T. W. Fendley on Becoming a Published Author/ebook giveaway

Immortyl Revolution is pleased to welcome T. W. Fendley!  She is part of my ongoing feature of L&L Dreamspell authors.  T.W. has graciously offered an ebook giveaway.

GIVEAWAY:

T.W. is offering a drawing to win Dreamspell Sci Fi Vol. 1, an ebook anthology featuring her story, "Solar Lullaby." To enter, please leave a comment, including your contact email. The winner, chosen by random drawing, will be notified next Thursday, Sept. 29.



Most of the time I'm chugging away on my latest novel, but several times a year I take a break to focus on something entirely different. No, I'm not talking about reality TV. I mean short stories that give you that quick burst of adrenalin from actually finishing something. Getting published makes it even more fun! So I jumped at this chance to share a few ideas on how to get your short stories into readers' hands.

Contests are a great stepping stone toward publication. But unless you're Asimov reincarnated, before you submit to contests (or anywhere else), be sure to have someone critique your story. Contest judges are often well known writers or editors, and that's certainly not who you want to point out a typo. Many judges in smaller contests will give feedback on what needs to be improved. When you're one of the contest winners, you can add that to your professional credentials.


Writers' organizations and conferences often offer contests, and your local chapter may be able to help you connect with a critique partner. Rallystorm offers online forums for getting critiques and connecting with other writers. Preditors & Editors, another free site, has a cross-genre listing of contests and conferences.

For science fiction and fantasy writers, one of the biggest and best contests is L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future (WOF). It pays $1,000 quarterly to winners, plus a $5,000 annual grand prize. WOF's forum can help you find critique partners and learn how to improve your stories. With about 1,000 entries each quarter in the WOF contest, I was thrilled when "Solar Lullaby"--my short story featured in the Dreamspell Sci Fi Vol.1 ebook anthology--earned honorable mention.

I learned about the Dreamspell anthology directly from the publisher's website. They're looking for dog stories now, with more anthologies opening for submission soon. You also should check Duotrope, which lists more than 3,500 markets for fiction and poetry. It even allows you track your submissions--gotta love it! Remember, persistence pays off. Send to the top-paying markets for your genre first, and keep the stories going out.

These are just a few ideas I hope will help you get your stories published, and please share what's worked for you. I haven't yet tried self-publishing stories on Kindle, but if you have, I'd love to hear about it!

You can follow T.W. at:

http://www.twfendley.com/

T. W.'s L&L Dreamspell Marketing Page

Goodreads






T.W. Fendley writes historical fantasy and science fiction for adults and young adults. Look for her historical fantasy, Zero Time, this fall from L&L Dreamspell. When she's not writing, T.W.'s busy traveling and learning about all sorts of fascinating things for her next books. Or she's venturing into inner space via Remote Viewing.

Solar Lullaby trailer

Solar LullabyDr. Flare Haich offers the only hope for diverting a solar flare that will dwarf the 2012 Mayan Event, which killed her parents and a half-billion others. She must overcome the betrayal of one she trusted and launch Empress III to keep the Sun's fiery message from scorching the Earth as One Imix—the time of new beginnings—arrives.
Solar Lullaby, Dreamspell SciFi e-anthology - $2.99 in Kindle store!
Zero Time, coming in Fall 2011