Market Watch: The Night Land

The Night Lands is open to submissions again. This is a call for stories inspired set in William Hope Hodgson's turn of the century novel (1912). Wiki entry for The Night Land here. 

Great fun, and miillions and millions of years to play with. Guidelines are here.

And a quote form the website to get you into the mood: 

"Not a planet, not a star, shines in the black heavens.

The Days of Light are less than a legend, their stories mouldered to dust amid the chaos of the ancient Libraries.

Yet, within their vast arcology, the last Millions of humanity live and thrive.

---

Outside, the huge entities of the Night Land watch - and wait.

The Last Redoubt has stood ten million years, and may stand ten million years more, but its final fall is inevitable.

---

The Land is as unknown as the depths of space. It holds life, some of it remotely akin to humanity. Fires burn and and shadows creep; cities and lights lie still; clothed and shrouded walkers glide forth.

Other Creatures, vaster than hills and slower and more ponderous than glaciers, wait eternally.

---

Forces stir in the darkness. Messages pass across the Land. From the tower above the Redoubt, the Monstruwacans keep record.

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To this Land go the explorers of the Redoubt.

Rarely, rarely, they return."

Setting Daily Task Targets

I've been setting targets this month. And experimenting with something a little different, a tip I picked up from Booklife by Jeff VanderMeer.

And it's ever so simple, but I've found it really helpful.

Each morning I write out my task list. It only takes a minute or two. So today's list was:It's a mix of writing task and other jobs. I'm editing a story called 'Shadow' and first drafting a novella called 'Stone People.' Anything that doesn't get finished today goes on tomorrow's list. I just work my way down the list, crossing off as I go.

This is an insight into my butterfly way of working. It's not rocket science, but I'm finding it really helpful because: 

a) it stops me procrastinating. If a job is tedious I just split it into smaller sections.
b) there's a real impetus to get things on the list finished. So items 11- 13 were finished today. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have been without the list.

Day five

1. fill in school forms
2. edit page 5 'Shadow'
3. Read and comment on Sylvia's story 
4. edit page 6 'Shadow'
5. read  5000 words on prehistory 
6. sort book shelf
7. first draft 500 words on 'Stone People'
8. Read school newsletter
9. first draft 500 words on 'Stone People'
10. edit page 7 'Shadow'
11. Add School journey dates to diary
12. edit page 8 'Shadow'
13. write Kelda blog

S

How do you Spend your Writing Earnings?

I decided to treat myself with some short story money. So I got friends' membership to the British Museum yesterday. 

Today I went to see the Ice Age Art and the Life and Death in  Pompeii and Herculanuem and hexhibitions. 

I can go and see them and take a friend as often as I want with the membership. 

Have you ever done anything fun with your writing earnings?

Selling Short Stories to Overseas Markets

I would highly recommend Douglas Smith's Foreign Market List. Foreign markets meaning in this case non-English language markets.

 I've just sold a reprint to the Romanian venue Revista SRSFF.

The nice thing about the writing business is that you can resell a story over and over again. Once the rights revert back to you, the writer is free to offer other language rights.

As you will be offering different language rights to different venues, i.e. Romanian language rights to a Romanian publisher, German language rights to a German publisher etc., you are also free to submit a story  simultaneously to different venues.

Douglas Smith provides a good introduction to selling to overseas markets on his website. I would recommend it.

Story Published in 'After Death' Anthology

'After Death' has been published by Dark Moon Books and it includes my story: 'Circling the Stones at Fulcrum's Low.'  I'm looking forward to getting my contributor's copy. It looks great. I'm particularly interested in reading the story about the afterlife of an E-coli. Wow.

Here's the publisher's introduction:
.
"Death. Who has not considered their own mortality and wondered at what awaits, once our frail human shell expires? What occurs after the heart stops beating, after the last breath is drawn, after life as we know it terminates?

  
Does our spirit remain on Earth while the mortal 

body rots? Do remnants of our soul transcend to a celestial Heaven or sink to Hell's torment? Are we offered choices in an individualized afterlife? Can we die again in the hereafter? Is life merely a cosmic joke, or is it an experiment for something greater?
   
Included within this critically acclaimed anthology are answers to these queries alongside tales and suppositions relating from traditional ghosts to the afterlife of e-coli. Explore the afterworld of an Australian cowboy. Discover what the white light really means to the recently departed. Consider the impact of modern, or future, technology on the dead. Follow the karmic path of reincarnation. Travel from the 999th level of Fengdu's Hell to the gates of Robot Heaven.

Enclosed are thirty-four all-new dark and speculative fiction stories, individually illustrated by Audra Phillips, and exploring the possibilities "after death."

Flash Fiction at Aoife's Kiss

My flash fiction, 'Brenna the Raven' is up at Aoife's Kiss, guidelines here.  Good to be table of contents buddies with my friend, Milo Fowler.

Call for Weird Wing Stories

Innsmouth's Free Press is asking for stories and poetry for their next issue with the theme of 'Wings.'

"This October, we will have a special themed issue and we need your submissions. The theme is “Wings.” Why wings? “Pigeons from Hell.”"The Birds”. “The Raven.” These are only a few tales that have included disquieting winged entities. We want to continue the tradition.

From birds to bats, and Mi-Go to the Mothman, we are looking for short stories, flash fiction, and poetry that flaps and terrifies. Stories should adhere to the general guidelines set by Innsmouth Magazine (See here for word count max, pay rates and the like). We want Weird fiction, we want odd and disquieting tales, we want beauty and grotesqueries.

Reprints will be considered, but, as usual, we ask that you notify us if it is a reprint and where it appeared. Please note we are much more interested in reprints that are not currently available online.

Regarding poetry: We don’t usually hold open submissions for poetry. We will consider unsolicited poems for this issue. Send no more than one and follow the guidelines set byInnsmouth Magazine (cover letter, etc.) Poems will be paid at a flat rate of $10.

Submissions for the Wings issue are open from March 25 to July 25. The issue will be released in time for Halloween. Please make sure to label all stories as “Wings: Title of Story."

This issue will mark at change for Innsmouth's Magazine as they switch to a an e-book and print issue and a paid model for readers.