Turtleduck Press is Open for Submissions

Turtleduck Press, an independent publishing co-op specializing in science fiction and fantasy, is now open to submissions for people wishing to join.

Information about TDP, membership perks, and submission guidelines are available here.

While you’re looking at the submission information, you’re welcome to have a look around the rest of the site. Of particular interest may be our monthly free shorts, as well as the novels and anthologies we have available for sale.

Basically, myself, Siri Paulson, KD Sarge, and Erin Zarro have been having a grand time with TDP over the last three years, and we want to share the wealth and fun. If you think you’d be a good fit, please send a query our way!

And let me know if you have any questions about anything.

Warning: Duotrope Going Subscription

(I see it’s the time of year when the blog snows. Enjoy, Squiders.)

A few times over the years I’ve mentioned Duotrope as a good resource for those of us who write and submit short stories as they list markets and allow you to keep track of who you’ve submitted to, and what their responses were.

Duotrope has always been a donate if you can service, but starting on January 1st, they’re moving to a subscription model. They’re asking for $50/year, or $5/month.

If you can afford it and are willing to, go ahead and continue supporting them. However, one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about this move is that the submission stats, which they list on each market’s page, are going to become skewed as many users stop using the site. If you use these stats, then keep this in mind. (I don’t.)

If you are using Duotrope currently, you may want to back up your information in case you lose access to it when they go to the new model. More information on the changes can be found here.

Here are some alternatives if you don’t want to pay the subscription price (which, to be honest, is a bit steep for the service they provide, IMHO. I’d pay $10, $15, maybe $20 a year).

Microsoft Excel (or, alternatively, Google Drive’s spreadsheet function) can be used to track submissions.

Ralan.com tracks markets if you write speculative fiction.

The Black Hole at critters.org also keeps track of speculative fiction markets.

The forums at Absolute Write often keep track of new markets and anthologies that are currently looking for material, as well as many other useful things.

If you know of any other services that provide similar things, especially websites that keep track of non-speculative fiction markets, please share the wealth, Squiders.

Submission is Scary, but Everything Will Be Okay

Going along with writing fears and insecurity, we have submission. Oh, submission. Perhaps the scariest and most disheartening of all steps of the writing process. You’ve written a story, you’ve edited and polished, and finally you’re ready to let it loose into the world to find its way.

Well. Some of us never get there.

You see, submission is scary because of two reasons. 1) You may get rejected. 2) You may get accepted.

Writing has a strange dichotomy to it. On one hand, we tend to be highly critical of our own works, but on some level we also feel like we’re brilliant. So rejection hurts the latter – sometimes, especially if you have something you’re sending out and sending out and not getting any bites on, you begin to wonder if you’re not so brilliant as you thought, and oh, maybe you suck and everyone’s just been too nice to tell you all these years.

And it does hurt, to send out something you’ve spent a good amount of blood, sweat, and tears on just to get a collection of form rejections.

But I’ve found writers fear success almost as much. When we’re not secretly thinking we’re brilliant, we tend to think that we’re hacks and any and all successes up to this point have been some sort of fluke. And we tend to worry that someday someone is going to figure out that we’re hacks and call us out on it. And every time something is published, it just affords more people to see it and possibly be that one person who realizes that we’re a giant fraud.

So writers sit on stories, revising and revising way past having good reason to revise, or even just stuffing stories in drawers to rot, because they’re afraid to send them out.

Friends. I know it’s stressful. But I’m here to tell you to let them go. Send them out. As long as you’ve edited and done your research so you’re sending things to appropriate markets, no one’s going to laugh at you. Send them out. Everything will be okay. If nothing else, it’s good practice. It will teach you things about your writing. It will teach you things about yourself.

And if this is a career you want – it’s something you’re going to have to do.

 

PPWC and Genre Panels

I seem to be having a bit of an issue getting back into the swing of things post-conference. Brain overload, perhaps? Anyway, my apologies for this entry being so late. Hopefully everything returns to normal tomorrow.

PPWC was a good time again. Learned a lot. As always, a lot of the things are things I already know, subconsciously, but it’s nice to have them pointed out on a level where I can realize what exactly I’m doing and why. And, of course, it’s always nice to spend time talking to everyone.

