3,000 word seasonal ones do seem to get the quickest responses.
Well done on your TV appearance too.
@ HB – If they'd decided not to take it, they'd have told you.
@ Dee – I do like a blue sky even if, at this time of year, it means a low temperature.
@ Helen – Good luck!
@ Liz – I think this blog creates typos. That's my excuse, and everyone else is welcome to share it!
@ Sharon – I suspect the efforts to make us spend more time on FB and/or to make money out of us while we're there will drive many of us away.
Ah right anon. I was under the impression that you weren't a TPF story writer. That why I gave encouragement when your story had been out for over a week. I didn't know you had an editor. I've no idea how long published story writers are expected to wait for a decision. I'm not one of them, so I wouldn't know!
ReplyDeleteI'm on it. I don't use it as often as I did Twitter. Once I left that site (or it left, whatever seems more accurate), I really retreated from social media. I mean, I had over 8000 followers. Do I want to start again? Was it really worth all the time I put in?
ReplyDelete"A good book gets better at the second reading. A great book at the third." — Tyler DeVries
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop
@ J Lenni - found you!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if any social media platforms are worth the time we put in - I suppose it depends what we want to get out of them.
All this talk of social media is making me chuckle. My daily wake up routine is Wordle, Connections, Facebook scroll, Womag blog, Facebook scroll... Facebook scroll... Facebook scroll... I love a random comedy video, or a story about a rescued cat. As for those cheesy Dhar Mann stories with the predictable come uppances... a lovely way to waste ten minutes. Could be why I'm not getting much writing done though!
ReplyDeleteI’ve tried all the social media sites, but ultimately stuck with X as I understood it! Also, the others seemed to be going the same way. I try to follow the sort of people who have lighter subjects to talk about, which seems to prevent me being shown too many (some unavoidable) of the posts I’d rather not have to see.
ReplyDeleteSorry that anonymous comment was from me - I was dashing to get to my daughter’s birthday celebrations!!
ReplyDelete