S6 Contest Concludes | Tales of Havek Launch
September 2022 Newsletter
As of September 15th, we officially wrapped up the 1st annual Storyletter Substack Short Story Summer Sweepstakes (S6). We received some awesome submissions and will announce the winners later this month once the judges have scored all the entries.
I want to thank all of the participants for sharing your wonderful stories with us. I can’t wait to celebrate the winners and highlight all of the incredible talent out there. Also, a special thank you to the judges for taking the time out of your busy schedules to collaborate on this with me, it means a lot. Check out the judges’ Substacks below and subscribe if you haven’t already:
I hope everyone had a decent Summer. Pumpkin spice and cooler temperatures are upon us in most places. Here in Utah, it went from 100+ degrees down to the 60’s with rain. I’m not complaining but I swear we only get two seasons here. I welcome the Fall season with open arms and I can’t wait to enjoy Halloween!
The Storyletter Pays
In an attempt to re-envision what we are trying to achieve, I’ve axed the free submission process in favor of the paid subscriber version. In this new process, paid subscribers to The Storyletter will be eligible to submit for publication. This comes with a whole host of benefits as I will work with you to revise, publish and market your story to our newsletter audience and abroad.
Stories don’t need to be exclusive to The Storyletter, and writers will retain all rights to their stories. We’re currently paying 1 cent per word, with a flat rate of $10 for stories/poems under 1,000 words and a max word count of 6,000 words. If your story is chosen for publication on Substack, you’re automatically eligible for the anthology version.
A Founding Member
I realized I was spending all of my time on Substack, but none of my money. I decided to back 5 of my favorite Substacks at the Founding Member tier because I believe in what they are doing and want to support them. I highly encourage you to check them out, they deserve it:
That’s over $600 worth of subscriptions! This was all made possible by the current paying subscribers of The Storyletter (as well as from Gift Shop purchases). I wouldn’t have been able to give back to the community in such a large way without your support. And for that, I am extremely grateful.
I hope to increase my support in the coming months as we continue to grow in this hybrid arena. I firmly believe that this isn’t a competition, and the addition of the Recommendation feature shows that, in fact, we are each other’s biggest contributors to success.
Tales of Havek Launch
I’ve decided to divorce a large chunk of my future writing from The Storyletter. That’s not to say that I won’t publish free fiction on here (this is still my main focus), but I didn’t know how to craft the experience of Havek the way I wanted to without making it a totally separate thing.
Instead, I like the idea of having a shared world of stories bundled into one Substack meant for readers excited to explore that world. It’s in the developing stages so I haven’t started publishing just yet, but I’m working on some awesome stories that fans of James Cameron’s Avatar, Star Wars, and Brandon Sanderson’s worlds will enjoy. If you’d like to follow that process, or join as a paid member to show your support, you can find it at havek.substack.com, or click the link below:
Legendarium Grand Opening
Legendarium is a local sci-fi/fantasy book shop café which had it’s grand opening recently. Cody Langille, owner of Timber Ghost Press, had a mass author book signing for “Dead Stars & Stone Arches: A Collection of Utah Horror” which featured a lot of local writers. Here are some pictures from the event!
Last Bit of News
I’ve decided to make the audio versions of the stories (the podcast) eventually become free for everyone to enjoy after a set amount of time has passed. This will still allow paid subscribers to enjoy them first, while growing the catalogue for free members over time.
I haven’t decided on a time frame but as of right now its been 7 months since the release of the first episode. I expect it to eventually be a 3 month exclusivity period, possibly less. Depends on how well I can keep up with recording new episodes (which may pick up once Winter starts).
If you’re interested in listening to the first episode called “My Dog Barks at Ghosts in the Park”, it is now available for free:
In case you missed it:
(SRA) The Dream of King Karna-Vootra - Read by Daniel W. Davison
Interview with Elle Griffin
Interview with Daniel W. Davison
The Last Laugh (Flash Fiction) by Winston Malone
To Build a Submission (XPress)
Showcase: Sentinel Creatives
Storyletter Thoughts: Soliciting feedback
The Enlightened Dream: A Doge Tale Part 2 (serial) by Winston Malone
(SRA) My Dog Barks at Ghosts in the Park - Now Free!
Project Biotica: A Survey of the Island ~ Day 1
Great newsletter Winston, it sounds like things are going well. Hope your fall season is prosperous as well. Thanks for all that you bring to us.
Wonderful update. You always have so many great ideas for furthering your vision here and beyond. Glad to be along for the ride :-) Best of luck!