Is there a market?

[ap123]

I have a short piece written fairy tale style (could be allegory, but I think that's a stretch). It tells the story of two little girls, but it's actually written for adults. Is there a market for this type of piece--or is it a moot point anyway, since it was posted on my blog?

Thanks

[Mr. Aziz]

Markets exist for everything, but one for that will be hard to find.

Like this one by Patrick Rothefuss for example to prove they exist:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures.../dp/0983613125

Unfortunately, most publishers want first publication rights, if it's on your blog, it's published and they won't take it.

However, since the piece I think you're referencing on your blog is around 630 words, anything else you write like it can be sold to Flash Fiction publishers if it stays below 1000 words.

I'll leave it to more experienced writers to provide suggestions.

[ap123]

Thank you for the info, Mr Aziz.

Yes, I think we're talking about the same piece. When I originally wrote it, it was intended as a "gift" for a friend, as a blog post. It's definitely outside of my usual style. Over time, I've gotten a lot of feedback from other medical needs parents, so I was thinking...

[Polenth]

Fairytales are fantasy, so usually you'd look for fantasy markets. Or if it's flash, any flash fiction market, as they're more likely to be multi-genre. But previously publishing it will reduce the number of markets you can try, to the point I think your time would be better spent writing something you don't intend to put on your blog.

[ap123]

Thanks for the info and the input, Polenth. I will put this idea away, and get back to my WIP instead.

[V1c]

There are a couple fairy tale magazines (fairy tale review is the first that springs to mind) so that genre is marketable. However, publishing it on your blog pretty much makes it a moot point.

[Darkshore]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if your blog doesn't get a lot of traffic and you remove the piece of fiction and possibly revise it afterwords...I think you can bypass that bit about it being previously published. This just might be a little bit frowned upon though, but if I was the one buying the story as long as it could no longer be found online for free I wouldn't see the harm, but maybe I'm missing something.

[Polenth]

Originally Posted by Darkshore

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if your blog doesn't get a lot of traffic and you remove the piece of fiction and possibly revise it afterwords...I think you can bypass that bit about it being previously published. This just might be a little bit frowned upon though, but if I was the one buying the story as long as it could no longer be found online for free I wouldn't see the harm, but maybe I'm missing something.

Most places would consider a blog published, regardless of who saw it and whether it was still there. If they don't, you still need to tell them and let them decide. Deleting it and hoping they don't notice is not the way to go.

[WriterBN]

Also, even if you delete the post, it could remain in web archives for months, possibly years.

[ap123]

This is all why I asked first

I got quite a bit of action on that post, I believe one or two parents from special needs groups posted links.

I'm pretty sure there isn't anything that has been posted on the Web that can't be retrieved.

Thanks everyone!

[JulianneQJohnson]

I just had a short story accepted by a publisher, and the paper and ink book comes out this spring. The story is posted on my blog, and the publisher doesn't care. They were only concerned with print and ebook publishing. I also recently had an editor suggest I try magazines for short stories, as book publishers sometimes are interested in a story that did well in a periodical.

That said, my best advice is to simply mention that you once posted the story on your blog, and see if they actually care.

[Tedium]

I think you might be out of luck with that particular piece, unless a publisher will take a reprint, but I did want to let you and everyone else know that there are markets specifically for fairy tales.

http://www.fairytalereview.com/home.html

This one came to mind first, but I think there are a few others. I've been getting more into the genre recently and I have an anthology of modern fairy tales edited by Kate Bernheimer (the woman who started Fairy Tale Review) called My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales. It's a really good read with some excellent contributing authors. You should look into it.

Thought it might come in handy if you planned on writing anymore in the future.

[alexshvartsman]

Speculative magazines will occasionally do fairy tale issues. I think Penumbra did one last year, and Weird Tales' next issue is fairy tale-themed.

In my experience themed issues and anthologies like that do pop up with some frequency.

[tlotson]

I think there's a market - if something is well written and touches you, chances are it will touch other people as well.