The Friday5 Publishing Round-Up

How is it already the 20th of September?

UK friends, have you sent off your tax forms? (don’t cry, just do it.)

I’ve been working on edits for a new novella that will be released this year, and writing short stories set in my Muserverse. I like to describe it as an octopus turned inside out: you know the shape of it, but everything is subtly (or not so subtly, off.)

On this week’s publishing tips and stories:

1. Looking for paying markets for your short stories? Look no further. The Submission Grinder is a fantastic resource where you can search markets by genre, word-count, and pay level.

2. If you have a 2019 published fantasy short and qualify as a UK writer, editor Jared Shurin is looking for submissions for the reprint anthology The Best of British Fantasy 2019.

3. I think everyone this week has read the piece about the author who decided to live a champagne lifestyle, with the blithe assumption that they would just keep getting amazing book deals. Publishing does not work like that. Folks had lots to say about it, but the gist is, you need to understand that publishing is a crap shoot at the best of times. You *cannot* rely on regular advances and royalties. Basically, don’t give up the day job until you make a steady living off royalty checks (and even then…)

4. Since we’re talking money and tax... We all know the average writer in the UK makes a pittance. Are you sure you’re claiming all your expenses? Here’s what’s allowable under the tax guides for self-employed people in the UK. Keep those convention receipts!

5. Sometimes, a good book is let down by a cover that doesn’t quite work. When Tricia Sullivan’s Sweet Dreams came out in 2017 from Gollancz, the original UK cover made it look like a crime novel or thriller. It was released in July this year by Titan Books with an updated cover, and I really like the cleanness of this one, combined with everything being just slightly off.Do you prefer one over the other - which would you pick up and why?