SUBMIT Part 1

A brand new course, and other groovy things.

What’s new with you?

Hi!

It’s Mat here. I hope all’s well with you and yours.

I’m kicking off something new this month. A short course, in three, or maybe four parts. A guide to submitting your stories. As the lessons progress, month by month, we’re going to look at the practicalities of submitting your words to magazines — the how, the where, the what of it all. But this month, we’re starting with the why? Why should you submit your work? What’s the point? More of this below…

But first, another why… Why is my newsletter so flippin’ late this month? Great question. Truth is, I’ve been pretty busy. Remember that ‘quiet horror’ anthology I’ve been banging on about for months? Well, I was lucky enough to receive more than 150 incredible submissions. 150 stories. So I had A LOT of reading to do.

I ploughed through the tales during February and March, ultimately whittling the list down to 20 absolute bangers. Honestly, I can’t wait to reveal the table of contents in the coming weeks. We’ve also got some incredible art lined up for the cover. But I don’t want to jump the gun. For now, let’s just say we’re on track for an October release, ahead of Halloween. And if you’re a horror fan, or just a fan of great contemporary writing, you will definitely want to read this collection.

One thing I can reveal… The book will be titled: Silent Screams.

More exciting news. I’ve got a story in the latest volume of Exposed Bone magazine. The print edition is utterly gorgeous, but you can also read my tale of a possibly-cursed found-footage film online for free. Get on it: Sonneillon (2023).

That’s all my news for now, so let’s get on with the free course.

SUBMIT Part 1:
Why should you submit your work?

If you already send your work out into the world, I want you to take a moment to consider your motivations. What are you hoping to achieve? Why do you do it?

And if you’ve never submitted a story to a magazine or an anthology call, but you’re considering it, then I want you to think about your reasons. Why does the idea appeal to you? And, secondly, if you’ve not submitted yet — why not? What is stopping you?

Okay, now you've got some reasons in mind, let’s consider a couple of the most common motivatuonz for sending your stories out to indie lit venues.

1: Immeasurable Riches

That’s obviously the main reason for doing this writing thing — stacking up cash to buy solid-gold top hats. Well, that and…

2: Fame / Notoriety / Immortality

Yeah! You know it. The lit mag life is an easy fast-track to private jets and paparazzi scrums.

Okay. So I’m being stupid. Nobody in the indie lit scene is getting rich and famous. And I’m sure no-one who reads this is actually motivated by those goals.

Let me tell you some of the reasons why I submit my work. Maybe they'll resonate with your own aims. Or perhaps my ideas will help you crystallise your own whys.

3: Fun

Yep. Sending my words out into the world is fun. There’s a thrill in it. Will the story be accepted? Will I land my dream publication? Seeking out opportunities, tracking the subs, watching the acceptances and rejections stack up over the weeks and months. It feels like a game and it’s enjoyable.

4: Finishing

If I want to submit my stories, I have to finish them. Leaving dozens of abandoned half-drafts of promising tales in my notebook is no longer an option. The fact I’m sending my tales out into the world becomes a way to crush my procrastination urge and actually get work over the finish line.

5: Encouragement

I know. I know. It’s unhealthy to seek validation from external sources. But if I was a well-balanced human being, I probably wouldn’t be writing at all. So yeah, frown at me if you want, but I get a buzz when an editor picks my story from the pool of words. It’s magical to know that someone, somewhere appreciated my hard work and thought it was worth sharing with an audience. Which leads me nicely on to…

6: To be read

If a story falls over in a forest and nobody is there to read it, does it make sound? Okay the metaphor doesn’t work for several reasons, but you know what I mean. Stories exist to be read. In fact, they only truly exist in the mind and the voice of a reader. I want my stories to live and breathe, to take flight, to touch people — to scare them, make them feel things. And all of that means they need to be read.

Your homework: Consider what drives you to submit your work. Maybe write it down. Is there something specific you want to achieve? Write that down too. And then keep track. Look back later. Is the experience delivering? Does it live up to your expectations? If not, why not? And what can you change?

Next month: SUBMIT Part 2: How to Submit.

What am I reading?

I already mentioned Volume 2 of the very excellent Exposed Bone magazine. There’s a dark mountain of excellent poetry and short stories inside. And right at the pinnacle of that mountain is a masterful piece of weirdness by S J Townend: Neglect Takes the Form of the Recovery Position. Chilling, disturbing and deeply strange. Great writing.

Speaking of great writing, I’m also reading The Great When — the first book of Alan Moore’s Long London series — and it is fantastic. The follower of Glycon was clearly having a wonderful time writing this tale of a hidden city within a city — there’s a sense of fun in the musical language, the humour and the joyous celebration of London’s underground occult characters and weird psychogeographies. Moore’s enthusiasm is infectious and I’m having a great time.

Writing prompt

Let’s try a little bit of bibliomancy this month. Grab a book from your shelf. Try to pick one with a tone or an atmosphere or a character that appeals to you in this moment. We’re going to use this book to generate a phrase for us. And that phrase will become the seed of a new thing.

Riffle through the pages and stop when it feels right.

Now let your eye drift down the page — not reading, just drifting — and stop when you land on a phrase or sentence that catches your imagination.

I just pulled down The Complete Short Stories of Leonora Carrington and found my way to this page:

The phrase I came to rest on was: “I can only travel in leaps and bounds”.

I immediately found myself imagining a being of pure energy, arcing from location to location like lightning. Perhaps they are able to move through time as well as space. And yet, that immeasurable power is a limitation, it’s an inaccurate, imprecise, wild and dangerous way to move. More curse than blessing. They are lost, and their grip on home and everyone they love, is slippery. I don’t know where this is going, but it feels like there’s something there.

Looking at the snapshot, I could easily have picked “the Terror of the Forest” or “a room a hundred yards long”.

Now find your own phrase. Let it form an image in your mind and see where that takes you. Close your eyes if it helps. Don’t overthink. Don’t dwell. Give it no more than a minute and then start to write. Let the phrase lead to a scene, a paragraph, a character, an idea.

If you struggle, feel free to flip to a different page, or pull an entirely new book.

Where to submit?

I spotted a couple of interesting new mags this month (new to me, at least).

Surely is an online magazine looking for “writing that takes big swings … the sublimely strange … the eerie and the beautiful ... stories that don't clearly belong to any one genre … stories that expose the worms wriggling under the rock”. Send them your flash and short fiction through to 15th May: HERE.

Folklore Review publishes poetry, flash, and short stories inspired by folklore on their rather lovely website. “Send us stories from a haunted wood, woven in greenery and bark. Tell us of the creatures that live in your mind. Gods, ghosts, ghouls—or something completely different.” CLosing on 31st May. More info: HERE.

Signing off

I hope you found something fun and something useful in this update. I’ll be back soon with more news, links and writing-related shenanigans.

Best wishes,

Mat