Story Accepted at Stupefying Stories

My fantasy story, "Talent for Never and Always" was accepted for publication at Stupefying Stories! This is my first publication with Stupefying Stories, and I'm really excited to have a story published with them. This story took a lot of effort and multiple rewrites, even at points when I felt like it was finished. Thank you to everyone who provided me with feedback along the way!

"Seekers" Now Available at Crimson Streets!

My fantasy short story, "Seekers," is now available at Crimson Streets.  John Waltrip did an amazing job with the illustration. 

I really enjoyed writing this story.  I tried to bring some fun into this tale of adventure and treasure seeking.  More than anything else, I think Firefly inspired the style I was going for.

This is my second published story in 2016, and both stories have excellent illustrations.  It's an exciting year!

Shadows in Sakamura Now Available

My short story, "Shadows in Sakamura," is now available at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.  It's a fantasy story set in a world based on Edo-period Japan.  Katsu and Tsukiko attempt to restore a town that's downtrodden in an unusual and mysterious way.

Check it out!

Story Accepted by Crimson Streets

Crimson Streets accepted a fantasy short story I wrote!  "Seekers" is about a trio of characters on a quest... but is it really the same quest?  I'm excited to be published in this magazine; its goal is to bring pulp fiction back.  And who doesn't love good pulp fiction?  Here's a quote from their website:

"Pulp, the fiction, much like the paper on which it was printed, was rough with ragged edges, lacking the smooth polish of the glossy works produced by the literati.  Pulp was not – is not – a genre, it is a style of writing, a feeling, which at its epicenter is the anti-literature, stories for Joe and Jane Six Pack, something to read quickly on the train or bus on the way home from the plant or the office.  The pulps in their heyday, featured fast paced adventure stories of aviators, hard boiled detectives, explorers, horrors, mad scientists, and masked avengers fighting crime on the dark streets."

So swing over to their website, and check them out.

Story Accepted by Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

I just had a short story accepted by Heroic Fantasy Quarterly!  "Shadows in Sakamura" will appear in a future issue.  The story takes place in a fantasy setting based on the Japanese Edo period.  This will be my second story published in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.  My previous story, "Aldrom", was published in 2010.  For those interested in reading "Aldrom", click here.

"Unprofiteers" Available at Perihelion

My first attempt at full-on humor within science fiction, "Unprofiteers," is available for free at Perihelion.  Check it out!

Two Recent Acceptances

I'm excited to report that two of my stories have been accepted for publication recently. 

First, I had a story accepted for Ares Magazine.  This will be a revival of a gaming magazine from the '80s.  "The big idea is to fill a void — to publish a new magazine that combines a stand-alone, unique, playable board game in every issue with a collection of spectacular, new fiction."  Ares will be launching a Kickstarter campaign on January 1.  If successful, their first issue will appear a few months later.

My other acceptance was with Perihelion Science Fiction.  "The Unprofiteers" is my first attempt at humor, but the story is science fiction as well.  An odd mix, perhaps, but I'm sure many people recall Douglas Adams' works that blended humor with sci-fi.  (Please note that I'm not comparing myself to him; I'm simply drawing from a popular example.)

Plasma Frequency Anthology

The Plasma Frequency anthology is available on Amazon!  Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492791032/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1492791032&linkCode=as2&tag=plasspygpres-20

I've already ordered the print version.  I'm very excited about my first anthology (and first reprint).  Enjoy!

My First Anthology

I recently found out that my story, "The Whitman Inn," would be included in Plasma Frequency's anthology.  The anthology is a collection of stories from their first year of publication. 

An anthology is just that - a collection of stories.  It differs from a magazine in that the anthology is more of a one-time or annual publication.  It may include reprints (stories that have previously been published), new fiction, or both.

Anthologies are usually themed in some way.  For example, an anthology about wizards, such as Way of the Wizard.  Or the "theme" may be a "best of" anthology, as in the best science fiction of 2013.

For the more talented/popular writers, there may be an anthology solely devoted to their work.  I've read most of H. P. Lovecraft through anthologies.  It makes it a lot easier to obtain a collection of an author's fiction that way, especially for fiction that's decades old.

I'm really excited to be included in an anthology for the first time ever.  For those interested, here are the contents: http://www.plasmafrequencymagazine.com/yearone.html

The Whitman Inn

Earlier this week, my science fiction story "The Whitman Inn" was published in Plasma Frequency.  Here's the link to the free PDF (click the Read Now link on the image of the magazine cover): http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/509937

And Our Lady Splendor

My science fiction story, "And Our Lady Splendor" is available at Abyss & Apex: http://www.abyssapexzine.com/2013/01/and-our-lady-splendor/

Enjoy!

Galactic Wonders

My science fiction story, "Galactic Wonders," is now available at Ray Gun Revival: http://www.raygunrevival.com/galactic-wonders-matthew-wuertz/

Regarding Sir Chahan

My fantasy short story, “Regarding Sir Chahan,” is now available for reading at MindFlights: http://www.mindflights.com/item.php?sub_id=6451. I thought I’d cross-post this announcement between a couple of sites that I post on to try to get the word out to as many people as possible.

The Magicera's Confession

My short story, "The Magicera’s Confession," is now available on MindFlights. I’m excited about seeing another publication before the end of the year. This is my second publication with MindFlights. Here’s the teaser: Beaten and exhausted, Thadryn's prospect is grim. Even if no one listens, he's willing to tell his tale.

Author Bio

An author bio (short for biography) is something every writer will need, regardless of whether he or she has been published or not. I suggest using two types: one used with query letters and another used in public areas, such as what would appear with a published story.

