Please welcome SMFS
list member Jacqueline Seewald to our blog today…
Mystery Markets for Short Stories: Thinking Outside the Box
by Jacqueline Seewald
There are not as many mystery magazines as there once were.
However, there seem to be many more people writing and submitting mystery
fiction than ever before. This can be frustrating for writers, especially those
who are new to the game.
By all means submit your work to the major publications
first. If your work is accepted, celebrate! However, we have all experienced
rejection at one time or other in our careers. So how do we handle it? First,
did the rejection include editorial comments about the work? If so, pay
attention. It means the editor took the time to offer constructive criticism
because he or she thought your work was special. If there are suggestions for
improvement, strongly consider them. Perhaps you should do some rewriting.
You may eventually decide to try some of the smaller
publications, whether online or print. I suggest that you avoid writing only
for “exposure” if possible. There are paying markets that encourage beginners
who lack publishing credits.
Suppose your work has been rejected by all the traditional
mystery publications, should you simply give up? Not if you believe you’ve
written a first-rate story. Be aware that there are other possible fiction
markets out there. A few changes in your story might make the difference.
There is a large market for science fiction, fantasy and
horror. These speculative markets can and will publish mystery stories that
meet their guidelines. The trick is to pay close attention to what they will
acquire and accept. Here’s an example: HYPNOS publishes several volumes per
year. I’ve been published in their magazine for the past four years.
They look for “weird” fiction. My short story “Seekers” was
published in the current Spring 2018 issue. It’s a mystery story in which the
sleuths are Kim Reynolds, psychic librarian, and her fiancé, Mike Gardner, a
homicide detective. They are featured in four of my mystery novels, the last
one being THE BAD WIFE. “Seekers” was inspired by a real life story which
involved two local fires. It’s also a ghost story that has elements of horror
fiction.
However, you must realize that each genre has its own type
of content. Mashups are acceptable, but first you should know the rules of each
genre before you attempt to mix them. Do the research before you start to write
or change your story to suit a particular set of guidelines. Successful writers
are first analytical readers.
Check out the markets for mystery fiction listed on this
blog:
Also of value:
http://ralan.com/ (excellent current market listings for genre
short story fiction of all kinds)
http://darkmarkets.com/ (up-to-date listing
for speculative fiction)
http://sandraseamans.blogspot.com/
(a great resource. Sandra blogs almost every day and offers the most current
market listings. Although her interest is geared toward mystery fiction, you
will find many others listings of value here as well.)
(submission database)
Jacqueline
Seewald ©2018
Multiple
award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald, has taught creative, expository and
technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She
also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist.
Nineteen of her books of fiction have been published including books for
adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and
articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous
anthologies such as: THE WRITER, L.A. TIMES, READER’S DIGEST, PEDESTAL,
SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY MAGAZINE, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, GUMSHOE REVIEW, LIBRARY
JOURNAL, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. Her latest novel,
DEATH
PROMISE, has just been published by Encircle. Her writer’s blog can be found at: http://jacquelineseewald.blogspot.com
