SleuthSayers: The Waiting by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: The Waiting:   by Steve Liskow Lately, I've seen writers posting at various sites that they're having trouble writing now. The lockdown has made ...

SleuthSayers: Cover Me--I'm Going In by John M. Floyd

SleuthSayers: Cover Me--I'm Going In: As if we haven't seen enough blog posts lately about how to sell our fiction . . . My topic today is  cover letters . It came to mind af...

SleuthSayers: Writing to the Don'ts by Elizabeth Zelvin

SleuthSayers: Writing to the Don'ts: In an era when short crime fiction has far fewer and more specialized markets than in the great days when writers could actually make a livi...

SleuthSayers: All We Want for Christmas is a Fair Shot by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: All We Want for Christmas is a Fair Shot: Earlier this year, Alex Acks, in “ Slush v Solicitations: Just tell us where we stand ,” wrote about magazines’ and anthologies’ “complete l...

SleuthSayers: The Second Time Around by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: The Second Time Around:    I'm a writer who's been fortunate enough to publish a fair number of short stories. And one of the best things about that is some...

SleuthSayers: Playing the Numbers by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Playing the Numbers: I like to think the process of getting a short story published is a numbers game—submit enough stories to enough publications and sooner or ...

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 118

As posted by SMFS list member Peter DiChellis…

This week’s blog gulps lemonade under a shade tree with short mystery & crime fiction: links to cool reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes all the latest free-to-read stories from Mystery Tribune.

Plus—Tricks of the trade: EQMM editor Janet Hutchings discusses pandemic reading, writing, and story acceptances.

And a reviewer says the new Ray Bradbury collection demonstrates the “imagination and creativity Bradbury brought to crime fiction.”

A short walk down a dark street (#118). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/23/short-walk-118/

Best wishes,

Peter

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 117

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog scours the world of short mystery & crime fiction for links to an ominous assortment of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes new free-to-read crime stories from All Due Respect and Beat to a Pulp.

Plus—Tricks of the trade: A devotee of “rejectomancy” (the arcane practice of divining hidden meaning from rejection letters) analyzes whether a series of rejections from the same market indicate your writing style isn’t right for that market. Check the comments for an insightful observation from short fiction guru Michael Bracken.

A short walk down a dark street (#117). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/16/short-walk-117/

Best wishes,

Peter

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 116

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog swoons over short mystery & crime fiction with links to star-studded reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes free-to read-stories by Tom Piccirilli, Bill Pronzini, and S.J. Rozan (all repeated from previous posts, in case you missed them the first time).

Plus—Submission calls: Hoosier Noir is open for Indiana-related crime stories. Submissions close September 13th, but the publisher will then open September 15th for marijuana-related crime stories. (Write what you know?)

And a collection of crime stories is on the way from legendary author Ray Bradbury.

A short walk down a dark street (#116). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/09/short-walk-116/

Best wishes,

Peter DiChellis

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 111

News of the new issue by way of Peter DiChellis…

KABOOM! This week’s blog puts on a fireworks show for short mystery and crime fiction: links to awesome reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes a free-to-read Joe R. Lansdale crime-horror mash-up at The Horror ‘Zine.

Plus—submission call: Flash Bang Mysteries is open for submissions until July 31. Check out the details.

And a review of a Stanley Ellin collection of stories about the wickedness that makes human nature “so deplorably fascinating.” The collection’s title story became a classic Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV episode.

Also: Pulp author Talmage Powell wrote over 500 mystery and crime shorts published in pulps and digests. Reviews of a few of them, along with Wildside Press Kindle collections for 46c and 99c.

A short walk down a dark street (#111). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/07/05/short-walk-111/

Best wishes,

Peter

SleuthSayers Blog: Record Keeping by R. T. Lawton

SleuthSayers: Record Keeping: Two weeks ago, Travis posted his spreadsheet method for keeping track of his writing and his submissions. I can see how his method works fo...

SleuthSayers: 2020 Writing Worksheet by Travis Richardson

SleuthSayers: 2020 Writing Worksheet: It’s a new year. 2020. Already 12 days have passed. I’m hoping to attack new projects this year and finish up a few old ones and put them o...

SleuthSayers: Pull on Your Galoshes, We’re Headed into the Slush Pile ...

SleuthSayers: Pull on Your Galoshes, We’re Headed into the Slush...: Earlier this year I joined Black Cat Mystery Magazine as co-editor, replacing the irreplaceable Carla Coupe. Unlike Carla, who performed ...

Criminal Minds: Lightning vs. The Lightning Bug by Paul D. Marks

Criminal Minds: Lightning vs. The Lightning Bug: How do you know when you’re finished and it’s time to submit? Do you take a break or start right on the next one? by Paul D. Marks Secon...

SleuthSayers: When to Enter by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: When to Enter: by Steve Liskow Many moons ago, I discussed why I enter so few writing contests. If there is a hefty entry fee, I stay away. If I don'...

SleuthSayers: A Saturday Post About The Saturday Evening Post by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: A Saturday Post About The Saturday Evening Post: by John M. Floyd A few years ago I discovered a new market for my stories--or, more accurately, I was told about it. It wasn't a ...

SleuthSayers: Please Consider the Attached Story . . . by John M. Floyd

SleuthSayers: Please Consider the Attached Story . . .: by John M. Floyd A lot has changed, in the 25 years I've been submitting short fiction for publcation. The best thing, I suppose...

SleuthSayers: More about Rejections ... again

SleuthSayers: More about Rejections ... again: More about Rejections ... again by O'Neil De Noux Got a polite rejection the other day from the editor of a publication inundated wi...

Guest Post: Mystery Markets for Short Stories: Thinking Outside the Box by Jacqueline Seewald

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:

http://shortmystery.blogspot.com/p/markets.html

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.)

http://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/Default.aspx

(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 

Derringers Entry Deadline is Tonight, 30 January, 11:59PM EST (GMT - 5)

REMINDER: As Derringer Coordinator Dan Persinger has posted to the list-- Derringers Entry Deadline is Tonight, 30 January, 11:59PM EST (GMT - 5)