SUMMER VACATION 2008: Stories can be sf/f/h or mainstream, just so they're on a summer vacation theme. Lenth, 2000 to 4000 -- unless your story is longer or shorter. DEADLINE APRIL 30.
AUTUMN GLORY 2008: Stories can be sf/f/h/ or mainstream, on the delights of Fall. That could be back-to-school, colored leaves, Halloween (I'm braced for a tidal wave of zombie and vampire stories; be warned, I really don't like these much, _unless_they're_outstanding.) Length, same as before,2000 to 4000, unless it isn't. DEADLINE JULY 31.
CHRISTMAS 2008: Same as above, sf/f/h or mainstream, 2000 to 4000 (or otherwise) words about something that is NOT cats. You know, like dogs, birds, hey, even humans will do! DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 30.
AND GUESS WHAT? WE ARE ACTUALLY PAYING FOR THESE STORIES!! Okay, $10 US is not going to put you in a higher tax bracket, but it does put you in the ranks of professional writers, meaning those who get paid for writing!
But in the meantime, always remember the motto of we, the online writers, publishers, etc: "DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB." I have yet to take $1 profit out of Whortleberry Press. Some of our writers have made a few $$$s, thank goodness. And NONE of them have EVER paid for the "privilege" of being published. They have written a worthy book or story, and the reward should flow _to_ them, not _from_ them. Our authors' only cost is the books they decide to purchase from our printer. But ironically, the change from ebooks to paperbacks means we get fewer of those $$$s. Paperbacks cost more to print, at least by the POD method which we must use. Regular printers do not want to print anything less than, say, 300 copies of anything. That is one of the few things I can think of that is worse than paying the higher prices for POD printing -- having a garage full of 300-some books that I must try to sell -- in an era when Doubleday, St. Martin's, and everybody in the major leagues as well as those of us waaaaay out in the minors is having trouble selling anything resembling a book. (If only we sold Xboxes...sigh. But they are so boring compared to books, IMO.)
Well, looking at the Big Picture in publishing, it looks like it is up to us small press writers and publishers to keep the lamps lit in the literary world. I'm game -- how about you?