Commit to Submit: Paid Submission Opportunity from Whispering Prairie Press

Photo courtesy of Whispering Prairie Press website

One of my writing goals for 2017 is to submit to a variety of publications.  

I'm not sure if someone in the writing universe picked up on that vibe, but in the past few days I've received e-mails announcing some submission opportunities.

The latest one is from Whispering Prairie Press, which is seeking submissions for their magazine, "Kansas City Voices."

If you're like me, you have questions: 

Do I have to live in Kansas, Kansas City, or Missouri to submit? No, you don't.

What are the editors looking for? Prose, poetry, and art of all media.

Does it cost to submit? Nope. Submissions are free, but there is a limit on how many works you can submit.

Does this publication pay? Yes. According to their submission guidelines: "If your work is accepted for publication you will receive a small payment and one copy of the magazine.  All payments are made in U.S. Dollars."

When is the deadline? Submissions are accepted until March 15.

What's the word limit? Details, including word count and formatting, can be found on this submissions link.

Those are the bare bones of the call out. Be sure to check out the website to find out the specific requirements, and good luck if you send something.

Now, I have some questions: 

Have any of my visitors ever been published in "Kansas City Voices?"

If so, how was your experience?

Also, do you know of any markets open to submissions?

Call for Submissions: A Shaker of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman

For all you mystery writers out there, here's a paid submission opportunity from Linda Fisher, publisher of Mozark Press.  

Mozark Press is seeking short mystery fiction for the popular Shaker of Margaritas series. 

This issue is called A Shaker of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman. 

For this anthology, the editors are looking for mysteries with female protagonists. 

Send them your cozies, soft-boiled mysteries, suspenseful tales, capers, or whodunits with a strong emphasis on character, plot -- but most of all good old-fashioned storytelling.

Submission deadline: July 25, 2014

Word Count: Between 2,000 and 3,500 

Approximately 20-25 stories will be selected for the anthology

Previously unpublished work only

One entry per person

No poetry

Keep it clean - PG stories only

Upon publication, authors will be paid $20 

Authors whose work appears in the book will be given a one-time opportunity to pre-purchase books at 60% of retail price + postage.

Author will receive one free copy of the book with his/her story in it -- if author pre-purchases a minimum of one additional copy at the author’s discount.

Electronic submissions only

E-mail to publisher@Mozarkpress.com with subject line: "That Mysterious Woman"

Click here for the complete submission guidelines and publisher's tips for success.

From personal experience, I can attest that Linda is a thorough editor who does a top-notch job with any project she is involved.

Good luck if you submit! 

W.W. Norton Seeking Hint Fiction for Anthology

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Mostly sunny, high 90 degrees.

Here's a submission opportunity from Robert Swartwood's blog I stumbled upon that is short and sweet--well it doesn't have to be sweet--Hint Fiction.

What is hint fiction? It's a story of no more than 25 words that suggests a larger, more complex story.

The Hint Fiction anthology is tentatively scheduled to be published in the fall of 2010 by W.W. Norton.
The anthology will include between 100 and 150 stories.
Payment is $25 per story for World and Audio rights.
Stories must include a title (which helps give a “hint” of the story).
Writers can only submit up to two stories, both embedded in the same e-mail.
To make everyone’s lives easier, embed the stories like this:
TITLE
Story.
TITLE
Story.
Submissions will open August 1 and close at midnight Eastern time August 31.
A submissions e-mail address will appear on this page on August 1 — DO NOT SUBMIT TO ANY OTHER ADDRESS BEFORE THEN.
Check back on the link above for examples of Hint Fiction and complete guidelines before submitting.
Good luck!
Bonus opportunity:
***For a limited time, if you link to these guidelines from on your blog or Twitter, you can submit a third story. These must be posted between July 1 and August 15. Include the link at the end of your e-mail. If you don’t include a link, the third story will be deleted unread.***

Blue Mountain Press Deadline Extended

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Partly cloudy, high 99 degrees. That's not a typo--it's gonna be a scorcher today. Time to hit the pool--or better still, stay inside.

