Are you encountering some tough sledding trying to get novels published in the horror genre?
That’s understandable, unless you self-publish on Amazon. What else can you do to get your horror writing career started?
Short stories. There are tons of open calls. Authors like Eric Guignard and Angelique Fawns publish lists of existing open calls, so subscribe to their Substack to get updated.
Some horror writers desperately want to publish novels and novellas. But, let me tell you. While there are more open calls for long form work than in years past (after the pandemic), it is still harder to publish novels and novellas than short stories. Try to master the short form first before dipping into long form territory.
And if you’re planning to hook an agent with your debut novel without much publishing history, think again. Agents only look at the business side of things, no matter how they claim to champion marginalized voices. They will evaluate your marketability before even reading your writing sample. Fair warning: don’t waste your time querying agents if you haven’t published anything and demonstrated some credible track record.
That was my mistake too. Since I was so immersed in novels and novellas, I queried any agent accepting horror manuscripts without success. If you’re going to break out as an author, you will do so regardless of word length. Therefore, take advantage of the proliferation in anthologies and ezines and get your name out there before looking at the bigger picture.
I am keeping this short for good reason. I made my point and hope you find it useful.
Like you, I would have loved to make a big splash publishing novels and novellas without starting with short fiction, but that was not to be. I am presently scouring the horror market for applicable open calls, while submitting my novels and novellas all the same.
Good luck, everyone!
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