Chick Lit short stories - is there a market?

htrent · Jul 6, 2009

I write both literary and mainstream short fiction. It's easy for me to find markets for the literary pieces - there are lots of journals to query.

The bulk of my work, however, is very commercial and can't be described as anything other than chick lit. I lean towards quirky and my characters are fairly worldly (but not necessarily having the required "edge" some publications want to see). I've scoured Duotrope for markets and have done Google searches, but so far I've come up with one market that's suitable for that type of work. That one is an electronic publication (which I'll ask about in another thread).

Anyone know of any other place I could attempt to market the pieces? It seems fewer and fewer glossy magazines buy fiction now.

Susie · Jul 7, 2009

Hi, tp,

to the cooler. It's a super place. I found this link for you. It's Fiction Factor and they have literary and mainstream listed. Hope it helps.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/fiction1.html

Skye Jules · Jul 7, 2009

I use duotrope.com to help me find listings for magazines. I do my research of the ones they present me, of course. I don't want to fall into the trap of a fraud and find myself feeling stupid and amateurish for a mistake that could have been prevented.

MumblingSage · Jul 8, 2009

Alas, what ever happened to the 'women's magazine' of...well, acutally, I think those were gone a lot time ago. How sad. One of my really old books on writing keeps pointing me to them.

Anyway: perhaps 'mainstream/humor' would work? Or, if you have some short pieces, flash-fiction markets?

I found this, but it doesn't pay.

htrent · Jul 8, 2009

MumblingSage said:
I found this, but it doesn't pay.

Yep, that's the same one I found, too. My only concern was whether the site actually generates enough traffic for me to stop querying other publications and submit it there. That talking robot at the top makes me want to pull my hair out.

I'm going to try the mainstream/humor angle and see what sort of feedback I get. I need to be better at not boxing myself into set labels!

MumblingSage · Jul 9, 2009

Another idea--you could check out other authors in the Chick Lit Review and see where they've been published. Some of those other markets might like your stuff, too.

htrent · Jul 9, 2009

MumblingSage said:
Another idea--you could check out other authors in the Chick Lit Review and see where they've been published. Some of those other markets might like your stuff, too.

I like the way you think!

nkkingston · Jul 11, 2009

There are still several Woman's Mags looking for fiction; a few now do specific fiction issues rather than include them with "my best friend stole my father" and "10 ways to make your house look clean without any effort". Many are pretty well paying, as well. WoMag Writer's blog is a good source for submission guidelines, or you can write to the magazines yourself; most don't put their submissions info online any more.

pdr · Jul 11, 2009

And...

why don't you check out the short story market list stickied in the Romance Genre section? And have you checked the market lists stickied on this Short Fiction board?

htrent · Jul 12, 2009

pdr said:
why don't you check out the short story market list stickied in the Romance Genre section? And have you checked the market lists stickied on this Short Fiction board?

Well, I couldn't really market a lot of my stuff as romance. There may be relationships critical to the protag's development, but they're more like the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae and not the actual dessert itself. An editor would definitely raise his/her eyebrows in wonderment at why I sent my stuff to them.

I did check those stickies, though. I'm just not finding a publication that's making me think "Ah - that's it!"

ChickLitShorties · Jul 2, 2010

Chick Lit Short Stories and Women's Fiction Short Stories

Hey guys, not sure about print opportunities, and it even looks like the Chick Lit Review has closed its doors (must not say anything about that robot...

.

However, there is a new opportunity with www.ChickLitShorties.com for Chick Lit Short Stories (and Women's Fiction Short Stories, and any Short Stories that fall somewhere in between

.

Submission guidelines can be found at www.chicklitshorties.com/submissions

nkkingston · Jul 2, 2010

That's an uber cute site, but I was wondeinrg what you pay? The print women's magazines can pay several hundred pounds, which obviously I'm not expecting from a start-up, but I couldn't find any mention of payment in the submission guidelines, just emphasis on the absence of fees (which is great, don't get me wrong!).

Chick Lit short stories - is there a market?

htrent

practical experience, FTW

Susie

Thanks, special friend for my avi!

Skye Jules

March 15th: Issue 1 release

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

htrent

practical experience, FTW

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

htrent

practical experience, FTW

nkkingston

Bemused Girl

pdr

htrent

practical experience, FTW

ChickLitShorties

nkkingston

Bemused Girl