Speaking of hot--here's a hot market tip, courtesy of Dianna G.

Blue Mountain Arts is looking for inspirational stories and wisdom related to Ireland or Irish culture for an upcoming anthology. They are accepting stories and essays (100-600 words) and poems (non-rhyming; no minimum word count). Stories should include "a pithy saying at the end, which sums up the inspirational message of your story. For example: 'Laughter is brightest where food is best.'"

Payment: US $50 for anthology rights upon publication. Deadline: June 30, 2009 (extended).

Send name/address and submission in the body of an email with “Irish” in the subject line to write4us@sps.com. *

I've begun an essay about my great-grandfather that I plan to submit. The essay is under 600 words, but I want to get closer to 500 before submitting.

Listen Magazine, A Paying Market with a Positive Message

Today's forecast for St. Peters: Chance of thunderstorms. Around 4 a.m. this morning I was awoken by a hail storm, and it's still cloudy outside.

This week has been quite busy, so I didn't get a chance to post Monday or Tuesday. So, to make up for it I want to share information about a paying market aimed at teenagers, with a positive message--Listen Magazine.

(Celeste Perrino-Walker at 2009 MWG Conference)

Last month at the Missouri Writers' Guild Conference I attended a workshop given by Celeste Perrino-Walker, Editor of Listen Magazine. The print and on-line magazine is a drug and alcohol prevention magazine, primarily aimed at teenagers.

According to its website, the magazine "encourages development of good habits and high ideals of physical, social, and mental health. It bases its editorial philosophy of primary drug prevention on total abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Because it is used extensively in public high school classes, it does not accept articles and stories with overt religious emphasis."

Celeste receives between 800-1,000 submissions a year. During her workshop she shared writers' guidelines along with dos and don'ts of query letters. Reading some of the letters made me appreciate the work of a magazine editor--and realize how important it is to read submission guidelines and polish my queries before submitting them.

Some guidelines she stressed were: follow the word count; include an SASE; and do not include stats, street names for drugs, side effects, etc. because that information is a permanent part of the website.

Celeste said a good way to break in to Listen is an article about celebreties or famous personalities, especially if the article includes the celebrity signing the Listen pledge. The best way to find out their submission guidelines is by visiting http://www.listenmagazine.org/

Call for Submissions - Unsent Letters

(Cover from Unsent Letters website)

Ever wish you could write a letter to someone, but didn't? Well, here's your chance, and you could get paid for it!

For complete guidelines, you must visit the Unsent Letters website Writer's Guidelines for Unsent Letters

Here are a few of the basics, for complete guidelines visit their website:

"Unsent Letters is both a print anthology collection of our best Unsent Letters and a weblog (blog) of Unsent Letters sent in by our favorite readers.

* All submissions must be from persons age 18 or older, no exceptions.
* Letters can be between 250 - 5,000 words. No exceptions on word length.
* For blog posting, $10-25 per letter, payable within 30 days of publication.
* For published collection (paperback anthology) $50-250 per letter, depending on length, appeal, current budget, category needs, editor's needs, and how much formatting and editing will be required to make the Unsent Letter publishable.
* All Unsent Letters writers chosen for the collection will receive payment within 30 days from letter of acceptance. Unsent Letters authors will also receive two free copies of the collection in which their letter appears.
* It is possible some letters will be accepted for both the blog and the print anthology, and the writer will be compensated separately for each.
* First publication print and electronic rights. Rights will revert to author 12 months after publication, and author may reprint their letter in any form.
* While Twin Trinity will hold the copyright on the compilation, author will retain copyright of their individual letter/s. No other rights are transferred.
*We do respond to all submissions received. Unfortunately, we cannot accept all letters for publication or promotion on the blog. If your letter is not accepted, we do encourage you to rewrite or write another one and submit.

* We do not accept multiple submissions.

* Please wait until you hear from us on your first submission before you submit another.

* It might take between 2-8 weeks to issue a response or purchase your letter. Please be patient during this waiting period.

***Please read our submissions page for specifics on submitting***

Sounds fascinating to me! I'm going to get out my favorite pen and read the entire guidelines before submitting.