It is my great pleasure to introduce Dyanne Davis, an award-winning author of fourteen books. She also writes paranormal stories under the pseudonym of F.D. Davis. Dyanne’s newest novella, The Good Side of Evil, can be found in the Carnivale Diabolique anthology, available August 2009.
Dyanne’s known for her contagious smile, witty comebacks, and unflagging support of new authors. She’s a fabulous mentor and a true friend. She’s also quick to correct newly published authors who shyly state they have “just an ebook” or “just a short story” published. You’re published. Period.
Be sure to leave a comment. Dyanne’s generously giving away one copy of Love Stories Magazine, two copies of The Critic and two copies of In the Beginning OR Another Man’s Baby!! Winners will be posted Saturday.
Here’s Dyanne…
Being asked to contribute to the blog on Romance University had me dancing in my seat. Then the site went live and I was blown away by the brilliant posts. What I’d offered to talk about now seemed dull in comparison. How do I jazz this up? I want to give statistics and a new avenue of writing while waiting for the big break. In other words, I wanted to share my passion for what I’m doing right now. That was when it hit me. I decided to write this post picturing the faces of the ones who might be reading this while sharing a cup of coffee with me. Let’s pretend we’re having a conversation, albeit the conversation is a bit one-sided at the moment.
As writers, I’m aware that our goal is to ultimately see our work in book form. Today I’m sharing a strategy when you need a break , maybe while you’re stuck on your plot scene. It’s not my way of saying write short stories and articles instead of your novel. I’m saying this is a legitimate avenue for writers while you’re waiting for your first, or fiftieth, sale.
Several years ago, while at the RWA national conference in Atlanta, an Amazon representative gave a talk on Amazon Connect. A program where you wrote a prequel or sequel to your novel that was available on Amazon. It was an opportunity to get your work before people who’d never read your work, all for a reasonable price: 49 cents. I can’t remember now what I wrote but was surprised when I got the rejection. Before you go there, let me tell you it wasn’t ego that surprised me. I’d thought I could just write what I wanted as long as it pertained to the book that was coming out. I was trying to tell a little without giving away too much. After a few emails with my contact person, he told me I needed a complete short story. It had to have a beginning, middle and an end. The work had to be accepted. The challenge of introducing the characters and giving a flavor of the book that would hopefully have readers wanting to buy the latest book still remained. Word count was generous, 2-10,000 words. I rewrote the rejected story, following the guidelines, and it was accepted along with two others. I didn’t think too much about the fact that I’d just written three short stories. I wasn’t a short story writer. I wrote novels.
I didn’t even think of it a couple of years later when once again my novel was turned in 11,000 words over the limit. My editor, Sidney, was given the job of cutting out 10,000 words. After we were done with the first edits, I was now 15,000 words over and my editor said she had no idea how to cut anymore. The reason: Well, I’d cut the things she suggested but new scenes cropped up as I did the cutting. Since the book was the beginning of my vampire series, the scenes were part of the foundation for the rest of the series and, therefore, needed.
Shortly after that, I received an email from the publisher of New Love Stories magazine, asking me to contribute. In the middle of edits for another book, I didn’t have the time or the inclination. The publisher and I exchanged a few emails and I told him that I didn’t do short stories, but as soon as my scheduled permitted, I would attempt one. I mentioned this to Sidney. We’d worked on fourteen novels together by this time. I told her that I was thinking of writing a short story, and she said she didn’t think I had a short story in me. Challenge. Someone telling me what I can’t do. Hmm. Not going to happen. I was still way too busy to write anything at that time but a light bulb went on. Sidney was wrong, wrong, wrong. I’d already written a short story for another purpose. A large group of writers were each doing a short story for inclusion in a book. The publisher was set, the contracts were signed and, as oftentimes happen in the publishing world, things changed and the book was not going to be published. Around the same time one of the groups I belonged to asked me to participate in a holiday round robin. I started thinking about the fact that I had actually written two short stories without much thought. Then it hit me–submit the two stories to the magazine. Both stories were bought and the one for the round robin appeared in the premier issue of New Love Stories. I found that I enjoyed the physical act of submitting something once again on my own.
