Expanding Your Writing Resources

by Heather Weidner

 Recently an author asked me how to find book bloggers and podcasters because he had a book launch coming up. My advice to writers is to start this process early and not to wait until you’re about to launch your book. You need to grow your network of resources as an ongoing process. Here are some things that have worked for me.

• Most bookbloggers, bookstagrammers, and podcasters do what they do because they love the topic and interacting with others. It’s not good form to reach out or start following someone a week or so before your launch and then contact them for a favor. A lot of these folks have a very full calendar, and they book MONTHS in advance. As you build your author platform and your network, it’s always good to interact with them, know what they feature on their sites, and know their preferences e.g. do they want a physical ARC (Advance Reader Copy) or an electronic one? You should build relationships with book influencers (e.g. like, share, and comment on their posts). Don’t just show up when you want someone to help you publicize your book.
• Always be professional. You are your brand. Make it easy for people. Follow the submission instructions, provide all the information they requested, and have your press kit (bio, photos, book cover, book links) ready and organized.
• Start a list, spreadsheet, or other electronic file to build your contacts. A book launch is a massive event. You need to keep good notes of your contacts, what you owe them, and deadlines. I have a giant spreadsheet where I have tabs for each type of resource, their contact information, and notes. I also have a calendar to show deadlines and key dates before and after my book launches. When you’re a guest, you need to make sure you share the interview on your social sites.
• Find out who is out there and who is an influencer in your genre. This takes some research time.
• See where other authors in your genre advertise their books. What events or interviews do they participate in? When I see interesting services or events, I add them to my spreadsheet.
• Use hashtags on social sites to find people who like/follow a topic. You can look for topics like #bookblogger, #podcast, #bookstagrammer, #cozymystery, etc. When you find interesting people, follow them and interact.
• Join writers’ groups. All of the groups that I’m a member of have bulletin boards, Facebook groups, or Slack sites for questions and recommendations. Find your crew. Networking is easier when you know people who share recommendations.
• Volunteer. You meet so many people with great stories, ideas, and connections. So many writing conferences and organizations are always looking for people to help. It’s a great way to meet others and to help out a cause.

What other ideas or suggestions would you add to my list?

 Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.

 

Services for Writers - Caveat Emptor

I recently came across two entities that want to sell their services to writers with payment models I found interesting.

the new online bookstore

The first is Bookstore Without Borders (http://www.bookstorewithoutborders.com/). They correctly note that to make a sale one needs product, platform and exposure. An author’s e-book is the product; they propose to provide the platform (an online bookstore) and exposure.

The question I always like to address when it comes to services for writers is whether the value proposition is a good deal for the author. (I assume it’s good for the provider; otherwise, why are they doing it?)

Bookstore Without Borders (BWB from now on) offers an array of services; the only one I’ll address now is their platform for selling e-books. An author can list up to five e-books for the startup price of $395. There’s an introductory offer of $295 if you sign up before October 2013. Listing an extra book costs another $55. Annual renewals run $29.95.

BWB states that it only takes 80 books at $4.99 each to earn back your $395 cost. Their math is fine—as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough. The open question is how many extra sales their platform will drive. If all of the 80 sales are ones you would not have gotten except for the exposure they provide, then the math is fine—for a $4.99 book. If, for example, your book is priced at $2.99, it takes 133 new books before you’re in the plus column.

If they would guarantee brand new traffic for your book at least this large, it’s a clear winner. Of course they provide no guarantees. Even the testimonials on their website refer to the wonderful design and are silent about sales and profits.

They do have another selling point, however: they pay 100% royalties.

If you can sell someone your book through BWB instead of Amazon, B&N or wherever, you’ll make more money on that book because the royalty rate is higher. However, if you plan to pay for your start-up fee through this difference in royalties, you’ll need a lot more sales to break even. You were already going to earn something on those sales, so the net to you from joining BWB is the difference between the 100% royalty BWB pays and whatever royalty your current bookseller pays. E-book royalties keep changing, but let’s assume you can make 60% of list price on e-books you currently sell. Since 100% is better than 60%, you’d be interested in this deal if you sold enough books.

