Cindi Myers Market News's Blog

“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them.”                                                                                                                              Elmore Leonard

Today is the third installment of my look at short fiction markets, with a list of Christian magazines that publish short stories.

Disciples World is a publication of the Disciples of Christ, aimed at an audience of lay people and clergy. The editors are open to inspirational fiction up to 1200 words. Payment is 16 cents a word.

First Things isn’t associated with a particular denomination. Instead, it publishes articles related to religion and culture. Here’s a good place for longer stories. The editors are open to stories from 4000 to 6000 words. Payment varies.

Liguorian publishes “stories of faith, inspiration, the Catholic Church, and God’s presence in reader’s lives.” Fiction should be between 1500 and 200o words. Payment is 10 to 15 cents a word.

Live readers receive the magazine in adult Sunday school classes. The editors welcome fiction with Christian themes, especially humorous fiction. Length: 400-1100 words. Payment: 7 to 10 cents a word.

Mature Living readers are Christian adults over 55. The editors are looking for stories that underscore Biblical truths. The stories should be presented with warmth and humor is welcome. Length: 800-1200 words. Payment varies.

Mature Years is published by the United Methodist Publishing House. Readers are those over age 55. Send your inspirational fiction to 2000 words. Payment is 7 cents a word. Submit to Marvin Cropsey, Editor; 201 Eigth Avenue South; Nashville, TN 37203

Mind Flights combines Christian theology with science fiction and fantasy. The editors are actively seeking more speculative fiction based on Christian principles. Stories can be up to 2000 words. Payment is 1/2 cent a word.

St. Anthony Messenger is aimed at Catholic families. They publish inspirational fiction between 2000 and 2500 words. Payment is 20 cents a word.

Standard seeks to show Christianity in action. The editors welcome inspirational fiction with Christian themes. Length: up to 1200 words. Payment 3 1/2 cents a word.

U.S. Catholic publishes inspirational fiction to 1500 words. They pay $150 to $500.

Vista devotes 25 percent of each issue to inspirational fiction. The stories are quite short — 500 to 600 words. Payment varies.

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Jessica Rothenberg  is the new Senior Editor at the Penguin YA imprint Razorbill. Ms Rothenberg started with Penguin in 2004 as an editorial assistant and has worked on a number of projects for Razorbill, including several paranormal and fantasy YA titles. In a 2007 interview with author Cynthia Leitich Smith, she said “She’s always on the lookout for fresh, funny, voice-driven fiction—whether YA or middle grade—and is most interested in teen romance, literary fiction, and hilarious, high-concept ‘tween and teen series that kids can’t put down.”

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Want to know when my next book will be released, or find out about my backlist? Visit my website at http://www.CindiMyers.com

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Feel free to share the information in this blog with others. All I ask is that you give me credit and provide a link to the blog. Thank you.

Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there.
                                               Thomas Berger

I thought for the next few weeks I’d take a look at unexpected markets for short fiction — special interest magazines that you might not expect to publish short fiction, but which are open to stories that fit with the magazine’s themes.

I’m going to start with a look at Sports and Outdoors publications. If you have a story that relates to hunting, fishing, or an outdoor activity, you might find a home for your work at one of these magazines:

Bugle. This publication of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has an audience of both elk hunters and wildlife preservationists. The editors are open to short stories from 1500 to 4500 words which have to do with elk. Payment is 20 cents a word. Humor is welcome.

Deer and Deer Hunting As you might guess, the focus here is on stories that have to do with deer hunting. Length varies (though shorter is better for most magazines). Payment is $350-600.

Dirt Rag is a magazine for mountain bikers. The editors are open to short stories up to 2000 words long. The stories may be adventure stories, fantasy, inspirational or humorous, as long as mountain biking and mountain bikers plays an important role int he story. Payment varies.

Field Trial Magazine The readers of this magazine raise, train and compete with field dogs. The editors are open to adventure stories featuring field dogs. Stories should be 1000 to 2000 words. Payment is $150.

Fly, Rod and Reel This is the place to send your fly fishing stories. Length and payment varies.

North American Whitetail Here’s another market for deer hunting stories. The editors are particularly interested in humorous hunting stories. Length — up to 1000 words. Payment is $200-400.

Ocean Magazine This magazine aims to “celebrate and protect the world’s oceans”. The editors are interested in adventure stories set on the ocean or having to do with the ocean. Length and payment varies.

Orion publishes nature fiction, up to 5000 words. Payment is $400-1000.

Next week: Ethnic magazines interested in fiction.

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Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette, is expanding its Forever imprint of romance fiction, from 36 to 48 titles a year. Selina McLemore has been promoted to senior editor, under editorial director Amy Pierpont. Alex Logan has been promoted to associate editor. 

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As always, feel free to pass on information from this newsletter. All I ask is that you give me credit and provide a link to this blog. Thanks.

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Check out the cover for my June book, Her Mountain Man

This book is set in one of my favorite places on earth, Ouray, Colorado.  When reporter Sierra Winston is assigned to interview famed mountain climber Paul Teasdale, she comes face to face with her past — and gets the story of her life!

“You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you’re on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.”                            Margaret Atwood

Juno Books, a division of Pocket, is currently open to submissions of complete manuscripts. Juno books publishes contemporary fantasy with a strong female protagonist. Find out the scoop on this limited time opening here.  Then, check out their submission guidelines.

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Second Story Press is a Canadian publisher of books of special interest to women. They publish fiction, nonfiction and children’s books. They’re open to both agented and unagented manuscripts, and whil they focus on Canadian authors, you don’t have to live in Canada to be published by them. Fiction author should send a synopsis and sample chapters or the complete manuscript. Check their submission guidelines.  

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Vestal Review publishes flash fiction online and in a twice-yearly anthology. They publish stories up to 500 words and pay between 3 and 5 cents a word.  Check their submission guidelines.

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As always, feel free to pass on the information from this market news. All I ask is that you give me credit and include a link to the blog.