During the twelve months of waiting for the first issue of the magazine to come out, I began researching the short story market. I discovered it was possible for a writer to actually make a living in this market.
Make a living, a consistent living? That had a nice ring to it. It was now time for me to kick the research up a notch. I scoured the bookstores for books on these markets, took online classes, and bought ebooks that claimed to be filled with this information. I will admit that if you look hard enough in any of the publications you might find one or two things that might interest you. Don’t write anything off. I took another look at my 2008 edition of Writers Market, still a valuable resource but I wanted the most updated list I could find. Keep in mind that you take the cost of the material off your taxes. I found two items worth the purchase–The 2009 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market and Writers Journal Magazine. As a matter of fact, an article in Writers Journal touched on what I was planning on writing. (See what I mean? Research is never wasted.) There are lots of how-to markets and markets wanting articles and blogs, and some pay extremely well. The side benefit is that most of the magazines hold first rights, meaning you can sell the story again and again. There are also a few markets (mainly children) that will pay each time they reuse an article. When the writer of the article I was reading mentioned making $10,000 from his one article, my interest soared.
Of course you’re aware that not everything connected with writing is all about the money. If it were, many writers wouldn’t continually say they don’t write for the money but the love of writing. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve discovered what writing for the love of it truly means. Through my research, I’ve discovered tons of literary magazines that enable writers to get their name before the public. Most of these magazines are basically salve for the soul as they pay only in one to two copies of the magazine.
Suffice it to say that while I’ve been researching the short story market, studying the types of stories that they buy (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT) and graphing my progress, I have gained untold respect for the writers who have mastered this. My rejection pile is getting high but you can’t sell if you don’t write. Two pieces of good news. And yes, even a rejection can be good news. I’ve received two handwritten notes from an editor of one of the markets I’m trying to break into. The first one, said she loved my story and my voice. But sadly they didn’t accept stories where there was marital strife of any kind, even if there was a HEA. Last week, I received another handwritten note that said she really loved another of my stories but they didn’t publish political stories. Keep trying, she said, keep studying the weekly issues for the types of stories we publish. You’re getting close.
So I leave you with this: Short stories can be used as a kind of palate cleanser. They’re fun to write and a challenge if you’re used to overwriting as I am. Just don’t go into it thinking its fluff and you need not do anything but write. That’s a huge mistake. (THIS PART IS INTENTIONALLY REPETITIVE) You should always research your market and definitely research the publisher you’re submitting to. Read what they publish and learn their needs. Until then, do your homework and don’t write off the short story market. There are many things you can do while waiting to make the sale. Do your homework: (Necessary Repeat) Work at finding the right markets, finding story ideas, developing and writing your stories. Follow the rules of each individual magazine publisher; query them first if that’s what they want. Learn what happens after you submit your story or article. What’s the wait time? How about your rights? What does the contract state? Will you get paid? If so, when and how much?
While the writing might be a lot shorter for the short story market, if you’re a professional writer, it’s still a business and you should treat it as such. Have fun with it and never ever give up. When I finally figure out what it is they want and make my first sale, I will beg Romance University to allow me to come back and share.
By the way, Tracey wanted me to share some words of wisdom and though I know she didn’t expect me to do it here or in this manner this is what happens when you don’t give writers boundaries. (LOL) Okay, here goes: Don’t plagiarize. Why, you ask, am I saying that in an article on writing for the short story/article market? Simple. I saw a commercial a couple of days ago and I’m desperately trying to figure out how to use their words. T.L.C. I think it had something to do with saving lives. But it also applies to writers at all stages of the game. So my sage advice is: We all have knowledge to share.
T-Teach what you know
L- Learn what you need to
Award winning author, Dyanne Davis lives in a Chicago suburb with her husband Bill, and their son Bill Jr. She retired from nursing several years ago to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a published author.
An avid reader, Dyanne began reading at the age of four. Her love of the written word turned into a desire to write. Her first novel, The Color of Trouble, was released July of 2003. The novel was received with high praise and several awards. Dyanne won an Emma for Favorite New Author of the year. Her books have consistently finaled in contests.
The Good Side of Evil August 2009
Be sure to join Adrienne next Monday while she chats with C.J. Redwine about Writing a Great Query. You don’t want to miss this class!
