Episode 193 - The Path to Short Story Publication with Michael Bracken
July 4, 2023
This week on The Indy Author Podcast, I talk with Michael Bracken about THE PATH TO SHORT STORY PUBLICATION, including getting a feel for what editors like and studying the guidelines; making yourself known to editors ... in a good way; finding the opportunities; knowing when to say no ... and when to try something new; best practices for submissions, including the importance of understanding MS Word; the value of connections, not competition; changes to short fiction as a money-maker; and the pros of indy and traditional publishing.
If one of those topics piques your interest, you can easily jump to that section on YouTube by clicking on the flagged timestamps in the description.
If one of those topics piques your interest, you can easily jump to that section on YouTube by clicking on the flagged timestamps in the description.
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Michael Bracken is the Edgar- and Shamus-nominated, Derringer-winning author of 1,200 short stories, including crime fiction published in The Best American Mystery Stories and The Best Mystery Stories of the Year. Jack Bludis, author of The Big Switch, called Michael the “Mickey Spillane for the new century.” Michael is also an Anthony-nominated editor of 20 published and forthcoming anthologies, the editor of Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and an associate editor of Black Cat Weekly. He lives, writes, and edits in Texas.
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Links
Michael's Links:
www.CrimeFictionWriter.com
https://www.facebook.com/michael.bracken.908
https://www.instagram.com/crimefictionwriter/
https://twitter.com/CrimeFicWriter
Links from the intro:
James McCrone's blog post on secondary characters
Newshelves.com on how Chirp works
Matty's Links:
Affiliate links
Events
www.CrimeFictionWriter.com
https://www.facebook.com/michael.bracken.908
https://www.instagram.com/crimefictionwriter/
https://twitter.com/CrimeFicWriter
Links from the intro:
James McCrone's blog post on secondary characters
Newshelves.com on how Chirp works
Matty's Links:
Affiliate links
Events
I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Michael! Have you submitted short fiction to magazines or anthologies and, if yes, how did your experience compare with what Michael described? Do you have any other suggestions for approaching the submission process, or any questions for Michael?
Please post your comments on YouTube--and I'd love it if you would subscribe while you're there!
NOTE: After several years of trying to cover the costs of producing the podcast with earnings from patronage and sponsorships, I finally had to acknowledge that, for now at least, The Indy Author Podcast is more a labor of love than an income stream. As a result, I needed to find ways to reduce my expenses, and the expense I finally decided to eliminate was the editing of the transcript.
However, it's valuable for me to know that you were looking for it! If you miss the transcript, please click here to drop me a note!
If you'd like to become a patron of The Indy Author, please click here.
When AI transcription improves to the point that it doesn't require the time and expense of a human edit, or once my earnings from the podcast enable me to cover the costs of a human editing, I will resume that offering!
However, it's valuable for me to know that you were looking for it! If you miss the transcript, please click here to drop me a note!
If you'd like to become a patron of The Indy Author, please click here.
When AI transcription improves to the point that it doesn't require the time and expense of a human edit, or once my earnings from the podcast enable me to cover the costs of a human editing, I will resume that offering!