Site to place a horror/supernatural type short story

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  • Site to place a horror/supernatural type short story

    I know this is a tough question to answer but I'll post anyways... besides No Sleep, where would be a good place to place a horror/supernatural type of short story that Hollywood types might see it? It would have more credibility if it's published on a paid site (where authors get paid) right? But the problem is that it might take a year for these sites to review your story.

    I like Satriales idea of querying producers with the concept and then sending the story if they're interested but I thought it might have a little more credibility if I can say if it's posted/published somewhere. Maybe it doesn't matter???

  • #2
    I was hoping that some of the pros on the board might give you an answer, but no one has stepped forward.

    My view, as an outsider and nonprofessional, is that you are pursuing the end of a rainbow with this approach. It truly is not going to work.

    My more valuable advice is that you really ought to get a copy of Bob Saenz's recent book That's Not the Way It Works and read everything that he says. Available on Amazon. Bob is a successful screenwriter and actor. He is also a member of this board (though under a board name, not his real name).

    "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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    • #3
      Just an idea, appreciate the candid feedback!

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      • #4
        I will note this since we've listed deals for stories on their platform. Maybe look at Wattpad.

        As CB noted, the odds are against you, but still might be worth exploring. And I can't think of it now, but I'm pretty sure there are a couple of other short story sites that you could at least try but keep expectations low, of course. I will update if I can remember.

        Here is a link to one of several articles about places to post your writing/stories, in case it helps:

        https://medium.com/@OlvaLoy/15-websi...ne-ffa740ea9ef
        Will
        Done Deal Pro
        www.donedealpro.com

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        • #5
          I will take a look at Wattpad. In fact, I took a very quick look at it a moment ago. I also took a quick look at the link:

          https://medium.com/@OlvaLoy/15-websi...ne-ffa740ea9ef

          which is a list of various other resources.

          One of the resources on that list is Smashwords, with which I am familiar. I have downloaded free books from it in the past.

          I like Smashwords. But be aware that the writing is often (very often) poor, and I mean really poor. I am sure that all of these sites are like that. Your work will probably get lost among the other things in a vast literary landfill.

          But I suppose it is still worth a try! ?

          "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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          • #6
            Hey, any sites/recommendations that you guys have... I'm going to take a look at/give consideration to. Thanks.

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            • #7
              Can I ask if you are repped socalwriter1? If so, that would need to be your first stop. Reps are selling short stories at a good clip these days, though most are from established fiction writers OR repped screenwriters with credits... though not always.

              If not, can you give a little information about your story: how many words is it? What kind of horror story? You know, ghost, supernatural, slasher, etc.

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              • #8
                No rep, about 7,500 words, supernatural.

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                • #9
                  Okay, in my experience, producers are even less likely to look at an unpublished short story than an actual screenplay.

                  However, "published" does not mean paid sites. Some of the most optioned stories are at free sites (or almost free) like Medium.com, Reddit, and Wattpad. But the stories that are picked up have gone viral, and/or are social media sensations (pretty much the same thing, right?). And most of these -- though not all -- are novella length (20,000 to 40,000 words).

                  Reddit's NoSleep is famous for catapulting stories into Hollywood BUT they have very specific requirements for the content of their stories. (See their Rules for the details.)

                  That being said, there are other forums at Reddit that are open to horror stories that you might take a look at. I think one is called "Scary Stories" though I haven't read anything there myself.

                  If you want to query a producer, send your logline AND a link to your story online. That way they can take a look immediately, or even read it. But that also means they don't have to get back to you... BUT, because of that, they are more likely to take a look at it since they don't have to request it directly from you.

                  You are going to need a lot of eyes on your story to attract producers without a query, but you might be able to do that via social media.

                  You can also publish short stories on Amazon's Kindle's Short Reads. You'll need to really grab the reader by the throat immediately, however, if you don't already have a following so that you will stand out from the crowd.

                  Hope this helps!





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                  • #10
                    Cooper, yes, that helps. Thanks!

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                    • #11
                      Hi socalwriter, I went down this path recently and came up with a couple ideas. The best one (in addition to nosleep) is online lit magazines.

                      Since I skew towards sci-fi/fantasy/horror, I researched magazines that publish in those genres.

                      Online magazines won’t get you all that much money necessarily, but they will get you notice and creds if you’re really good, because short stories in those lit magazines have won every major award out there, such as the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, Locus and many other awards. And this is not one-offs, stories in those magazines regularly win the biggest awards.

                      I can’t think of a stronger calling card than “Hugo Award Winning Writer”, and I assume holywood scans the winners in these awards. Also, this way you don’t have to have a book out in publication to qualify. Of course, caveat is competition is fierce. Incredibly successful published authors are on there.

                      You’d have to look up the reputable online lit magazines in your genre, but could be worth exploring. Good luck!
                      Last edited by Anagram; 11-13-2020, 10:30 PM.

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