Kelsey's serving up bite-sized morsels for your noggin on her new 
Hi Dyanne,
Thank you so much for chatting with us at RU! Are there any special challenges to writing a short story vs. a full length? Does a short story go through all the same publishing steps as a full length?
READERS: Be sure to leave a comment! Dyanne’s giving away 4 books and a Love Stories magzine.
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | June 12, 2009, 5:35 amTracey,
Thank you ladies for having me.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 3:22 pmDyanne –
First, welcome!
Can you share with us the number of publications you submit to on a regular basis, and approximately how much time it takes you to write and edit a short story?
Thanks so much!
Kelsey
Posted by KelseyBrowning | June 12, 2009, 6:44 amKelsey,
There’s only one publication I submit to on a regular basis and that’s Woman’s World. And that’s because they pay $800 for 800 words
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 3:24 pmIt’s great to see you here, Dyanne. I love the idea of short stories, but as someone who’s never written anything shorter than 95K, I’m not sure this is something I should even attempt. How do you keep the word count down?
Posted by Keena Kincaid | June 12, 2009, 7:53 amKeena,
I understand what you’re saying. All of my novels have been over 100K. Why do you think my editor said I didn’t have a short story in me. But she was wrong. I have a lot of short stories in me. I just need someone to buy them all.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 3:27 pmHi Dyanne!
Great article! I’ve been looking into the short story market myself, and New Love Stories magazine in particular. My question is similar to Tracey’s – how exactly do you write a love story in such a short length? Is it easiest to have the H&H already know each other so you skip that part? Or do you just mentally convince yourself that yes they would meet and fall in love that quickly. =) From the attempts I’ve made, it seems they have to have some serious feelings for each other right off that bat! Also, do you even attempt to add in the “black moment” etc.or just brief little glitches in a short story romance? Sorry for the herd of questions, inquiring minds want to know!
=)
thanks!!
carrie
Posted by carrie | June 12, 2009, 8:42 amCarrie,
Writing for New Love Stories is easier than trying to find the right mix for WW. First off you can do a lot more in 5000 words than you can with 800. With NLS I had a mini black moment. Coming from writing novels it’s hard to not think in those terms. I applied that to WW or tried to. The first handwritten note I received said, no marital problem, aging parents, illness, divorce, infidelity and something else that I can’t remember. That kind of limited the possibility of a black moment. But, she then said no fluff. With the second note I received last week she said no political stories.
Since I have a deadline for a book I haven’t written another short story, not on paper anyway but I;m planning on turning the one she liked (the political story) into something else. As far as WW–no black moments. That one you really should pick up an issue or several and get a feel for it. Good luck. I’d like for someone that I at least spoke to to make a sale.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 3:38 pmHi Dyanne and welcome. It’s such fun having you here. The ladies have all asked my questions, so just put a big DITTO for me. LOL.
Thank you for the great article. Short stories have been a scary thought to me because of the word count, but I think you’ve convinced me to try it.
Adrienne
Posted by Adrienne Giordano | June 12, 2009, 9:04 amHi Adrienne,
Actually after you write a couple of them you’d be surprised how easy they become to write. Of course I write long then edit it down.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 3:40 pmHi, Dyanne. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I don’t know where to start looking to read short stories, much less what to study and who to target if I wanted to write one. Can you share some of your favorite places/pulications for short stories? I’m sure I’ll be smacking my forehead and saying “duh! that makes sense!” when you answer, but I’m hoping I’m not the only person ignorant in this area.
Thanks!
Posted by Jamie | June 12, 2009, 12:55 pmJamie,
I’m sorry I missed your question earlier. Tomorrow when I post the winners I will post several places for you to submit and I will give you the address and websites.
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 8:16 pmGreat article, Dyanne! I actually started out writing short stories, but had so much trouble selling them, I switched to novels. But I’ve rediscovered writing short, albeit novella-length stories, that will be included in two anthologies and a stand alone e-book for my publisher The Wild Rose Press.
I’m also looking into the confession magazine market as a way to make extra money. Even though I don’t write comtemporary romance, I think I’d like to give it a try just to see if I could do it.
