On Writing - "Can You Do It Wrong?" by Cat Rambo

It's Monday morning, your fingers are frozen on the keyboard, and your eyes are darting from that blank screen to a bunch of scribbled notes that look like gibberish to your brain.  Take a break and go read this essay by Cat Rambo.  It'll help.

The First Line - Open for Submissions

There haven't been many interesting markets to post the last few days but I did find that The First Line has posted all their first lines for 2015.  First up for the Spring issue is "Fairy tales hardly ever come true for quiet girls.".  You have 300 to 5000 words in any genre.  The deadline is February 1, 2015 and payment is $25 to $50 depending on length.  You can find the details here.  They're also looking for serial stories that use all the first lines which could be an interesting challenge.

Unsung Stories - Call for Submissions

UK publisher Unsung Stories is opening submissions for short stories up to 3000 words in the genres of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and those weird in between stories.  They will send the stories out in their newsletter along with posting them online.  They have an online submission form.  Payment is 25pounds.  You can find the details here.

Shock Totem - Reading Period Winding Down

Just a reminder that Shock Totem's reading period ends on November 30.  This is a paying market for dark fiction.  They're looking for micro-flash, flash, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction.  Payment is 5cents a word for original work and 2cents a word for reprints with a cap of $250 for both.  Submissions are through Submittable.  Guidelines are here.

Lamplight - Open for Submissions

Lamplight magazine is open for submissions.  They're looking for dark literary fiction in the genres of horror, noir, and dark fantasy.  They need flash to 1000 words and shorts of 2000 to 7000 words.  They publish in both print and ebook formats.  Payment is $50 for flash and $150 for shorts.  Submissions are through Submittable but their guidelines are here.

The Cleveland Scene - Call for Submissions

The Cleveland Scene newspaper has posted a call for submissions to their "Second Annual Cleveland Science Fiction Issue".  They're looking for sci-fi stories up to 3500 words with a December 15 deadline.  They will give preference to writers from Cleveland but everyone is welcome to submit.  Payment will be discussed if your story is selected.  You can find the call here.

Charon Coin Press - Anthology Call

If you're into romance you might find this anthology call from Charon Coin Press interesting.  For "Carpe Noctem - Truly, Madly, Deeply" they're looking for stories of romance between a human and a supernatural creature, basically a mix of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.  Stories should be 4000 to 10,000 words.  The deadline is February 1 and payment is a royalty split.  You can find the details here.

I've Made a Small Change to the Blog

Most of you know that for the most part I'm computer illiterate.  I'm always afraid to touch anything for fear of losing what I have on the site, but yesterday I added two new "gadgets" to the blog.  Down at the bottom of the page I've added "feeds" for the blog so you can sign up to receive posts in your email or via other sources.  Hope this helps those who follow the blog.

The Big Click - New Issue

The November/December issue of The Big Click has hit the streets.  You can purchase it for your Kindle or read it piecemeal online.

FictionVale - Open for Submissions

FictionVale has opened submissions for their seventh issue.  The theme this time is open genre.  They're looking for short stories up to 5000 words, flash to 1000, and micro-flash to 100 words.  The deadline for this issue is December 1.  Payment is 2cents a word.  Submissions are through Submittable.  You can find all the details here.

Since their guidelines page is rather confusing, here's the call for submissions for issue #7 which they refer to as episodes.

Yellow Mama - New Issue

The newest issue of Yellow Mama has gone live for your reading pleasure.

ThugLit - New Issue

Issue #14 of ThugLit is now available for your Kindles.

Shroud - Open for Submissions

Shroud Magazine has opened for submission of dark fiction in all the genres.  Flash of 500 to 1000 words pays $25, shorts of 2000 to 5000 pays $50, 5000 and up receives $65, and $10 for poetry and reprints.  Submissions are through Submittable - there are some paying categories but you can submit for free.  You can find the details here.