Don't forget the review contest...entries aren't due until the end of the month, but plan ahead, 'kay? Right now, the entrants have a 1 in 3 chance of winning. Make it harder for them.
Okay...on to my goals for 2011...
What I can do:
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now, I have two. I plan on adding another by the end of the week.
2. Sub one new story each week (Write 1/Sub 1). I plan to submit "The Good Daughter" this week.
3. Finish Borrowed Saints. I aborted the weekly updates last fall because I needed more time to edit. Will this happen? I don't know. But it is a goal.
4. Finish How We Die in a Hungry Town. I need to edit, edit, edit. I have a self-imposed deadline for this.
5. Write one review each month for Skull Salad. Minimum.
What I'd like to happen in 2011:
1. Sell at least one more story to a pro paying market. I need one more sale of 1,800 words or more to make "active" level for the HWA. I'd like that.
2. I'd like to sell a book. Right now, I have How We Die in a Hungry Town...hmmm...
Showing posts with label Skull Salad Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skull Salad Reviews. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Fellow Travelers, Heed the Call
I'll cut to the chase. I'm looking for a few brave souls to help keep short fiction reviews alive, specifically those from the small/semi-pro paying press. From Skull Salad:
Here's the deal: Dave Truesdale of Tangent Online has made public Tangent will no longer review publications paying less than "pro" rates (currently 5 cents/word according to both the SWFA and HWA). Jason Sanford has an eloquent response at his blog.
My less-than-eloquent response: that sucks.
No reviews for anything from Clockwork Phoenix, Shimmer, Weird Tales (WEIRD TALES!), Space & Time, Triangulation, Electro Velocipede, Albedo One...
As a writer, I've benefited from several favorable reviews of my stories in Tangent's virtual pages. I don't have the time/energy or expertise to fill the gap left by Tangent's rather narrow focus. I can offer suggestions of short pieces I've read and enjoyed, and will continue to do so here at Skull Salad. What I'm asking is simple:
I need a few brave souls to join me, not as "full-time" reviewers, but as folks who enjoy good, short speculative fiction and would be willing to offer suggestions of reading material from time to time. Nothing big. Even one story recommendation a month goes a long way in keeping the speculative fiction machine alive.
If you want on the list (no obligation), email me. (aaron.polson(at)gmail.com)
From here on, Skull Salad only touches short fiction from venues paying less than "pro" rates.
Here's the deal: Dave Truesdale of Tangent Online has made public Tangent will no longer review publications paying less than "pro" rates (currently 5 cents/word according to both the SWFA and HWA). Jason Sanford has an eloquent response at his blog.
My less-than-eloquent response: that sucks.
No reviews for anything from Clockwork Phoenix, Shimmer, Weird Tales (WEIRD TALES!), Space & Time, Triangulation, Electro Velocipede, Albedo One...
As a writer, I've benefited from several favorable reviews of my stories in Tangent's virtual pages. I don't have the time/energy or expertise to fill the gap left by Tangent's rather narrow focus. I can offer suggestions of short pieces I've read and enjoyed, and will continue to do so here at Skull Salad. What I'm asking is simple:
I need a few brave souls to join me, not as "full-time" reviewers, but as folks who enjoy good, short speculative fiction and would be willing to offer suggestions of reading material from time to time. Nothing big. Even one story recommendation a month goes a long way in keeping the speculative fiction machine alive.
If you want on the list (no obligation), email me. (aaron.polson(at)gmail.com)
From here on, Skull Salad only touches short fiction from venues paying less than "pro" rates.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday Grab Bag
Here's your free schtuff for Tuesday:
A piece of haunting ambient music, "Gentle Now, Ghosty", from a longer work of love songs for ghosts on which I'm working. (look, I'm no professional musician, okay?)
A lovely Amazon comment about "Former Vocations" (a poem in A.P. Fuch's Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes):
"...'Former Vocations' (Aaron Polson) provides marvelously personal snapshots of the end of it all." - from Anton LeCancre "horror geek"
A recommendation for Rio Youers' Mama Fish over at Skull Salad Reviews (BT's send up of the latest from The New Bedlam Project has been imported over there, too).
Finally, a list of imagery generated by one of my classes (I love me some imagery):
Sight
vibrant, sparkling, gleaming, dull, dirty, filthy, glossy, lustrous
Sound
screech, squeal, ding, rumble, muted, congested, crunching, crackling, gurgle, swoosh, swish
Taste
fruity, bitter, sour, sweet, tart, spicy, foul, bland, savory, tangy, stale, fresh, rotten, rancid
Touch
gritty, grainy, poky, knobby, oily, slimy, smooth, rough, bumpy, prickly, sharp, puffy, fluffy, dry, wet, slick, pocked
Smell
foul, stinky, raunchy, stench, skunky, dusty, musty, floral, pungent, smoky, fishy, musky
We spent about ten minutes generating the list. What other magnificent words could we add to the list?
