Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast 2019 Short Fiction Series

[hrj]

 One of the hardest things about launching a project is seeing it fail for lack of interest. This is the last day for submissions to the LHMPodcast 2019 short fiction series and currently I don't have enough submissions to fill all the slots in the series, much less having enough after going through a selection process. If you've been holding on to your story thinking, "Nah, there's no point, she won't be interested," please don't self-reject! At this point, it looks like I may end up cancelling the fiction series due to lack of interest. And not even lack of listener/reader interest, but lack of interest in writing these stories.

Everyone tells me there's a hungry desire for lesbian historical fiction. It's a tough field to find an audience for, but I have the audience all lined up and listening to my podcast. All I need is the fiction to offer them.

I've been trying to perform "public positivity" about this so as not to put people off, but this is it: the last day. So I'm letting the desperation show.

Submission Information here.

Comments

[ursula]

Both of the anthologies I submitted to last year ended up extending their deadlines by a month. Is an extension (or maybe a second call for submissions in midsummer) something you've considered?

[hrj]

The response was so sparse, I don't know what the point would be in extending it. And running a CfS is a massive suck on my energy/time. The idea of doubling it is daunting.

[ursula]

I mean, I'd write you a story for my birthday (13 Feb.), on the hobbit principle! But I hear you on the exhaustingness.

[sylvaine]

Perhaps it might be worth signal boosting on historium?

[hrj]

I hadn't mentioned it over there because I have no idea what the protocols are for mixing commercial calls into fan fiction spaces. I was pretty certain that I'd break some sort of rule that I don't know about.

[auroracloud]

I don't think it would break a rule, though I don't think we've established rules about that - if you want, I could ask my co-mods if they think it would be any kind of a problem. Or I could post about it - I meant to publicize the call to submissions in the community, but I've had a lot of focusing problems and I've just plain kept forgetting, or not being able to put sentences together. I've felt bad when I realized that the month is ending and I didn't post about it there!. But if you end up extending the deadline, there would still be time for me to advertise the project there.

(I'd love to submit something myself, but as English isn't my first language, I feel insecure trying to write original fiction in it, though I do fanfic. Also, my muse doesn't easily give me short stories, it tends to think novel-length, so I haven't had a story in mind yet I could try writing.)

[alithea]

Maybe the time of year isn't helping? I've been snowed under since the beginning of December and am only just getting back into writing now.

[hrj]

I've been publicizing the CfS for the last 4 months.

[alithea]

Ah, I didn't register that it was that long :( That is disappointing, I was looking forward to being part of the audience too.

[katerit]

I think it is a worthy enterprise and am saddened at the lack of response.

[hrj]

In making suggestions about what additional actions I could/should be taking today, be aware that I'm at the very end of two weeks of an intense day-job project with a hard deadline of today that has kept me at work until 8-10pm for the last three days. My bandwidth for fitting anything else in today is in the negative numbers.

[hrj]

Three more submissions came in today, doubling the total number. So on the assumption that at least 4 of them are good enough to publish, it looks like the series is on.

Still not sure at all about next year.

[alithea]

I hope you do have enough now!

I hope this hasn't put you off, I'm hoping to be able to submit something next year.

[alithea]

That's a lot of hopes...

[hrj]

I have enough that I don't feel like I'd have to choose whatever got sent in without being picky. (And I'm confident even before reading them that some will be excellent.) But if I'm going to do it again next year, I need to figure out what I did wrong this year. That is "wrong" within the parameters of my vision, not "wrong" as in "if I'd had entirely different parameters and been doing an entirely different project, more people might have written something."