With your $4.99 e-book, you’ll need to sell 198 books before you break even. What happened to the 80-book target? That assumed joining BWB would bring new buyers who would never buy your book no matter where it was sold, because without BWB they’d never have made the purchase. We’re not talking about those people anymore. Now we’re talking about folks who would have bought your book somewhere, but because they prefer to pay money to authors rather than to Amazon and the like, these kind and generous souls now buy your book at BWB. The math works like this: For those 198 books at 60% royalty you would have earned $592.81. After paying BWB’s $395, when you sell 198 books through them, you’ll end up with $593.02, a gain of $0.21. After that, it’s all extra profit: you earn two bucks more a book.

Will your book sell 198+ books if you sign up with BWB? I have no clue. However, even if you tell people that’s the best place to buy your e-book, many potential readers will prefer to buy through Amazon or Barnes & Noble or their indie bookstore. I say this because I experienced a parallel situation. I suggested to someone who wanted to buy an e-book of Bad Policy that they could buy it through the publisher and save 35%. I figured that was a good deal for everyone except for Amazon, who would lose the sale since it was for a Kindle. That wasn’t how the reader saw it. The extra time it would take her to set up an account with the publisher, mess around with downloading the book to her computer and then transferring it to her Kindle was not worth the time and money. Despite the extra cost, she preferred to buy the book on Amazon with one-click, and have it automatically appear on her Kindle the next time she turned it on.

So, as a buyer of BWB’s services you also have to consider that even if people find your book because of BWB not all of them will actually buy the book there. If that assumption is correct, you’ll need even more sales to reach breakeven.

Of course, you may price your book at something other than $4.99. Using $2.99, the 198 threshold rises to 331. At a price of $1.99, you’ll need 497. With a more expensive book, the rewards come sooner.

If you are earning a royalty rate greater than 60%, you’ll need more books to break even; lower than 60% and you’ll need fewer books. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary.

In addition, there is an annual renewal fee – not a major cost ($29.95), but it will require another 15 books each year under the first scenario ($4.99/ book and standard 60% royalty) before you are ahead of the game.

BWB wins as soon as your payment clears. You only win if you can drive lots of sales through this particular bookstore.

Please note, I'm not saying or implying that this is a bad deal -- it's a different deal. For some authors it could be terrific; for others, it’s a waste of money. To fully understand how the proposition works for you, you’ll need to make these types of comparisons. I computed everything using a simple Excel spreadsheet. If you’d like a copy for yourself, send me an email and I’ll get it to you.

EDITOR FOR HIRE

All writers need editors of one sort or another. There are many varieties and it is important to make sure you know what you are getting before making a commitment. Most publishers provide editing as part of their services; others do not. If you are self-published, you need to make sure to get competent assistance.

Some editors specialize in storyline issues, what are frequently referred to as developmental edits; others are copyeditors looking for grammar and spelling errors. Some do it all as was the case for a new provider that I recently ran across. They offered to do a complete edit (developmental, line/copy edit and proofread) for a flat fee of $200 plus $5 per page over 300.

The pricing structure struck me as very odd. The first 300 pages cost $0.67 per page and any pages over that cost $5.00? How does that make sense? For line/copy edit and proofing a page is a page is a page. Reading extra pages in a developmental edit actually is less expensive on a per page basis because that type of edit considers overall story issues, which do not increase linearly. A charge of $0.50 an extra page doesn’t seem out-of-line with the first 300-page pricing. Is this a typo or math error or what? Maybe the editor doesn’t want to work on anything but shortish books and this is a way of discouraging authors of longer works from applying.

Something else bothered me. Unless the story is close to perfect, it does not make sense to do a developmental edit at the same time one proofs. If major sections of the novel must be rewritten or even pitched and replaced, why would one carefully ensure that the deleted material met the Chicago Manual of Style?

I am using this particular Editor website as an example of why thinking carefully about the numbers is necessary before you sign on the bottom line. If this math stuff is all Greek to you, get someone who likes this kind of analysis to help you out.

With any provider, it’s also important to check references. I don’t know much Latin, but caveat emptor never goes out of style.

~ Jim

WRITING THE MYSTERY SHORT STORY: RESOURCES AND MARKETS

In the Tuesday, July 30, 2013 post, members of the Writers Who Kill blog offered their perspectives about why to write mystery short stories and what the market provided. They discussed the following five reasons why writing mystery short stories could be advantageous:

1. Short stories appeal to modern attention spans.

2. Short stories allow you to experiment with different genres.

3. Themed short story anthologies give you a subject matter for your story, making you concentrate on a theme and not get deterred by writer’s block.