A piece of haunting ambient music, "Gentle Now, Ghosty", from a longer work of love songs for ghosts on which I'm working. (look, I'm no professional musician, okay?)
A lovely Amazon comment about "Former Vocations" (a poem in A.P. Fuch's Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes):
"...'Former Vocations' (Aaron Polson) provides marvelously personal snapshots of the end of it all." - from Anton LeCancre "horror geek"
A recommendation for Rio Youers' Mama Fish over at Skull Salad Reviews (BT's send up of the latest from The New Bedlam Project has been imported over there, too).
Finally, a list of imagery generated by one of my classes (I love me some imagery):
Sight
vibrant, sparkling, gleaming, dull, dirty, filthy, glossy, lustrous
Sound
screech, squeal, ding, rumble, muted, congested, crunching, crackling, gurgle, swoosh, swish
Taste
fruity, bitter, sour, sweet, tart, spicy, foul, bland, savory, tangy, stale, fresh, rotten, rancid
Touch
gritty, grainy, poky, knobby, oily, slimy, smooth, rough, bumpy, prickly, sharp, puffy, fluffy, dry, wet, slick, pocked
Smell
foul, stinky, raunchy, stench, skunky, dusty, musty, floral, pungent, smoky, fishy, musky
We spent about ten minutes generating the list. What other magnificent words could we add to the list?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Reviewy-Tuesday
Catching up on some reviews and other news.
I've posted my recommendation of See No Evil, Say No Evil by Matt Betts at Skull Salad.
Jorge Solis of Fangoria.com had some nice things to say about Dead Bait, including my contribution, "Grim Adaptations":
My favorites in the collection are Tim Curran’s “Piraya” and Aaron A. Polson’s “Grim Adaptations.” In both tales, dead fish are reanimated back to life as zombies to feed off of humans...
Luke Reviews covered Monstrous back in May, but I've only recently stumbled across this lovely send up of "A Plague from the Mud":
In this tale, Polson presents us with a slowly evolving tale of dread, as the clues are all there, and we all know what will happen, but we can't turn and look away. This dark piece works that dread well, playing on suspense and short bits of story with lots of breaks, nailing the suspense of the dying town of Monument, Oregon.
Finally (for the review portion of the post), Tom Powers at Small Press Reviews mentioned "Dancing Lessons" while covering Triangulation: Dark Glass.
...a girl poignantly encounters an animated carnival monster who may be her dead father...
In other news,"Precious Metal", a short-short accepted by the venerable Albedo One last year, is due out in their next issue. I'm giddy about this, as Albedo One has a long and storied track record.
I've posted my recommendation of See No Evil, Say No Evil by Matt Betts at Skull Salad.
Jorge Solis of Fangoria.com had some nice things to say about Dead Bait, including my contribution, "Grim Adaptations":
My favorites in the collection are Tim Curran’s “Piraya” and Aaron A. Polson’s “Grim Adaptations.” In both tales, dead fish are reanimated back to life as zombies to feed off of humans...
Luke Reviews covered Monstrous back in May, but I've only recently stumbled across this lovely send up of "A Plague from the Mud":
In this tale, Polson presents us with a slowly evolving tale of dread, as the clues are all there, and we all know what will happen, but we can't turn and look away. This dark piece works that dread well, playing on suspense and short bits of story with lots of breaks, nailing the suspense of the dying town of Monument, Oregon.
Finally (for the review portion of the post), Tom Powers at Small Press Reviews mentioned "Dancing Lessons" while covering Triangulation: Dark Glass.
...a girl poignantly encounters an animated carnival monster who may be her dead father...
In other news,"Precious Metal", a short-short accepted by the venerable Albedo One last year, is due out in their next issue. I'm giddy about this, as Albedo One has a long and storied track record.
Last but not least I found myself listed in the International Science-Fiction Database. They only have two of my shorts listed: "A Plague from the Mud" and "The Ox-Cart Man". Weird to be listed at all. I must be "real".
Oh, and I've added the "followers" bit to the sidebar. I wrestled with it for a while, not wanting to seem to narcissistic, but I think it can be a good social networking tool for visitors. So, there it is.
Doing "It" Well
I received an interesting bit in the mail on Friday. At first, from the shape and size, I thought it was another Christmas card. (don't get me wrong, I love Christmas cards...but they are about all I've received of late)
No, it was a glossy press-release type page and note from Robert Dunbar (author of The Pines, The Shore, and Martyrs and Monsters). The handwritten note mentioned my blog (this blog). I wrote about Martyrs and Monsters a few months ago...here.
Oh, I thought, through this simple gesture, Mr. Dunbar has made a Fan for LifeTM. I firmly believe that making connections with fans is the single most important thing an author can do in the new writing order. Does Dunbar spend a little on postage? Sure. Will he make that money back by selling a couple of books to some schmuck in Kansas? No...but I'm blogging about it. I'm more likely to read another book with his name attached, hunt down short stories, etc. And I'm working on a more detailed "review" of Martyrs and Monsters for Skull Salad. Will that sell more books? Dunno, but it can't hurt. Good karma for the win.
