Best of the Web Nomination

I got word from my editor over at KYSO Flash that they want to nominate my story, Bless the Sniper, for a Best of the Net award over at Sundance Publications. Thanks Clare MacQueen for the vote of confidence.

Friends, you can read the story now at KYSO Flash via http://www.kysoflash.com/DavenportSniper.aspx

Jesus is King

Finally working on a new story after a complicated move back North. It's another second person POV - an approach that's challenging but I think interesting. So many stories rely on first person POV these days - too many I think. But second person remains fairly uncommon. The story is another inspired by my sojourn in the South - this one by an older gentleman who walks around downtown with a sign reading "One Nation Under God Jesus is King" in bright red letters.

Happy to announce praise for a short story

I'm thrilled that a lit journal reviewer has mentioned my short story in his review of KYSO Flash. Bless the Sniper was my first published story. The reviewer called it "a memorable micro story".
Here's a link to the review:
http://www.thereviewreview.net/reviews/new-online-mag-showcases-wealth-flash-fiction-forms

Second Story of My 51 Bad Short Story Challenge Published

The second story I wrote for 51 Bad Short Story challenge is now available in the latest issue of the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. It's the first story I have written in first person. It is in the issue called Strangers. Here's a link.

First Published Pieces in the 51 Bad Short Stories Challenge

Two of my very short stories appear in this issue of Kyso Flash. Don't forget, my writer friends, that Kyso is a paying market.

http://www.kysoflash.com/ContentsIssue3.aspx

Where I Send My Work

Several fellow writers have asked me how I pick the markets for my stories in the 51 Bad Short Stories challenge. I start by seeking out as many paying markets as possible that seem a decent fit for the story. Then, if there aren't 20 of those, I move to non-paying markets that don't charge a fee to submit. (More and more journals seem to be charging a fee of $3-$5 just to submit a work. That can add up. My rule is to only pay a small fee if the market is a paying market. )

Where do I find markets? Here are some sources that I regularly use. Some have overlapping information:

http://www.thereviewreview.net/publishing-tips/show-me-literary-magazines-pay

http://www.authorspublish.com/10-literary-journals-that-pay-their-writers/

http://www.everywritersresource.com/literary-magazines-the-pay/

http://www.newpages.com/magazines/literary-magazines

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/get-published-sell-my-work/get_inside_the_top_30_short_story_markets

http://www.thereviewreview.net/reviews

Post-Apocalyptic Short Story Featuring Disabled Character? Sure, No Problem

For the third story in my 51 Bad Short Story challenge - something different. Why not respond to a call for a specific type of story for an anthology that's been crowd-sourced and will pay writers for stories included? Given my penchant for the Apocalypse, this one seems a fun challenge. There's one deviation from my previously stated rules, though. This publisher says no simultaneous submissions, so this one won't go out to 20 markets right away.

The requirement is to write a 3,000-7,000 word short story featuring a post-apocalyptic world that includes a disabled character making his or her way through the crisis. Game on!

Interested in joining the fun? Here are the details:

http://defyingdoomsday.twelfthplanetpress.com/submissions/

Success! Second Story Accepted

I just received word that my second story in this project - a 1700 word short story set in Post-War Norway, has been accepted. For those keeping track, here are the statistics for "Hjemmelandet" -

Submitted to 20 markets
Rejected by 5 markets
Withdrawn from 15 markets

Here's the acceptance:

Dear Anniken

Thank you very much for your submission of "Hjemmelandet" to Halfway Down the Stairs.  We appreciate your interest and I apologize for the delay in our response.

The other fiction editors and I really liked this piece, and we would be keen to accept it for our upcoming issue (for publication on June 1)!  However, I'm aware some other 'zine may have snapped it up already?  Could you please let us know if so, or if you have any questions whatsover!

Kind regards

Alison Stedman
Senior Fiction Editor

Second Story Rejected with Request for More Stories

My second story for this project, a story set in Norway post-war, has been rejected. The rejection came with an invitation to submit more work. My readers know I am now behind schedule on story writing, but I will shortly catch up. Here's the rejection:

Dear Anniken,

Thank you for your submission "Hjemmelandet". We regret to inform you it is not what we are looking for at the moment. It came across as too dense and it read more like a novel outline rather than a complete short story.

What we really like is your writing style. We would be more than happy to read something else written by you.

It's a Numbers Game - Another Story Accepted

I just got word that my first story in the 51 Bad Short Stories challenge has been accepted for publication. Here are the submissions numbers:

Submitted to 22 markets
Rejected by 9 markets
Accepted by 1 market
Withdrawn before decision in 12 markets.

Here's the acceptance and a link to the journal for anyone interested in submitting:

Dear Anniken Davenport, 

"The Scoop" has been accepted. A link will be provided upon publication. Thank you for contributing to Crab Fat. 

Sincerely, 
EllaAnn Weaver 
Crab Fat Literary Magazine 
http://www.crabfatmagazine.com 

Getting Paid for Literary Fiction

Anyone who knows me knows I rail against the practice of literary journals not paying their writers. They surely pay the printer, the electric company, the web hosting company and so on, but they seldom pay their writers. And without those writers, there would be no journal. That never made sense to me.