4. Short stories allow you to interact directly with the editorial community, instead of dealing through an agent.

5. Short stories give you an opportunity to establish your reputation as a fiction writer.

To be successful in the mystery short story market, the following five suggestions were offered:

1. Follow submission requirements.

2. Become involved in short story communities where you can receive the most up‑to‑date information.

3. Read to understand the craft and the business. Short story collections. Stories nominated for awards. Authors’ websites. Authors’ blogs, messages, and articles.

4. Approach the process with a plan and as a professional. You are developing a product and brand. You want to be aware of marketing and use it to your best advantage.

5. Let the process of developing short stories enrich you and help you grow as a writer.

Now, let’s cut to the chase. What are the opportunities and where can you find them?

The list below is an effort to help you navigate the scope of what is available. For complete submission requirements, deadlines, and payment or prize amounts, please consult the referenced websites. Also, please feel free to add to this listing by commenting about your experience or knowledge!

BLOGS, CONTESTS, LIST SERVS, AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR MYSTERY SHORT STORY PUBLISHING INFORMATION

Aspiring Writers Short Story Competitions and Discussions, a subgroup of Aspiring Writers

http://www.linkedin.com

This list serve has discussion lines as well as lists of short story competitions.

Buddhapuss Ink Mystery Times Short Story Competition

http://buddhapussink.com/Mystery_Times_2013.html

Buddhapuss Ink has an annual mystery short story contest for entries of 3,000 to 7,000 words. Prizes and publication are awarded to winning entries.

Deadly Ink Mystery Conference

http://deadlyink.com/short.html

The Deadly Ink Mystery Conference publishes an anthology from submissions to its short story contest. Stories must be 5,000 words or less and take place in New Jersey. The first place award is $25 and registration to the conference. All other published entries receive $25.

Duotrope

https://duotrope.com/

Duotrope is a subscription service that helps authors locate markets and track their submissions. A free trial of the service is available.

My Little Corner: the scattered thoughts of short story writer Sandra Seamans

http://sandraseamans.blogspot.com

Sandra Seamans’ blog keeps track of markets and open calls. Be sure to check out her side bar listing: “Zines to Thumb Through” that provides numerous possibilities for short story publication.

Mystery Writers of America

http://mysterywriters.org

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is considered the premier organization for mystery and crime writers, allied professionals, aspiring writers, and readers. In addition to sponsoring or providing for chapters, programs, and newsletters, the MWA publishes a themed mystery short story anthology each year. Members are invited to make blind submissions for consideration in the anthology. The most recent anthology is the Mystery Writers of America Presents The Mystery Box. Paying market.

New England Crime Bake

http://www.crimebake.org/Al.htm

Annually, the New England Chapters of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America sponsor the New England Crime Bake, a mystery conference for writers and readers. The  Al Blanchard award, for an up to 5,000 word story by a New England author or set in New England, is presented each year at the conference and published in an anthology by Level Best Books (see below).

Short Mystery Fiction Society

http://shortmystery.blogspot.com

The Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS) began in 1996 and consists of writers, editors, publishers, and readers. It features an active list serv that discusses all aspects of writing short mystery stories and annually presents the Derringer Awards in the following categories: Best Flash Story (Up to 1,000 words); Best Short Story (1,001 ‑ 4,000 words); Best Long Story (4,001 ‑ 8,000 words); and Best Novelette (8,001 ‑ 20,000 words). It also confers the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement. If you are not familiar with the tremendous legacy of Edward D. Hoch, please read about him at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_D._Hoch

Sisters in Crime Chapters

http://www.sistersincrime.org

Since founded by Sara Paretsky and others at the 1986 Bouchercon, Sisters in Crime has been a network of authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians of mysteries and supporters of women mystery authors. Various chapters of Sisters in Crime publish short story anthologies. Some chapters that publish anthologies or offer online short story critique groups are:

http://www.sinc‑guppies.org (Great Unpublished Online Chapter)

http://www.chessiechapter.org (Chesapeake Chapter)

http://desertsleuths.com/anthology (Phoenix, Arizona Chapter)

http://nysinc.org/anthology (New York/Tri-State Chapter)

http://www.sincne.org (New England Chapter)

http://sistersincrimela.com/?page_id=51 (Los Angeles, California Chapter)

http://www.trianglesinc.com/index.html (Raleigh, North Carolina Chapter)

SleuthFest, organized by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America

http://www.mwaflorida.org/sleuthfest2014shortstory.html

Each year, SleuthFest sponsors a short story contest for unpublished registrants. The winning story is published in the SleuthFest program and the winner receives free registration for the next SleuthFest conference.

