A change of tack

 For a while now I’ve been focusing on writing novels only.  I’d got fed up with submitting short stories to the same old magazines and receiving yet another rejection from them.  I needed a change of tack, a new strategy.

This came about in three ways this week, two via information I received on Twitter.  The first change was a writer I follow retweeting a list of SF magazines which another writer had put together.  The list was of new and unknown magazines to me, new places to send my stories.

On checking his list I came across over half a dozen magazines I hadn’t known of before.  Some were newish ones, others were Canadian rather than American magazines.  Some paid semi-pro rates, but some paid the full professional rates.

Investigating their submissions policies, I saw a strong emphasis on encouraging under-represented writers and writers of colour.  Their websites were just so much more friendly and welcoming than the websites of the long-established big magazines.

The second change I came across was the announcement of a change of editor at one of the oldest and biggest SF short story magazines.  This is an exciting development because the new editor is a young woman of colour.  In my opinion, a great improvement on the middle aged white male who preceded her.  I had given up submitting to that magazine, partly because of posts I’d read from other writers which led me to believe I was wasting my time submitting there.  But now, with this announcement of a new editor, I shall be considering submitting again when she takes over.  It’s my hope that her appointment will result in a change of emphasis for the magazine, with an encouragement of stories by under-represented writers.

My last source of news was the new Writing Magazine I received yesterday.  The Writers’ News listings brought me another new magazine to submit to, one with an environmental focus.  I have just the story to send to that - when I’ve re-written the clunky start.  I also saw mention of an anthology call, which wants stories of resistance.  It just so happens that I’d re-edited a story that perfectly fits that theme just the day before.  So that story will be submitted to that anthology.

Having new markets to try has bumped me out of my ‘why bother’ mood,  I’m back to submitting short stories again.