Introduction: This is a topic that we have wanted to cover for some time, but haven't quite known how to approach because it's actually the culmination of so many educational touchstones we wanted to include. There have been so many debates and controversies over pay rates, indie funding, and "exposure" perks that I didn't know which one to tackle first. Then I remembered, this is a 101. It's an overview. The basics. While each of these topics could be (and likely will be) revisited with more...

It's a new year and a new era for The Sinister Scoop. That is just one of the many, MANY reasons why I am so excited to be back with the 101 series, covering some more creative basics. Today we are covering one of the areas that I personally know the best, formatting. As many of you know, I do freelance formatting to supplement my writing funds. As this is an overview article, I won't be getting into the nitty-gritty here. I won't try to teach everyone formatting in a single article, and I...

COSMIC HORROR MONTHLY: -Weird and cosmic fiction SUBMISSION WINDOW(S): Jan 1-7 July 1-7 WORDCOUNT: Under 5k PAYMENT: 3 cents per word LINK TO ORIGINAL CALL WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR: We believe that the horror genre’s diversity is its greatest strength, and we wish that viewpoint to be reflected in our story content and submission queues. We are especially interested in hearing from those whose voices are underrepresented in the cosmic/weird. If comfortable, feel free to drop this information...