I will almost always choose to go to a craft workshop over a genre one, but I did manage three genre panels this weekend: a fantasy/paranormal one, a mystery one, and a science fiction one. Part of it is because I like to think I’m fairly well-versed in my genres of choice (see last year’s Subgenre Study series), and part of it is because a lot of the craft panels are applicable to a wider variety of stories. Adding conflict or emotion is just as important in a thriller as a romance as a fantasy.

I hate to say it, but I found the fantasy/paranormal one to be mostly useless. Part of the issue of being on top of things, I guess. But I did learn two things: 1) It is hard to sell a YA paranormal (or dystopia) currently, and 2) Epic/High fantasy is on the way back up. I followed up on the YA paranormal note with an agent later in the day, and she said that the issue is that publishers snatched a whole bunch up all at once and just don’t have any room in their lists for the genre for a few years. On the other hand, let me tell you how excited I am about epic fantasy making a come back. I’m sure we can thank George RR Martin for that fact, but GLEE.

The mystery one was lovely. I do not write mysteries (well, except that one time. We don’t talk about that time.) but I love reading them, especially cozies. (A cozy is where the “detective” is an other-wise normal person who, for whatever reason, finds themselves in the strange position of solving a crime.) But they were lovely, and the notes they gave about red herrings and misdirection will be useful for any genre, as long as you want a little bit of confusion. (And, you know, maybe I’ll give it another go sometime.)

The science fiction one was good, as well. Not just because the panelists got into a fight over the political structure of the Federation (“It’s a communist meritocracy!”), though I admit that sweetened the deal. It was nice and intimate, since 95% of the people at the conference were at Donald Maass’s world-building workshop. And I am not as up on science fiction as I am fantasy. It confirmed some things that I had suspected – such as the near impossibility of selling space-based science fiction (especially space opera) at the moment. The current scifi climate is focused on environmental thrillers and dystopias. Also, a publisher on the panel noted that it was a hard sell for any adult science fiction at the moment; almost everything coming out is YA or children’s.

So I guess I should hold off on that science fiction series I’ve been planning for a while longer.

Last year I came out of PPWC feeling energized and motivated – this year I feel mostly tired and a little discouraged. Not really sure why.

Author Websites

So, I’ve reached a point in my career where I probably need to stop mooching off of free services and create my own website.

The problem?

The last time I had my own website, I was sixteen and firmly believed in some weird movement called the Save the Electrons which preached that black backgrounds on websites saved energy. Or something like that. It was black with neon green text. There were frames.

Obviously, technology has come quite a long ways since those days, and while I’ve had to program the odd thing in my day, I find myself staring at my options without an ounce of understanding. You don’t even really have to program anything any more these days, just pick some sort of engine and a theme and buy a domain, and tada, you’re good to go.

I have two engineering degrees; this should not be as confusing as it is for me.

KD has been a dear and is trying to explain things to me and it is like she is speaking Klingon.

For those of you out there who run your own website, what do you suggest for someone who’s been mooching for the past ten years? I just want something simple and clean and customizable with all the landsquid a girl could want. Something where I can stick on widgets and social media buttons and have it look lovely and professional. Yeeeeessss.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Working on Multiple Projects

Perhaps you’re one of those sane people who works on a single project at a time.  You sit down and work on a one thing from start to finish and then, when you’re done, you move onto the next project.

This post is not for you (and I will be sending the Landsquid to TP your house later).

If you’re anything like the writers I hang out with, you’ve got multiple projects you’re working on.  If you don’t, it might be because life is trying to eat you and you barely have time for any projects, let alone more than one.  Or you’re in your first.  Good for you!  It all goes downhill from here.

(Note to self: do not read Ian’s blog before you write your own.)

It’s a complication of time, honestly.  Once upon a time, I worked on a single project at a time too.  You write one novel.  Then you write the next, and the next.  Then you realize you’ve got to edit the things, and then there’s reader comments to incorporate, and then perhaps you decide you’d like to sell them…next thing you know, you’re up to your shoulders in stories in various stages of the process, and nothing’s getting done.

So how do you dig your way out?

The answer is simple: compartmentalization.

The real issue with working on more than one project at a time is that it’s difficult to get your brain to switch between them.  It’s hard to work on your horror short story when, the day before, you were writing fluffy romantic fanfiction.  Your brain gets into these grooves and wants to stay in them, leading to frustration.