The lack of pay was one reason I have been reluctant to send stories out. It simply irked me that I would be providing content without as much as a penny a word of pay. Too many of my fellow writers are so desperate for publication credits that they feel they have no choice but to give their stories away. So when I began this experiment, I concentrated on markets that pay something other than copies. And my first publication will be in a paying market. In fact, that publication, KYSO Flash, has already paid me for two stories that will appear in their June 2015 issue.

If you are looking for a paying market, check them out. The editor is great to work with, quick to respond and a genuinely nice person. And if you are feeling generous and would like to support a paying market, consider making a donation via their Paypal link. We need more paying markets, but we have to support those markets too - by reading the publications, spreading the word and making a donation when we can.

First Success!

I am happy to announce that I have had my first success. You may recall that my first week's story was rejected with an invitation to submit additional work through a special link. I submitted three stories last night and got a quick response offering to purchase two of the three. The editor suggested  a few edits, which were excellent and made the story better.

So my first literary short story publication is a paying market - which makes me quite happy on the principle that writers should be paid for their work. Here's the acceptance:

Dear Ms. Davenport,

Thanks so much for submitting three more stories for consideration! I very much enjoyed reading them and would be delighted and honored to publish two of them in the next issue of KYSO Flash: 

“The Lonely Ones” and 

“Bless the Sniper” 

I would like to suggest several small edits to "The Lonely Ones," simply as refinements here and there. Attached is a copy of your story, which includes my suggestions and comments highlighted in yellow.

After I hear from you in return, I’ll email you a publishing agreement which describes the rights we’re interested in for both stories, as well as payment details. Since Issue 3 is scheduled to launch online in 17 days, I hope you will be able to reply within the next day or two. 

I look forward to your thoughts. Thanks again! 

All best wishes,

--Clare 

Rejection with Kind Words and Plain Rejection

Another rejection, but with kind words to soothe the soul:
Dear Anniken:

Thank you for submitting "The Lonely Ones" to the Norwegian American Weekly. We gave the story careful consideration, and though we are not accepting it for publication, we hope you find a better fit for it elsewhere.

This was beautifully written, but it ultimately just didn't feel like a fit for this publication.

Thanks again for trusting us with your work.

Best,

Emily C. Skaftun
Editor-in-chief
Norwegian American Weekly

And plain old rejection:

Dear Anniken Davenport,

Thank you for sending us your work. Unfortunately, we are unable to use your manuscript at this time. Nonetheless, we are honored that you thought of us, and wish you the best in placing your work elsewhere. 

Sincerely,

The Editors of RHINO Poetry

Rejection with Request for More and Form Rejection

Overnight, I received this lovely and lengthy rejection informing me that I had first screwed up the formatting of my story (presumably I missed something in the guidelines, which I will double check) and second, that the story was not right for their current issue. However, they invited additional submissions because "we like your writing." So I shall submit more. I also received an unabashedly form rejection for the same story. Here are the two rejection:

Dear Anniken Davenport, 

Thank you for submitting "The Scoop" for publication in KYSO Flash. We appreciate the opportunity to read and consider your work. However, your story does not meet our formatting guidelines, nor our needs for Issue 3. 

Because we like your writing, we would like to invite you to submit other short works for consideration, with NO additional admin fee required. Please read our formatting guidelines, and then feel free to use the following link, which will accept submissions through the 15th of May, free of charge. 

(deleted link as it is indeed a direct link for submitted solicited work)

If this link does not work when you click on it, then please cut and paste it into your browser's address bar. 

We look forward to reading more of your writing and hope that you will submit other works soon via this link. And we wish you the best of luck with placing "The Scoop" elsewhere. 

All best wishes, 
--Clare 
-------------------------------------------------- 
Clare MacQueen 

And:

Dear Anniken,

Thank you for your submission of "The Scoop" to Fireside, but we've decided not to accept it for publication. Please forgive the form letter, but due to the high volume of submissions we can't respond personally on each story. We appreciate your interest in Fireside.

Sincerely,
Brian White

First Rejection on Story # 2

And 36 hours after submitting it - a rejection.

Anniken -- 

Thanks for the submission. Unfortunately we're going to have to pass on "Hjemmelandet." It's just not quite what we're looking for right now. 

Best of luck in placing your story elsewhere. 

-- Jersey Devil Press

Rejection with Comments

Another rejection rolled in this morning. It's a good rejection. It has comments indicating someone actually read it and considered it. The rejection was for story #1 in the series, titled The Scoop. It is an unconventional 500 word flash piece told as a one-person monologue of sorts that I characterized as quasi-horror. In other words, it's probably going to be hard to place. Think The Reluctant Fundamentalist technique-wise but flash length. I've copied the rejection below. My plan for next week's story will be something more conventional, but targeted to this particular magazine given that they actually read the submission and made comments that were helpful in some small measure. Oh, they also happen to be a paying market, which is a big plus in my book. The magazine is Hypnos, put out by Radium Town Press.

