In today’s Journal
* A New Short Story Market
* A Tiny Marketing Strategy
* Of Interest
A New Short Story Market
From subscriber and writer friend Dawn M. Turner,
“Do you have subscribers who write horror and/or paranormal short stories? A YouTube channel I follow … is now offering .03 per word for short stories they narrate on their channel.
“They provide credit to each writer when stories are presented, so it might be a good way to get some spare change AND help with name recognition.”
For details, see https://www.youtube.com/c/DarknessPrevails.
And (not about writing, but) if you’re interested in really great looking beaded designs for yourself or to give as gifts, visit Dawn’s Etsy store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TurnerTreasuresUS. Everything from pen covers to bells to ornaments to whatever else. Take a look.
A Tiny Marketing Strategy
Dawn didn’t ask me to mention that last part, by the way, but she made the URL for her Etsy site and the URL for her author website available to me in the signature in her email.
Those of you who have received emails from me know that I also use the signature feature. Mine looks like this:
* * *
I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at 3 a.m.
https://harveystanbrough.com — my author website
https://hestanbrough.com — my instructive Daily Journal
https://StoneThreadPublishing.com — my publisher website
The point is, if you do NOT use the signature feature at the bottom of your email, you’re missing a sure bet.
Will using the signature cause every recipient of every email to click through every time? Of course not.
But using the signature is a one-time investment (the few minutes it takes to set it up) that can pay dividends for as long as you’re using that email address. Should someone wonder about your website or publisher or whatever, all they have to do is click the appropriate link in your signature.
Becoming known is all about making yourself available via your email signature, in the back matter of your books, and even in person.
Back in the day, I used to do the same thing at writers’ conferences where I was invited to speak. Most presenters would present their session, then disappear into their room upstairs.
After I presented a session, I usually hung out in the lobby, or more likely in the restaurant or bar, always at a large table. In other words, I made myself available to anyone who wanted to talk.
I think the conference in Tulsa (or maybe Tucson) was where I first explained the heirarchy of the writing business to a young writer:
“Writers are the only truly important part of the writing and publishg business.”
The writer frowned. “Really?”
“Sure. Do you know what writers would do if there were no editors or publishers?”
“No.”
“They’d write. But do you know what editors and publishers would do if there were no writers?”
“No.”
I grinned. “You want fries with that?” (I stand by that, by the way.)
Thanks for letting me reminisce. Now go add a signature to your outgoing emails.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Nuclear War Map” at https://www.christopherminson.com/articles/nuclearwarmap.html. From the links near the top of the page, you may choose between a large-scale attack, a single-city attack, or both. I suggest reading the page first. Great info for SF, action-adventure, thriller and other writers.
See “A Brief Adventure” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/a-brief-adventure/. You can’t make this stuff up. Life happens. This is exactly why I preach simply recording what happens as your characters live their lives.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 590 words
Writing of The Stirchians (novel, tentative title)
Day 1…… 4106 words. Total words to date…… 4106
Day 2…… 3505 words. Total words to date…… 7611
Day 3…… 2392 words. Total words to date…… 10366
Day 4…… 3336 words. Total words to date…… 13339
Day 5…… 3227 words. Total words to date…… 16566
Day 6…… 2821 words. Total words to date…… 19387
Day 7…… 2900 words. Total words to date…… 22287
Day 8…… 1288 words. Total words to date…… 23575
Day 9…… 3584 words. Total words to date…… 27159
Total fiction words for October……… 35361
Total fiction words for the year………… 155743
Total nonfiction words for October… 15060
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 168280
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 324025
Calendar Year 2022 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2022 Novellas to Date……………… 0
Calendar Year 2022 Short Stories to Date… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 68
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: In this Journal, among many other things, I promote Writing Into the Dark. WITD greatly increases productivity and practice, and provides a rapid ascension along the learning curve of Craft. This is not opinion. It is all numbers and facts.
Thanks for the shout-out, Harvey. I don’t run across those sorts of things very often, but when I do, I feel the need to pass it along to others. I hope it helps someone.
BTW, I had to laugh at your “reminisce” as I had a similar conversation a while back with someone who had been writing for years but kept getting rejections publishers. She’s an indie now. Oh, and those rejections? Publishers who claimed to “want new voices” liked her stories but rejected her for not sounding like everyone else. Gotta appreciate the irony.
Yep, that’s what traditional book publishers want: “fresh new voices that are truly unique and original” and — are rewritten and polished until they sound exactly like everybody else.
And you’re very welcome. In a way, you gave me a small topic for the day.