The scattered thoughts of short story writer Sandra Seamans
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Fireside Magazine - Open for Flash Submissions
Fireside Magazine is open for flash submissions (under 1000 words) in any genre, just tell a great story. The deadline is April 11 and payment is 12.5cents a word. You can find all the details here.
Have you noticed this new trend that disturbs me. A story is accepted and the issue or anthology just never appears. You may or may not get an excuse from the editor. So your story is tied up indefinitely and yet removing it seems mean. I have one or two accepted almost a year ago now. I am getting too old to wait that long.
It isn't a new trend, Patti. Waiting has always been the way the publishing business has worked. I think the online writers have gotten spoiled by the quick publication turnarounds. And I know how you feel, I submitted a story last year to an anthology and still haven't heard back. Hopefully it's because they want it.
I used to be a full-time freelancer a few years ago, then switched to a day job. Now that I'm doing it full-time, it does seem like my work is getting held up more often and for longer stretches than it was 3 years ago. The new trend that surprises me is that it now seems to be common practice to give a publication date on acceptance that holds absolutely no bearing on when your piece will actually be published, with no updates from the publisher. Which is very frustrating for making a budget, if you're being paid on publication.
4 comments:
Have you noticed this new trend that disturbs me. A story is accepted and the issue or anthology just never appears. You may or may not get an excuse from the editor. So your story is tied up indefinitely and yet removing it seems mean. I have one or two accepted almost a year ago now. I am getting too old to wait that long.
It isn't a new trend, Patti. Waiting has always been the way the publishing business has worked. I think the online writers have gotten spoiled by the quick publication turnarounds. And I know how you feel, I submitted a story last year to an anthology and still haven't heard back. Hopefully it's because they want it.
I used to be a full-time freelancer a few years ago, then switched to a day job. Now that I'm doing it full-time, it does seem like my work is getting held up more often and for longer stretches than it was 3 years ago. The new trend that surprises me is that it now seems to be common practice to give a publication date on acceptance that holds absolutely no bearing on when your piece will actually be published, with no updates from the publisher. Which is very frustrating for making a budget, if you're being paid on publication.
Yes, it's very hard to keep to a budget when you don't know what's coming in and when.
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