Tag Archives: short fiction

Professional Wednesday: What Matters In Your Work? Part I

Posted on January 4, 2023 by dbjackson

On Monday, I began what will be a series of posts on the things that matter to us, and the ways in which we can make them central to our lives. Not surprisingly, I think about this a great deal … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Three Ways To Help Your Short Fiction Submission, and Three Ways To Doom It

Posted on December 21, 2022 by dbjackson

The deadline for submissions to Artifice and Craft, the anthology I’m co-editing with Edmund Schubert for Zombies Need Brains, is ten days away. December 31. As of this writing, we are closing in on 400 submissions. The anthology will have … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Special Guest Joelle Presby

Posted on November 2, 2022 by dbjackson

I first met Joelle Presby several years back at a convention, and I was struck straight off by a number of things. 1) She’s just plain nice. That’s certainly not unheard of in the publishing world, but it’s also not … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Writing For a Themed Anthology . . . And My Story Idea Revealed!

Posted on August 31, 2022 by dbjackson

With the Zombies Need Brains Kickstarter well underway, and our pledges slowly creeping up on our ambitious funding goal (four anthologies instead of three this year, to mark ZNB’s 10th anniversary!), it is time for my yearly “Writing For a … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: What We Can Learn About Writing From a Horny Bluebird

Posted on May 4, 2022 by dbjackson

I got you with the title, didn’t I? I thought I might. The horny bluebird in question lives in our yard and is so hopped up on testosterone, so eager to make himself THE player among breeding bluebirds in the … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: I’m Stuck

Posted on April 13, 2022 by dbjackson

My muse, on the other hand, is a peripatetic tramp who can’t be counted on to show up at any given time on any given day. If I had to wait for that bastard to show in order to write … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Most Important Lessons — Trust Yourself, Trust Your Reader

Posted on March 9, 2022 by dbjackson

Today, I’m introducing a new feature for my Professional Wednesday posts: “Most Important Lessons.” We are coming up on the 28th anniversary of the start of my career (which I trace to the offer I received from Tor Books on … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: A Rant About Rejections and Quitting

Posted on February 9, 2022 by dbjackson

As many of you know, I am once again co-editing an anthology for Zombies Need Brains, Joshua Palmatier’s speculative fiction imprint. This is my fourth year as a co-editor, and each year Joshua follows pretty much the same approach to … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Submitting To Our Newest Anthologies

Posted on November 24, 2021 by dbjackson

Thanksgiving is upon us, and the year is winding down. But for those of you who write and who are looking for publication opportunities, I want to point out that the open call for short story submissions for this year’s … Continue reading →

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Some Thoughts on Release Day for “The Witch’s Storm”

Posted on May 18, 2021 by dbjackson

Today is release day for “The Witch’s Storm,” the first installment in my new trilogy of Thieftaker novellas, The Loyalist Witch — Thieftaker, Fall 1770. For more about the release, you can read the interview I did with Faith Hunter … Continue reading →

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