The Wolfe Pack

www.nerowolfe.org

The Wolfe Pack is a forum for discussion about Nero Wolfe’s 73 books and novellas. It sponsors an annual Black Orchid Novella Award for original unpublished stories of 15,000 to 20,000 words. First prize is $1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Entries must be submitted and post marked no later than May 31, 2014. Rules and guidelines are on the website. Questions may be addressed to the Awards Chair, Jane K. Cleland at jane@janecleland.net.

MARKETS FOR AND PUBLISHERS OF MYSTERY SHORT STORIES

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

http://www.themysteryplace.com/ahmm/guidelines

Alfred Hitchcock is a monthly print journal that publishes short stories varying from short‑shorts to novellas. Each issue features a Mysterious Photograph contest, where writers may submit 250 words stories, featuring a crime, based on a photo. Each winning story is published in later issue. Paying market.

Bethlehem Writers Roundtable

http://bwgwritersroundtable.com

The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable is the monthly online journal of the Bethlehem Writers Group, which also publishes print anthologies and has an annual short story competition with publication and cash prizes. Themes are provided for each month. Submissions must be 2000 words or less and submitted at least a month in advance. The editors are willing to work with authors if they see potential in a story. Nonpaying market (for online journal).

Big Pulp Magazine

http://bigpulp.com/submissions.html

Big Pulp is an online journal that publishes fantasy, mystery, adventure, horror, science fiction, and romance stories. A print edition is published quarterly on or about the 15th of March, June, September, and December. Paying market.

At the time of this post, Big Pulp is closed for submissions, but by going to the submissions link, you may read the guidelines and subscribe to a list to be notified of open submissions periods.

Dark Oak Press/Kerlak Publishing

http://www.darkoakpress.com

Dark Oak Press and Kerlak Publishing is based out of Memphis, Tennessee, and publishes fiction (including literary, steampunk, fantasy, mystery/crime, and young adult), nonfiction, and anthologies, in hard cover, trade paperback, and as ebooks. For an example of a recent publication, check out: http://www.darkoakpress.com/bigbad.html. Paying market.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

http://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/guidelines

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine is a monthly print journal that publishes most types of mystery stories, including  the psychological suspense, puzzle stories, private eye cases, hard‑boiled mysteries, and cozies. The Editors consistently seek: strong writing, an original and exciting plot, and professional craftsmanship. Paying market.

Level Best Books

http://levelbestbooks.com/submissions

Level Best Books, an independent publishing cooperative, has published ten mystery anthologies. Each new anthology is available in the fall and introduced at the New England mystery conference Crime Bake. The Al Blanchard award winner is included in the anthology. Paying market.

Kings River Life Magazine

http://kingsriverlife.com/submissions

Kings River Life Magazine is a California based weekly online journal that features mystery short stories (2000 words or less) and articles (1000 words or less) about mystery authors and books. Lorie Lewis Ham is the publisher. Authors and photographers may include a link to either their website or blog. Nonpaying market.

Mozark Press

http://mozarkpress.com

Mozark Press, a small company based in central Missouri, publishes paperback books and short story anthologies. Linda Fisher is the publisher. Her anthologies and stories from those anthologies have won and been nominated for prestigious awards in the short fiction community. Check out her website for open calls. Paying market.

Mysterical‑e

http://mystericale.com/index.php?issue=&body=submission

Mysterical‑e is a periodic online journal that publishes all types of mystery stories in the following categories: Drabble (if really good) ‑‑ 100 words or less; Flash ‑‑ up to 500 words; Short‑Short ‑‑ 501 to 1000 words; Short Story ‑‑ 1001 to 7500 words; Long Short Story ‑‑ 7501 to 15000 words; Novella ‑‑ 15001 to 40000 words; and Serialized Longer works ‑‑ more than 40001 words. Nonpaying market.