So I've been thinking: What can I do to help fan the flames of my potential readers? Cate Gardner did a brilliant job marketing her chapbook, The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon, earlier this year. (Cate's a pretty brilliant social networker all the way around) With my first book (The House Eaters) on schedule for "future release", what can I do to help make that connection? How can an author help make you a Fan for LifeTM?
No, it was a glossy press-release type page and note from Robert Dunbar (author of The Pines, The Shore, and Martyrs and Monsters). The handwritten note mentioned my blog (this blog). I wrote about Martyrs and Monsters a few months ago...here.
Oh, I thought, through this simple gesture, Mr. Dunbar has made a Fan for LifeTM. I firmly believe that making connections with fans is the single most important thing an author can do in the new writing order. Does Dunbar spend a little on postage? Sure. Will he make that money back by selling a couple of books to some schmuck in Kansas? No...but I'm blogging about it. I'm more likely to read another book with his name attached, hunt down short stories, etc. And I'm working on a more detailed "review" of Martyrs and Monsters for Skull Salad. Will that sell more books? Dunno, but it can't hurt. Good karma for the win.
So I've been thinking: What can I do to help fan the flames of my potential readers? Cate Gardner did a brilliant job marketing her chapbook, The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon, earlier this year. (Cate's a pretty brilliant social networker all the way around) With my first book (The House Eaters) on schedule for "future release", what can I do to help make that connection? How can an author help make you a Fan for LifeTM?
Monday, December 14, 2009
Here's to the Word of Mouth
Last Monday, I posted about the "power" of the internet. That post, in part, was a response to all the brouhaha surrounding John Scalzi vs. Black Matrix Publishing.
One commenter, Diana Lyles of Scribblers and Ink Spillers, LLC, suggested:
If you, the short story writers, want paying markets for your work, then support those magazines and journals that do pay.
That happened to be pretty darn close to one of my resolutions last year (buy something small press at least once a month). How'd I do?
Well...I subscribed to Necrotic Tissue, Kaleidotrope, Morpheus Tales, and Murky Depths. I purchased Shock Totem #1, and Black Ink Horror #5. I was fortunate enough to win copies of Malpractice and Barry Napier's Debris collection, and Grant's Pass. Camille Alexa's wonderful Push of the Sky, K.C. Shaw's delightful Jack of All Trades, and Michael Stone's magnificent Fourtold found their way to my door via Amazon. Finally, I'm awaiting R. Scott McCoy's debut, Feast from Shroud. Wait...wait...I picked up the bizarre and delicious The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon by Cate Gardner, too.
So, I could do better. Eleven small press subs or purchases (that I can remember) in twelve months came pretty darn close to my goal, but I did that without effort. Purchasing is one thing, but reviewing and getting out the word is something else entirely. I plan to amp up my small press promotion with a "reviews" blog, trying to mention something about everything I read from the "small press". Whatever small press means.
As Diane noted in her comment, word of mouth is the best promotion any work can get. I plan on blabbing a bit over the next year. Let's build this community. I'm calling my reviews ('cause they need a site of their own and blogs make me happy): Skull Salad Reviews. If you want to write reviews, I'd be happy to have the company. Drop me a line.
Have a wonderful Monday.
One commenter, Diana Lyles of Scribblers and Ink Spillers, LLC, suggested:
If you, the short story writers, want paying markets for your work, then support those magazines and journals that do pay.
That happened to be pretty darn close to one of my resolutions last year (buy something small press at least once a month). How'd I do?
Well...I subscribed to Necrotic Tissue, Kaleidotrope, Morpheus Tales, and Murky Depths. I purchased Shock Totem #1, and Black Ink Horror #5. I was fortunate enough to win copies of Malpractice and Barry Napier's Debris collection, and Grant's Pass. Camille Alexa's wonderful Push of the Sky, K.C. Shaw's delightful Jack of All Trades, and Michael Stone's magnificent Fourtold found their way to my door via Amazon. Finally, I'm awaiting R. Scott McCoy's debut, Feast from Shroud. Wait...wait...I picked up the bizarre and delicious The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon by Cate Gardner, too.
So, I could do better. Eleven small press subs or purchases (that I can remember) in twelve months came pretty darn close to my goal, but I did that without effort. Purchasing is one thing, but reviewing and getting out the word is something else entirely. I plan to amp up my small press promotion with a "reviews" blog, trying to mention something about everything I read from the "small press". Whatever small press means.
As Diane noted in her comment, word of mouth is the best promotion any work can get. I plan on blabbing a bit over the next year. Let's build this community. I'm calling my reviews ('cause they need a site of their own and blogs make me happy): Skull Salad Reviews. If you want to write reviews, I'd be happy to have the company. Drop me a line.
Have a wonderful Monday.
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