Marketing

Do you write to market? Are you intentional about researching what's selling (I hear urban fantasy is HOT right now) and then composing your next novel-length manuscript to fit the current craze? Do you target your short fiction to specific markets by perusing what they've published and then tailor-making your stories to fit their perceived tastes?

I don't. But maybe I should.

What I usually do is write a story (or a novel) based on whatever ideas are floating through my head, and then I try to find a home for it. Sounds simple enough, right? This often leads to mounds of rejection letters (or no response at all from some agents), yet it's been my modus operandi for the past three years, and it's been successful to a point.

But I really want to break into more pro-paying zines, and if I score just one more qualifying acceptance, I'll be able to apply for SFWA active membership. (I hear that's a good way to level up as a speculative fiction writer.) After wielding my "shot in the dark" submission method for as long as I have, maybe it's time to take a more mature approach and actually write to market.

On another note, I'm preparing a collection of my haiku and micro-sized stories to be available for all Kindle readers and apps in the next week or so. I've enjoyed the KDP experience these past few months, taking my previously published work to a whole new audience, but I have to ask: Am I missing something?

Is there a secret to receiving more Amazon reviews? They make sales: "Fool's Gold," with five reviews, continues to outsell my other titles by a factor of ten every month. Maybe it's just Coyote Cal and Big Yap.

They are kind of awesome.