Saturday - Places to Submit, Rejections, Trying To Stay Healthy

I meant to do much today, but all I have really accomplished is napping and a run to Dollar General for OTC meds. When the neighbors had the heat on too high, my CPAP machine dried up and left my throat sandblasted. I thought the sinusitis was making a comeback today.

This is the report on what I did accomplish beyond mollycoddling myself.

From Erica Verrillo's Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity, 

66 Free Writing Contests in January 2025 - No entry fees

From this list, I sent "The Unintended Consequences of Art" to Short Story Substack, "Napoleon Bonaparte Dreams" to Story Unlikely, "Desperate Men Committing Desperate Acts" to 9th Annual Miriam Chaikin Writing Award, and "The Revenger’s Tale" to The Fifty & Up Writer Awards.

67 Calls for Submissions in January 2025 - Paying markets is also from Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity.

From this list, I sent "When Thomas Kemp Went Missing" to Electric Spec, and "Napoleon Bonaparte Dreams" to Astrolabe.

A few days ago, I found Stone’s Throw. It is open January 1 - 4 for submissions.

Stone’s Throw will open for submissions the first three days of every month, from 12AM on the first through 12AM on the fourth (with some wiggle room here and there to account for the editors being human). We’re looking for all the same dark fiction, crime, and noir as our usual submissions, but with a target length between 1,000 and 2,000 words, and aligned with the monthly submissions prompt (see below). We’ll read through each story, choose the one story that shines brightest, and publish it online the following month, paying $25 per accepted story.

 Necessary Fiction opens for new submissions next month:

Our next submission period will open on January 1, for stories exploring the theme of "Return"

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Full details will be visible on Submittable when the time comes. Regular submissions will be closed for that period. And other upcoming submissions periods will be February 15-March 15 for our annual flash fiction summer series, and April 1-30 for our October spooky series. 

North American Review and Subniveanwere sent "Irretrievable Breakdown".

I sent an early version of one of my "Dead and Dying" stories, "Second Chances, Last Chances", to takahē Magazine.

I sent my novel "Love Stinks" to StreetLit; I even paid for feedback.

 "Desperate Men Committing Desperate Acts" was sent to riverSedge, and was my last submission of the day.

"Thomas Kemp" got a rejection with comments from Fiction on the Web. The typos embarrass me - I am really trying to weed them out. I am reconsidering the ending, it was meant to leave an open resolution to let the reader decide what had happened. Oh, well.

Hi Samuel,

Unfortunately your story "When Thomas Kemp Went Missing" will not be published at Fiction on the Web.

I'll quote from the reviews in case the feedback helps you out:

Darn...good material here, but it's kind of diluted by the way it's framed and revealed by the several town characters. I think I would have enjoyed this better without the narrative frame, and if it had started on page 4, with: "Thomas Kemp’s last day started in Henderson, Kentucky," and then gone narratively and dramatically from there in Kemp's POV. A phrase in the first line gave me Prose Envy, and high hopes for this sub: "...a place as flattened in character as its geography..." I can just hear the Hoosier Twang.

Strengths: Captivating story that pulled the reader much of the way through. Weaknesses: The piece left questions. I wanted more of a resolution at the end. Page 7, "ran" should be "rain"; "They" was a bit redundant on p. 8; Last paragraph, p. 8, "Reynold" should be "Reynolds."

Summary: In Webster County, a gothic writer investigates the mysterious disappearance of Thomas Kemp through interviews with detectives, a bartender, and local residents. Strengths: The narrative was paced steadily and kept me intrigued. The layered timeline, with multiple perspectives (detectives, bartender) creates a feeling that we're exploring this case in-depth, which is very effective for this story. Weaknesses: The resolution felt unsatisfying, left me with more questions than answers. Needs a copyedit.

A gothic horror writer moves to Webster County and investigates previous disappearances near a swamp. Strengths: The investigation by way of interviews is well-written. The mystery is interesting, the setting atmospheric. Weakness: The resolution felt less satisfactory - confusing towards and at the conclusion about what had happened, why and when.

I hope this doesn't discourage you from submitting more stories in future, and I wish you better luck next time.

Meanwhile, I'm always grateful for everyone that takes the time to leave comments on other people's stories; and, enjoy the site!

(If you use Duotrope or Chill Subs, please remember to report your responses.)

Thanks,

Charlie

Sunspot Lit rejected my short play "Beer Bros".

Thank you for your submission to Sunspot Literary Journal. Although we must decline, please know that selecting works for publication can be guided by pieces we've already accepted for the current issue, a focus on specific issues, and other elements that change rapidly. The fact that we have declined your work should in no way discourage you from continuing on this path you've chosen for your life. We greatly appreciated the chance to consider your work.

Creatives like you can change the world. Your perspective is unique. Your efforts to generate something that makes an impact is difficult, and can feel heavy when you work so hard without recognition. Please keep going. The world needs to see things from your perspective. 

You are welcome to submit something to our current open call. 

Sincerely,

LC

Sunspot Lit 

I am not the greatest fan of Saul Bellow. He is awe-inspiring in many ways, but he never really touched me. Yet, I really liked reading Saul Bellow: Saying what you damn well please from Erica Verrillo's Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity, 

Tomorrow will be my first liturgy at St Barnabas of Indiana. I will leave off the dishes until the morning.

It has been 7 hours since I got back from my shopping spree. Time does fly.

Good night, world. I ahve a bit more of The Sandman to watch.

sch