The solution is to give each story their place.  This can work a number of ways, and you’ll probably have to experiment to see what works best for you.  You can compartmentalize by location: write one novel at home, a short story at a coffee shop, fanfiction during your lunch break.  Or by time: mornings are novel, afternoons are short stories, weekends are fanfiction.  Or by the color of fingerless gloves you’re wearing.  It’s up to you.

The idea is that you train your brain to expect to work on something specific under specific circumstances, so when your brain finds itself in those circumstances, it knows what to do and it becomes easier to get into the right frame of mind.  It’s the same idea behind creating a writing environment.

Any tricks to share, Squiders?  What works for you?

Trying to Figure Out Middle Grade Versus Young Adult

I have this novel.  I wrote it in 2006, edited and polished until the end of 2009, and began submitting at the beginning of 2010.  My query kept getting me partial requests, but nothing beyond that, so I rewrote the first chapter.  A couple of times.  And sent it out some more.

I had written it as a YA fantasy, but this year I started to get some interesting feedback – first, from my friends, and then confirmed by an agent.  The writing didn’t sound YA; it sounded MG.

Middle Grade is a growing age category, stuffed somewhere in between chapter books and YA novels, and, to be perfectly honest, not something I had spent a lot of time looking into.

Then a reader told me a different project – also supposed to be YA – also read MG.

So here we are.

There’s nothing wrong with MG – if anything, it may actually be a better age range to be focusing on since it’s growing so fast right now.  But the fact that I thought I was writing YA and apparently am not…that bothers me.

I get a little bitter at times.  I wonder if, in order for something to be considered YA these days, it needs to be dark and sexy and full of unnecessary angst.

My friend and writing partner Sarah tells me that it depends on the focus of the book.  Tweens will read adventure, will accept different things as true.  Teenagers want something different. 

The whole thing makes me wary of my perception of age ranges in general.  Do the adult things I’ve written read like YA?  Should I shift everything one age range down?

If I try to write something specifically MG, will it still read too young?

Do you have a tried and true way to tell what age group a story you’ve written is for?  Any good tips for being able to tell the difference between YA and MG?

Saturday, I Climbed a Mountain

Saturday morning, my husband and I conquered Mount Sherman, peaking at 14,o36 feet.  Here in Colorado we have 54 mountains over 14,000 (Fourteeners, we call them affectionately) and it’s been a goal of mine for some time to reach the top of at least one of them.

Fourteeners are a challenge.  There’s some mild oxygen deprivation (at 14,000 feet, there’s only 40% of the atmosphere that exists at sea-level), which tends to manifest in strange ways.  There’s a strange pressure in your jaw.  You feel like you’re hyperventilating, and you have to stop often, or at least move incredibly slowly.  The tops of the Rockies tend to be loose rock (I can’t help but think that’s how the range got its name) which necessitates scrambling and being extremely careful in your footing, lest you slide off the edge.  There’s biting wind, and the temperature difference between 12,000 and 14,000 feet can often be thirty degrees or more.

I can’t help but compare my summit to novel-writing.  When you start, you aren’t acclimated to the elevation, and every step feels heavy.  You believe there’s no way you’ll ever get to the top.  When you start a novel (or any step of the novel – writing, editing, submission), often one flounders about.  The beginning feels stilted.  Your characters feel bland and uninteresting, and nothing comes out how you pictured it in your head.

But, after some time, things flow better.  It’s easier to put one foot in front of the other, to catch your breath.  The story starts to take an interesting shape, and optimism returns.  You are going to do this, and not only that, you are going to do it so hard it will be epic.

Then you reach the final approach, the last 500-700 feet.  You’re so close.  You can taste it.  But it takes you forever to get there.  You feel like you’re there, but when you reach the top of your current ridge, there’s the mountain, towering over you.  Mocking you.  Those last couple hundred feet seem like an insurmountable obstacle, and no matter how much you trudge, your goal stays just out of reach.

But here’s the thing.  Eventually there’s no more ridges.  You can make the summit if you just keep at it.  So it goes with novels.  The end (of whatever step you’re on) may seem forever further away, but with patience and consistency, it is only a matter of time.

