Understanding the Website Paying You With(Hundreds of)Free-Submission Writing Markets

Hello everyone! Hope your pens are flowing freely today. Yesterday, I wrote an article discussing a special website with free-submission writing markets(that pay). When I first got started, it took a few days to fully understand how to navigate the website. The good thing is, very little has changed on the website(why fix what’s not broken, right?). It soon became a powerful promotional tool for my writing career. It even helped boost sales for my steampunk/erotica series on Amazon, as well as, my short stories found here on Medium! And, the pay wasn’t bad either. Below are a few quick tips on how to maneuver through the website, so you can start selling your own short stories! Good luck!

Hyperlinks Found On The Top of The Purple Page: These links shown above will direct you to all the types of publishers and their genres. You’ll see ’Pro, Semi-pro, Token, etc.’ I’d suggest starting with ‘Semi-Pro’, ‘Token’, or ‘Anthos,’ as these seem to be the easiest markets to start breaking into. I started with ‘Anthos’ personally. It focuses on writing markets that are looking to fill, you guessed it: Anthologies! They are always looking for short stories to fill their fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, & often dark poetry anthologies. My first submission almost ended up in a magazine featuring Edgar Allen Poe! Can you imagine, your work standing alongside one of the greats, such as Edgar Allen Poe? Well, it can happen with this website. I will admit though, ‘Anthos,’ isn’t a massively paying section of the website. But that’s because everyone wants the ‘big ticket’ markets. My suggestion: start small and get a bunch of short pieces out to get your name circulating. Once you have two or three acceptances under your belt, then go up from there! It is easy to get a bunch of stories out at once in these markets. You can find its hyperlink in my previous article, here.

What do all the symbols mean, next to each link: Most might appear self-explanatory. But, I know that a little bit of reviewing might save you from getting your hopes up about your zombie Horror, only to find out the publisher wanted History instead. Although that rare on this site, well still go over them just in case.

f: Fiction or Fantasy. You can usually tell in each publisher’s little paragraph which one they prefer(magic or realism). If not, click the link! These publishers & magazines often do very well at keeping their websites organized for you. In fact, most links guide you straight to their submission’s page(which, did I mention they are ALL FREE to submit to, because they are)!

SF: Science-Fiction. You probably knew that one, so allow me to give you another little opinion of experience I’ve cultivated: Science-Fiction is a HUGE short story gold mine.! Similar to fantasy, there are so many different worlds to build. And with our fast-paced, high-tech world we live in, many people are chomping at the bit to see what creative short stories might inspire the future! That’s a big reason I ended up #3 on Amazon’s daily bestseller list with my steampunk/Alt-History novella, ‘Revolution’s Reign.’

H: As I stated up above, this one is either History or Horror, depending on the market. But with the countless horror writing markets to submit to, their paragraph description’s often quickly explain what they need in the Horror story.

Any thing else to be aware of on the publisher’s paragraph description: If you see a word count next to the link, RESPECT THE WORD COUNT. It’s not so common anymore, but I still know of a few places on this site that won’t even look at your story if your over-shoot the word count. Remember, these magazines and publishers want to promote ALL authors and writers. So they have to be fair. If you can write a compelling enough story, however, they might be okay if you’re a few words over. But they’ll inform of such things.

Since submission’s are free, how extravagant does the submission letters have to be: You’ll actually be surprised with how simple they need the letters to be. My go-to submission format is below for you to copy, paste, borrow, or improve as you see fit. For anyone borrowing, replace what’s in the parenthesis with the proper filler.

Dear Editors of (Magazines/publisher),

My name is Kyle Newton. Below(or attached) is my (word count) word short-story (Fake Title that’s Super Cool,) which I hope you will find of interest for your readers at (Magazine or publication). Thank you for your time, I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Kyle Newton

• **QUICK NOTE ON EMAILING EDITORS***: If you can find an editors name on the website, I recommend using it. Nothing says ‘prepared,’ like having done a little bit of research on who you are emailing. Sometimes, the publishers won’t put their names in. Don’t worry, just stick with ‘Dear Editors of…” when that happens.

One last word of advice before you start submitting short stories & poems: Don’t worry about rejection. With the hundreds of markets out there, know that hundreds more people are submitting their stories. But that shouldn’t deter you. I get turned down several times a week, still. You might only get a story or two a week accepted, and that’s fine. But, once you start getting noticed, and your first paycheck comes in(because it will!), you’ll start to see more. More acceptances means, more checks, which means, more stories, and most importantly, MORE READERS!

So, go out there, give it your all, and don’t stop editing until your short stories are accepted! I’ve got a few more tricks to teach in upcoming articles for this writer’s market website, so keep following for more. If you want to read the first article to learn more, click here. If you already have a growing market and want to further expand, read my article here, on niche marketing. I’ll also be posting ways to improve styles of writing. Thank you for all your support, fellow readers & scribes!

If you like these articles, please ‘clap’ it, and be sure to read my latest steampunk short stories found here, on Medium.

Kyle Newton is an author from Northern New Hampshire. He spends his days writing a steampunk erotica/adventure series, ‘Penny Punkers,’ found here in his train caboose-turned house(because where else does one write steampunk?) as well as his ‘strictly adventurous’ steampunk short stories, on Medium. He is a #3 daily bestseller on Amazon and Mount Washington Cog Railway’s current, two-time ‘Steampunk author of New Hampshire.’