Posted by Susan Macatee | June 12, 2009, 3:07 pmA writer after my own heart!
I loved working with my editor at TWRP. I have two short stories sitting on my desk – just need to finish editing them.
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | June 12, 2009, 3:59 pmSusan,
Do you have any of those short stories still around? I hope so. Go to the bookstore and pick up either Writer’s market or The Short story market. You don’t have to buy them but take them to a table and write down a few places. Both are loaded. Skip the literary section. Congratulations on your anthologies. Wild Rose Press is a great publisher.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 3:43 pmThanks, Dyanne! I actually did rewrite a short vampire story I’d written years ago and sold it as a stand-alone e-book for TWRP. I wrote the other stories so long ago, I think I’d have a hard time editing them. My writing style has changed so much over the years.
Posted by Susan Macatee | June 12, 2009, 4:59 pmSusan,
The short paranormal ones are the ones that’s really selling. Even though I do a vampire series I just haven’t been able to come up with a short story on one. I’m glad you were able to use yours. And I agree about your writing style changing.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 8:18 pmDyanne, thank you so much for joining us today! Readers, drop by tomorrow afternoon to see if you won one of Dyanne’s great giveaways.
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | June 12, 2009, 7:46 pmThanks Tracey,
It was so nice talking with everyone.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 8:19 pmLadies, I’ve decided I will give all of you a book. But I only have one magazine and the person who writes in first and tell me what the F. D. stands for will get the magazine and a book
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 12, 2009, 8:21 pmGood morning ladies,
The six readers that commented can send me their address and tell me which book they’d like. Another Man’s Baby, The Critic, or In the Beginning. They can read an excerpt on my site to see which they would like. The Critic is humorous, AMB is about the war, and ITB is my first vampire. The next post will be the information I promised yesterday and it’s pretty long. davisdyanne@aol.com
Posted by Dyanne | June 13, 2009, 8:25 amGood Morning everyone,
As promised I’m giving the info for a couple of places to send your short stories. There are lots of places and you can find them by simply putting Short Story market in your browser. A lot of the markets pay in cents per words. I didn’t include any of those here. The first one is for, New Love Stories Magazine:
Ron Victor
Publisher
Love Stories Magazine
Grassroots Publishing Co, Inc.
C/O Hochman Associates
908 Oaktree Ave. Suite H
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
908-222-0990
908-222-8228 Fax
E-mail: submit@grassrootsmag.com
Home Page: http://grassrootsmag.com/index.html
Writers Guidelines: http://grassrootsmag.com/wrgu.html
Submissions: http://grassrootsmag.com/submissions.html
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For those who are interested in submitting short fiction overseas, Britain’s “My Weekly” Magazine guidelines are posted here: http://womagwriter. blogspot. com/
Other overseas markets are listed in Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, available on Amazon.com (it’s the British equivalent of our Writer’s market book).
——————————————————————————————————————–
Worldwide Freelance Writer
http://www.worldwidefreelance.com
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Woman’s Day
Fiction Guidelines
The fiction stories that Woman’s Day readers seem to enjoy are about women’s daily lives, romances, mysteries, plus the occasional ghost story. The magazine does not want sexually explicit stories and, if a crime is committed or planned, then the perpetrator should be caught or have the plot rebound on him or her.
Very short stories, about 850 words long, are not used as frequently as longer ones which should be around 1,500 words The shorter stories often have a twist at the end of the tale, but this is not essential. Pen names may be used. Illustrations or photographs for stories are not required. Feature stories are usually written by staff members or regular contributors. Generally we do not have the space to publish poetry or tales for children.
Manuscripts should be typed on one side of the paper only, with double spacing and sufficient margins on either side of the text and be accompanied by an A4 self-addressed adequately stamped envelope for the reply one way or the other. If a disk accompanies the manuscript it should be IBM compatible. Contributions should be sent to: The Fiction Editor, Woman’s Day, 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Submissions may also be faxed to Woman’s Day on (02) 9267 4360 or e-mailed in Word format to womansday@acp.com.au NOTE: A return postal address should be included with submissions. Email addresses and fax numbers are often insufficient.