Short Story Markets

So, I was talking to my friend Anne (of Sky Shark fame) last week about short stories and anthologies and how I thought I would try a few more, and she said, “Wow, you know way more about this than I do” and hence I am writing this post.  To share my knowledge with the world, or at least that small part of it that occasionally wanders by.

As we discussed in a recent post, short stories are nice for a variety of reasons: they take less time to complete, it’s easier to juggle multiple submissions, and responses are more frequent. 

So.  Let’s say you’re looking for anthologies accepting submissions, or you have a short story you’ve written and would like to research markets for it.  Where do you go?

I’ve got three websites for you.

1. Duotrope
We’ve discussed this one before.  Duotrope, aside from keeping an eye on anthology, short story, and poetry markets, allows you to keep track of your submissions.  Markets can be searched by genre, length, or alphabetically.  It will also tell you acceptance stats, pay rates, and link you to the market’s website.  This is good for all genres.

2. Ralan
Ralan focuses on speculative fiction, though it also has humor, poetry, and greeting card markets listed.  Ralan divides markets by pay/non-pay and has separate categories for anthologies and books.   It also tracks response times based on the site owner’s personal experiences.  (The Black Hole also tracks response times for speculative fiction markets.)

3. Absolute Write’s Paying Market Forum
Absolute Write is full of useful bits (certainly not least their Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Checks forum, where every publisher or agent known to man is covered) and one of the most useful is their Paying Market forum.  Often you can find markets here that are not listed elsewhere because publishers will come to them and advertise their anthologies, new imprints, contests, etc.  They also have a Non-Paying Market forum.  What’s nice about AW is you can get an idea if something is a major fraud before you waste your time on it.

Hopefully that helps.  Anyone have anything to add to the list?  I write speculative fiction, so that’s where my experience lies, but if anyone has any recommendations for other genres, that would be great.

Submission Tracking and Why You Should Use It

You know how it feels.  You write something, you edit it, you polish it, and finally – FINALLY – it feels like you can let it go, let it out into the world to find its way.

Its horrible, dangerous way, filled with literary agents and editors and critics and…

But I get ahead of myself.

We’re writers.  We’re not necessarily the most organized people on the face of the Earth, but here’s the deal.  If this is something you want to do, if you want to see your name in print and maybe even get paid to put it there, you need to keep track of your submissions.

But Kit, you say, I’ve only got one story out, and I’m only sending it out to three people at a time.  Surely I can keep track of that.

Maybe.  But how do you feel when you’re 25 submissions in and looking for new agents to query?  Have you queried that person before?  What was their response?  Have you queried someone from that same agency before?

This is where tracking comes in handy.  At this moment in time I have one novel, two short stories, and a travel memoir in circulation at various places in the publishing world.  I can tell you where each of those are currently, where they have been, and where I will send them next if the current parties aren’t interested.  Not only does this keep me on top of things, but it gives me a pleasant little tickle of accomplishment as well.  (I admit that may just be because, as an engineer, I like things to be orderly – but I’m betting it works for you too.)

I keep my novel submissions in Excel spreadsheets.  Each line has an agent’s name, their agency and contact information, submission guidelines, any notes I have (such as specialized wants from their blogs), the date I submitted my query to them, the date of their response, and what it was.  (Some also have Partial submission dates and responses, and so forth, according to circumstances.)

But if you’d prefer a more interactive form of tracking, I suggest you use QueryTracker.  (You should be using this website anyway, submission tracking or not, because it’s a wealth of information.)  QueryTracker allows you to see which agents are good fits, talk to other people who have queried them, and determine how long a typical response wait time is, as well as other valuable tools and information.

For short stories, poetry, and things of that general length, I recommend Duotrope.  Duotrope tracks magazines/ezines and anthologies as well as giving you statistics on the percentage of submissions that are rejections/acceptances.  And how do they get said statistics?  By lovely people using their Submission Tracker feature, which is, in itself, very nice.  I use it for all my short stories.  With the Submission Tracker you can note which story you sent where and when, and then there’s a variety of responses you can put in when you receive a reply.  Those responses, in turn, show up as the statistics on a market’s page.

What about you, Squiders?  Any other tracking websites to recommend?  How do you track your submissions?