CALL FOR JULY SUBMISSIONS | HOUSEKEEPING | WHAT'S NEXT FOR SOTB
Submissions for July now open + important updates!
Hello fiction writers of Substack! It’s that time again. You have until Friday, June 28 to submit your writing for inclusion in the June Fiction Blast. Things will be a bit different this time, so make sure to read this post carefully for instructions. But before we get into that, let’s go over some important housekeeping and updates:
Themed Newsletter Blasts
We’ve decided to break the newsletter blasts into categories (thank you
for this idea). We think this will result in better, more targeted engagement for the writers showcased, as people attracted to a specific category will be more likely to browse other pieces in the same vein. It will also be a nice way to keep things organized on the main grid and help readers find our writers more easily. Do you like the idea of categories or do you prefer a medley? Let us know what you think of this decision in the comments!Seeking Editors!
If you’d like to get more involved with SOTB, we are looking for 1-2 new editors to join me,
and . Keeping this community running is a lot of work, and we are looking for strong writers with a good editorial eye who are up for curating a list on their own at some point, the way Keyon is doing for the July blast. I’ve found building this community to be a really rewarding experience so far and I’m looking forward to hearing from you if you’d like to help! Just send me a DM.Thank you to our paid subscribers
I want to shoutout
for becoming the newest paid subscriber to SOTB. Thank you so much for your generosity and gesture of support. Same goes for who pledged a subscription before I even had the chance to enable paid on here. You can check out their Substacks here:If you feel called to support this community with a paid subscription you can do so by clicking below:
Celebrating 500 subscribers
We did it! Two months since its inception, SOTB has crossed the 500 subscriber threshold. I’m very happy with the growth of this community so far, but I know there is a much bigger audience out there that we have yet to reach. Please keep engaging with and sharing not only these individual posts, but also the writing contained within. Together we can do great things for fiction writing on Substack!
July submissions
Finally, the part you’ve ben waiting for. July’s newsletter is being curated by the great and powerful
and the theme is Gods and Monsters. This is an invitation to submit stories surrounding mythic gods, heroes, and monsters—be they canonized or of your own creation. Use this link to submit! And please make sure to proof-read adequately. If this theme is not your cup of tea don’t worry, we will be cycling through many different themes in the following months. Depending on volume of submissions we may have two blasts for the month like we did this month. Thanks for reading and we’re looking forward to reading your submissions for this next round!As always, feel free to use the comments to promote your newsletter and engage with fellow fiction writers. Or to ask questions if you have any. And don’t forget to introduce yourself in our chat!
Talk soon,
Niccolò
Can’t wait to see what mythic stories trickle in!
I like the idea of themed, but on the other paw, some folks are going to end up being really frustrated waiting for the appropriate theme to come along.
That's one of the reasons for my suggestion of alternating issues between a themed one and a general one.
Alternatively - ask people what kind of themes they'd like to see, and/or more importantly how narrow or wide those themes should be.
Mine, for example, is something of a mish-mash, ranging from postmodern conspiracy spy thriller subversive stuff to classic SF. Then again in my main story there is a goddess, but the monsters are kind of human, but I'd never really include it in a 'gods and monsters' issue. So I wouldn't really know where it fitted in. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that regard...