Reaction to a shrinking market
Filed under Market Report on February 3, 2009
Tagged: fantasy, fantasy fiction, Realms of Fantasy, short stories
The news that Realms of Fantasy will cease publication with their April 2009 issue has caused me to rethink the submission strategy I employed for my fantasy fiction short stories. The professional market is rapidly shrinking. “Professional” is defined as any market that pays a minimum of $.05/word (per the current membership requirements of the SFWA).
There aren’t many print publications that qualify. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction is the only one that comes to mind, and they aren’t exclusively fantasy fiction. Black Gate has been closed to submissions for a while, and most professional anthologies are by invite only.
There are some e-zines that pay professional rates, like Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Strange Horizons and Fantasy Magazine. The latter isn’t what I consider fantasy fiction, but rather literary fiction with fantasy aspirations.
While print markets like Realms of Fantasy are slowly disappearing, the Web has birthed an explosion of online markets. A Google search for “fantasy webzine” returns over 200,000 results. Most of these offer little or no compensation, so I have avoided submitting to them.
Not any more.
The reason for this is a fundamental shift in my writing goals. I no longer view short stories as a means of income, but as a marketing tool. (Yes, I am one of those writers who believes we have a responsibility to promote ourselves.) I’m not interested in a SFWA membership, and my current publishing credits would qualify me if I was.
I am interested in increasing my footprint and name recognition. Any financial compensation on top of that is just bonus.
What markets do you submit to? Are pay rates a criteria? Do you read/subscribe to any of the publications I mentioned? How often do you read fantasy fiction short stories?
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I don’t currently submit to magazines; my blogging tends to take up most of the inspiration I’ve got.
What exactly do you mean by “Literary fiction with fantasy aspirations”? You say that almost like it’s a bad thing.
Ravyn´s last blog post was Getting to Know the Author
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Just that for a magazine called “Fantasy”, the fantasy elements are quite subtle in the smattering of stories I read, and their submission guidelines left me with the impression that they thumb their nose at what is generally considered fantasy fare. It’s my perception of an elitist/snobbish attitude that you’re picking up on.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I just got my cancellation notice for Realms of Fantasy today. I had just subscribed, so I only received one issue before this “cease publication” notice. wow. Is this a bad time to enter the world of writing? Or just a opportunity waiting to be noticed?
Alex Moore´s last blog post was Vacation from Writing or Cop-Out?
February 13th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
after three successive failures submitting to an epub, i gave up… for now
i’m just posting my 6-word tales and 55ers, at this time… not all fantasy…but plan to add some poetry challenges when i find time
laughingwolf´s last blog post was worm grunting…
February 13th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I think I retired my short story “Relvan’s Rescue” after four rejections, but I have plans to overhaul it and send it out again. I encourage you to get back on the horse, too, laughingwolf.
February 17th, 2009 at 6:04 am
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