HOT TIP: SciFi Shorts |
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Gnerphk
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 08 Jun 2023 Location: Germantown, MD Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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Posted: 08 Jun 2023 at 11:26am |
Back in February, I started submitting at every sci-fi publication I could find. My goal was to break in, sell something, and get published by a major outlet. That way, I could boast of a decent following by the time my book is ready to shop around at publishers. Unfortunately, this coincided with the OpenAI release that advertised storytelling. Naturally enough, my submissions have been swamped. Clarkesworld got so overwhelmed they had to shut down for a month in order to catch up — and so on. I'm sure you're all familiar with the problem. Then I somehow stumbled across SciFi Shorts . I've since accumulated probably 150-odd rejections from other publications, but at SciFi Shorts I've managed to sell more than a dozen pieces in the past three months. They're very particular about the Submissions Guidelines and the form takes some getting used to, but overall it's an excellent and (at least for now) highly accessible venue. An aside: They're still new and payment is on a shares basis, so it's not much per word even for Flash. On the other hand, subscriptions are cheap (and, as I understand it, tax-deductible), so I figure that's guaranteed to change and soon.
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jennifer.quail
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 07 Feb 2018 Status: Offline Points: 7931 |
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So how much have you actually gotten paid?
I cannot imagine how they'd qualify as a tax deduction. You are not donating to a charity (and when you DO donate to a charity you cannot deduct the value of any gifts or products so that includes 'access to paid content.')
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Gnerphk
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 08 Jun 2023 Location: Germantown, MD Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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Yet? Not one thin dime. Payment is quarterly, you see. I'm assured by the other writers, though, that even though subscriptions are on the rise, and that pay is on a strict division basis, it's far below SFFW rates.
WRT deductible: I'm not a tax expert and can't advise, but there's nothing to say I can't repeat what I've been instructed. Subscriptions to magazines I submit to, my new antique medical book on poisons, and the next convention are all, I've been informed, deductible expenses the way I file. I'm US-based and writing is a business for me, not a hobby. Your own mileage may, as they say, vary. I will say, I very much prefer this method of filing to that of my old "hobby business", where nothing is deductible and everything is income. Hardly worth the effort doing it that way.
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A. H. Davison
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 26 Jul 2023 Location: North Vancouver Status: Offline Points: 449 |
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Very cool! Thanks for sharing! :)
Have you seen an increase in your following/mailing list? How are you measuring your growth from submitting to Sci-Fi Shorts?
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syd_mid
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 28 Nov 2022 Status: Offline Points: 291 |
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oooh nice! a great place to read and get inspired. a possible creative outlet too!!! thank you for sharing!
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Gnerphk
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 08 Jun 2023 Location: Germantown, MD Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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I know of half a dozen new follows that are other writers from the site. Otherwise, it's difficult for me to determine which is organic versus synergistic. I do get a fair number of cross-clicks, though.
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A. H. Davison
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 26 Jul 2023 Location: North Vancouver Status: Offline Points: 449 |
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Awesome! Thanks for the info ❤️
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Nimhathuna
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 15 Jul 2020 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 5072 |
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A few of us submit here, myself included—a great diversity of writers and stories. If you've any Sci-Fi narratives nestling in your creative store, there's no harm in submitting them to the magazine. I'm in awe of the images they use to accompany the published stories.
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