For query letters, your bio, in most cases, should only list your previous publications (if you have any) unless an editor specifically requests more information in their submission details. If you haven’t had any stories accepted for publication yet, I would avoid pointing that out; the editor will assume that, so there’s no reason to throw an enormous flag up to identify yourself as a complete amateur; you still want the query to appear professional. If you actually sold a story, be sure to use that keyword “sold” in your details. I highly doubt that all editors have heard of all paying magazines, so rather than leaving them to guess, note it as a sale. If you’ve attended a credible writers’ workshop, you might mention that as well. Keep this area brief, though, and try to emphasize your biggest accomplishments up front. Here are some examples: “I sold a short story that was published in Matt’s Cool Magazine.” “I sold three short stories that were published in Matt’s Cool Magazine, Matt Weekly and The MW Insider.” “I attended Matt’s Workshop last year. I sold one of the stories I wrote at the workshop to Matt Weekly, and it’s scheduled for publication later this year.”

When you need a bio to accompany a published piece, or if you’re creating a short bio for a website or blog, write about yourself in the third person. Yes, it feels quite strange to do this at first, but keep in mind that it should look like someone else is writing about you. (It’s not a writer’s autobio, after all.) One other note: whereas I think it’s important to emphasize the word “sold” for query letters, it looks pretty tacky as part of the public bio. For the public, mention your publications (or at least the ones you want people to be aware of) along with some personal information. You might include information about where you live, if you’re married, how many children you have, the kinds of pets you own, etc. I always like a bio that is a bit quirky, too, like the author is testing whether or not you’re actually reading it. Here’s an example for an author named Bob Author: “Bob Author lives in Seattle, Washington, driving everything from forklifts to steamships. His stories have appeared in Matt Weekly and The MW Insider. To find out more about Bob, check out his website: www.bobauthor.net.”

Do you have a bio yet? If not, what are you waiting for?

Publishing a Novel

I’ve decided to be very open with my latest project. I have a finished novel. I’ve tweaked it here and there. In fact, on the journal page of my website, you can read about all the iterations it went through and look at my weekly updates through last year. Now it’s go time.

My mission is to get the novel into publication without resorting to self-publishing. If I reach a point where I feel like I’ve exhausted all resources, the novel will be shelved, like so many short stories of mine in the past (and two cruddy novels that I shall not describe in this post).

My first stop on this grand tour is to find an agent. I admit that a couple of years ago, I proposed this novel to a few agents, and I only managed to get beyond the “front door” with one agent whom I met in person at World Fantasy. I’m not going to resend the proposal to any of those people, just as I wouldn’t resubmit a short story that’s been refined unless a magazine specifically asked me to. After doing some research, there are quite a few agents I want to approach with this newest proposal. I won’t get into the specifics of who I’ll be contacting, but I will probably give updates on the percentage I’ve heard back from, feedback, etc.

If I don’t find an agent willing to represent the work, I will start hitting publishers directly. I’m much more limited in who I can query directly without an agent, which is why this is my second step. No publisher has been queried for this novel in the past, so the field is wide open. As with agents, I won’t report specifics on who I’m querying, but I will give updates on the types of responses, speed of responses, etc.

I’ve gone down this road before with a cruddy novel, and even that was somewhat exciting (especially the returned manuscript that had a shoeprint on it). Now I’m going down the road with a much better novel (and more experience). Bring on the fun!

Perseverance

I enjoyed writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until after college that I decided to try to do something more with it. Armed with a poorly written novel and a handful of mediocre short stories, I went forth to stake my claim among those who had been published ahead of me. What I didn’t understand at the time was just how difficult it could be to become published. My delusions of bypassing the years of waiting I’d heard rumors of extended even to the point of submitting a sample of my novel straight to TOR.

Soon the form rejection letters followed, and my hopes of a quick entry into the writing world were crushed. I wavered on the option of vanity publishing, but once I understood the lack of credibility in such efforts, I abandoned that route. By the end of my first year of submitting to markets, I felt bruised and less sure of myself than at the onset of my adventure.

I abandoned the thought of finding an agent or book publisher for my novel in order to focus on writing short stories. I hoped to find publication in some of the smaller literary magazines and then work my way up from there. One obvious problem was that I wasn’t writing literary fiction. I didn’t understand how poor my selections for magazines were until I paid to enter a contest with one of them. Once I received the issue with the winners and runners-up, I understood that literary magazines weren’t as open to genre fiction as I first imagined.

My stories soon began to change as I abandoned borderline speculative fiction in favor of unapologetic fantasy. I took the world from my shabby novel and changed it, adding a more rigid foundation and expanding this relatively unknown setting into something tangible. The older short stories dropped off my radar, and I stopped submitting them.

After a few years, I had regular time each week devoted to writing. More stories came and went, but through all of this, I was growing in my writing skills. Styles I had been afraid to try became regular as I threw caution to the wind and kept charging forward. I was growing, but still I had no publications to show for all my efforts.

It wasn’t until a submission to The Sword Review that I had a promising rejection: one that asked if I had more of what I had submitted because the story ended too quickly. I soon completed an additional two stories to accompany the one that had been rejected and resubmitted. After a short time, I was overjoyed to find that they wanted to purchase all three.

It had been over six years since I started submitting stories until my success with The Sword Review. I don’t know what the average time to publication is for a new writer, but the wait is worth it. To those who are still struggling with selling that first story, it certainly won’t happen by giving up, so keep going.