Mystery and Horror, LLC

http://www.mysteryandhorrorllc.com/submissions.html

Mystery and Horror, LLC began in 2011 as a writing partnership between Gwen Mayo and Sarah Glenn. It publishes print themed anthologies. Check out the website for open calls and the July 20, 2013, Writers Who Kill post (http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/2013/07/confessions‑of‑virgin‑editor.html) for background about Gwen and Sarah’s endeavor. Paying market.

Needle: A Magazine of Noir

http://needlemag.wordpress.com/submissions

Needle: A Magazine of Noir is a periodic print journal that publishes contemporary crime fiction. The average length story is about 2,400 words. Nonpaying market.

At the time of this post, Needle is closed for submissions, but information about the Summer 2013 issue is available at http://needlemag.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/needle‑2013‑is‑live.

Over My Dead Body

http://www.overmydeadbody.com/wguide13.html

Over My Dead Body is a monthly online journal that accepts mystery fiction (up to 4000 words) and articles. All writers must query by mail or email before submitting manuscripts. Paying market.

Press 53

http://www.press53.com/Submissions.html

Based out of Winston‑Salem, North Carolina, Press 53 is a publisher of poetry and short story anthologies, and presented of writing conferences. It has an annual Press 53 Open Awards to select flash fiction, short‑short stories, short stories, and novellas to be included in an anthology. Also, every other year, Press 53 publishes  Surreal South, an anthology of strange, odd, Gothic, southern stories, or stories by southern authors. Submissions are open Jan‑Apr every odd year. Paying market.

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine

http://www.sherlockmag.com

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine is a print quarterly publication of Wildside Press. See guideline information at http://movies.ning.com/forum/categories/wildside‑press‑guidelines‑and‑general‑info/listForCategory. Also, query editor Marvin Kaye at marvinnkaye@yahoo.com. Paying market.

SmokeLong Quarterly

https://smokelong.submittable.com/submit

http://smokelong.com/sub_guidelines.asp

SmokeLong Quarterly is a quarterly online journal that publishes flash fiction up to 1,000 words. The Kathy Fish Fellowship offers a monetary award and publication of four stories. Nonpaying market (for online journal).

StoneThread Publishing

http://stonethreadpublishing.com/subs

StoneThread Publishing publishes novels, novellas, and collections of short fiction. Periodically, it offers contests for short story submissions. The latest anthology, containing mysteries, is entitled The Least He Could Do (title story by Lynn Mann) and will be available on August 1, 2013through Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sources. Paying market.

The Strand

http://strandmag.com/htm/strandmag_guidelines.html

The Strand has been publishing since 1891, and is interested in well‑written and well‑plotted 2,000 to 6,000 word stories (and occasionally 1,000 word stories) involving mysteries, detectives, terror, or the supernatural set in any time or place. Paying market.

Untreed Reads

http://www.untreedreads.com/submission‑guidelines

Founder and Editor‑in‑Chief, Jay Hartman has established a major publishing venue for short fiction in Untreed Reads. Novellas and short story collections are accepted. Beginning in 2014, stand‑alone short stories will no longer be published, but quarterly anthologies for each of the themed lines will be issued: Orbits (science‑fiction/fantasy), Spectres (horror), Fingerprints (mystery), Nibs (literary fiction), Candlelight (PG‑romance) and Untreed After Dark (erotica). Stories of 1,500 to 5,000 may be submitted for the anthologies. Currently, through September 1, 2013, Untreed Reads has an open call for its third Thanksgiving mystery anthology, The Killer Wore Cranberry: Room for Thirds. For further information, check:http://www.untreedreads.com/submission‑guidelines/call‑for‑submissions‑thanksgiving‑anthology. Paying market.

Woman’s World Magazine

http://www.ehow.com/how_7876047_submit‑short‑story‑womans‑world.html

http://www.marketlist.com/writers_markets/171/woman%27s‑world

Women’s World Magazine accepts mini‑mystery submissions up to 700 words. Submission guideline are available by contacting  Bauer Publishing at 201‑569‑6699 or sending a request to Bauer Publishing Co., 270 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632. Paying market.