Woman’s Day purchases first Australian and New Zealand rights for each story. The usual fee for a short story is $350, payable on receipt of the author’s invoice after the magazine’s offer of acceptance. Longer stories receive proportionately more. If writing is the Australian author’s main source of income, the invoice must include an ABN and state whether the sum is GST inclusive, or adding the GST to the amount offered. If charging GST, a Tax Invoice will be required. After the off-sale date of the issue of publication, rights revert to the author.
We accept unsolicited manuscripts but, as we receive a large amount of these each week, only a small proportion reaches publication. Every story is read and a reply should be expected in five to six weeks from the date of arrival at the Woman’s Day Fiction office. Because of the number of submissions received, we regret individual criticism and advice cannot be given.
On this one I would suggest not using the full 1500 words. I received back two submissions telling me I was over the word count.
http://www.freelancewriting.com/guidelines/pages/Fantasy-SciFi/
I decided to include at least one link for SciFi. You have to check out the links to see if anything works for you. Freelancewritning.com list the links for guidelines for most genres. Romance is not there. What you really want to look for in one of these publication is something like what’s below. This is what you will need in order to submit your work elsewhere after you’ve fulfilled your contractual obligation. This is what can keep earning you money for your shorts.
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In exchange for these fees, we ask for first North American serial rights and First Electronic Rights. In addition, we ask for no posting of the accepted story anywhere on the Web, or in print in the United States or Canada, for 30 days after its exclusive appearance on the….( fill in the blank) Web site. After this period, all rights revert back to the writer.
First the address for Woman’s World: If you send them a romance they want it written beneath the address. They also accept mysteries which should not exceed 600 words. If it’s a mystery you should also put that on the envelope.
Fiction Editor
Woman’s World
270 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Posted by Dyanne | June 13, 2009, 8:25 amDyanne! You are a gem. Such a generous spirit. Thank you for being here with us and giving great feedback. You’re the best!
Posted by Adrienne Giordano | June 13, 2009, 8:38 amDyanne had a few technical problems, so she asked me to post the information she promised. Here ya go…
Good Morning everyone,
As promised I’m giving the info for a couple of places to send your short stories. There are lots of places and you can find them by simply putting Short Story market in your browser. A lot of the markets pay in cents per words. I didn’t include any of those here. The first one is for, New Love Stories Magazine:
Ron&Victor
Publisher
Love Stories Magazine
Grassroots Publishing Co, Inc.
C/O Hochman Associates
908 Oaktree Ave. Suite H
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
908-222-0990
908-222-8228 Fax
E-mail: submit@grassrootsmag.com
Home Page: http://grassrootsmag.com/index.html
Writers Guidelines: http://grassrootsmag.com/wrgu.html
Submissions: http://grassrootsmag.com/submissions.html
Posted by TraceyDevlyn | June 13, 2009, 3:40 pmThank you, Dyanne, for such an informative post. I’m working on a short story, and truly enjoyed your sage input!
Posted by Sandra Kay | June 14, 2009, 6:37 pmSandra,
Talking with all of you pushed me to complete one I’d forgotten about. I have it ready to mail. Good luck with yours. The one thing I’ve noticed writing short does is forces you to make every word count and take out the extra ones we like to use.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 15, 2009, 2:34 pmDyanne,
Sorry I missed your day on this blog, but reading it now really triggered something in me. I’ve been away from writing for months, medical issues, and am getting back into it. I decided instead of continuing editing work on my completed ms, which is hard work, needing all the details of what I wrote fresh in my mind, I’d start a new story.
Now, after coming across your comment, writing a short story as a palate cleanser from other writing, a change of pace, I realized maybe this is what I need to do, to get back into the ryhthm of writing.
Kudos to you!! and Thanks again.
Sherry
Posted by Sherry Weddle | June 15, 2009, 1:57 pmHi Sherry,
I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I have a few of the magazines at home and if you’d like I’ll cut out the stories and send them to you.
Dyanne
Posted by Dyanne | June 15, 2009, 2:35 pmIt seems quite a bit of the post I wanted Tracey to post got lost. There were several places I mentioned with the addresses to send your stories to. If you want that info email Tracey or myself davisdyanne@aol.com and I’ll forward it to you.
Posted by Dyanne | June 15, 2009, 2:37 pm