Ms. Davenport:  

Over the weekend, we've been reviewing your recent submission "The Scoop," and we've decided not to purchase it for our upcoming issue. I'm no longer offering feedback because we've had to reject too many good stories simply because they weren't right for our market, and I want our contributors, regardless of the criticism they may receive from professors, writing groups, MFA programs, etc., to follow their own instincts. With that said, you might find unconventional narratives like "The Scoop" harder to place than more traditional tales---at least at first. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Kristen Marie, ed.

On Literary Journals

I've now submitted my second story in the challenge to 20 literary journals. There are thousands of possibilities, it seems. And all have the most unlikely of names. It's almost as if the founding editors used a random word generator to choose their journal's name. I've combined a few. How about Hark the Jersey Devil. Or Guernica Declared Halfway Down the Stairs? As I browsed through the listings, I couldn't help but think that this process is the equivalent of the academic "publish or perish" approach to getting tenure. Writers submit and hope an editor at one of the thousands of journals out there will put their work in print or online so they can add it to their writing resume so that someday someone will buy the collection or their novel. I wouldn't be surprised if soon lit journals will charge writers a substantial fee for publication. Quite a few already charge for contests (at least there is the possibility of a prize) and for regular submissions. Editors argue that otherwise they would be overwhelmed with submissions and the $3-$5 charge isn't much more than writers would pay to snail mail the same story in the old days. But still -

Anyway, my post-war story, Hjemmelandet, has been submitted to the following lit journals (none of which charged a fee though at least one offered expedited rejection if I paid for the privilege):

• Wag’s Review
• Foundling Review
• Litro Mag
• Change Seven
• Circa Mag
• East Jasmine Review
• Green Briar Review
• Halfway Down the Stairs
• Hobart
• Hypertrophic Literary
• Jersey Devil
• Cecil’s
• Louisville Review
• The Masters Review
• Cigale Literary Magazine
• Seven Circle Press
• Gone Lawn
• Guernica Magazine
• Hark
• Isthmus

Story # 2 Done

My second story in the Bradbury short story challenge is officially done and ready to send out. As I did last week, the aim is 20 markets and keep it in circulation until someone, somewhere accepts it. So far, Story # 1 has been rejected twice, and is still in play at 20 literary or not-so-literary 'zines.

Second Story Finished

Week two and the second story draft is finished. It's a long one for me, clocking in at 1,600 words. Who knows, it may grow longer on rewriting. It's also the first time I've done a purely first person story.

Another Record Fast Rejection

Rejection #2 -This one quicker yet - a mere 16 hours. But, hey, look at that encouraging note - “please consider submitting again” - yeah, OK as soon as I write another scary short short. Here is the rejection: Anniken, Thank you for submitting your story "The Scoop" for publication in WitchWorks Magazine. However, I am going to pass on this story at this time. It simply didn't grab my attention as some of the other submissions did. Thank you and please consider submitting again.  Sincerely, Noah C. Patterson Editor-in-Chief WitchWorks Magazine

21 Markets and Counting

I have now dutifully followed Ed Perlman’s suggestion that the way to get published is to keep works in constant circulation - submit to 20 markets at any given time. I’ve submitted The Scoop to 21 markets, was already rejected for one and now wait for the next rejection while moving on to write story number 2. And yes, each market was researched, I followed all directions for each submission and made sure the market was appropriate for the story. We shall see…..The markets are: 1. Cosmonauts Avenue 2. Baltimore Review 3. Rhino 4. Flapperhouse 5. Badlands 6. Kyso Flash 7. Witch Works 8. Compose 9. Radium Town 10. Toasted Cheese 11. Noche Obscura 12. AGNI 13. Contrary 14. Fireside 15. Fail Better 16. Shady Doors 17. Crab Fat 18. The Sonder Review 19. Penumbra Review 20. Inkdot

Rejection Number One

Well, the first rejection has rolled in - less than 24 hours since I submitted the first story in this experiment. Here's what the literary journal Flapper House had to say: Anniken, Thank you again for giving us the chance to consider "The Scoop." We're sorry to say that it's not quite what we're looking for right now, but we hope you find a good home for it soon. If you wish to send us more of your work, we kindly ask that you wait at least one month, after we've had a chance to work through our current queue of submissions. All the Best, Joseph P. O'Brien editor

Revision

My beta reader liked it. Made a few changes and started sending it out. Submitted to 9 markets today

Story #1

Finished the first draft of the first story. I've called it The Scoop. Short-short 500 words, told through one-sided first person monologue. Genre = Horror/Suspense. Tomorrow, revision followed by submission to markets.

Prolific writer Ray Bradbury is said to have admonished writers to write one short story every week for a year on the premise that one cannot write 52 bad short stories in a row. I have set out to prove this either right or wrong. These are the rules of the game: 1. Write one short story every week for a year. 2. Send each story out to potential markets as soon as it is written, using Ed Perlman's thesis class advice that getting published takes relentless submission to literary markets. Each story will be queried to 20 markets at any given time. 3. Stories must vary in length, style, voice, point of view and subject matter. Let the experiment begin.