Just got word today that my story “Gator and the Big Buzz” (flash, Science Fiction) has been officially accepted at Flash Fiction Online (FFO). This is a professional level science fiction market and my first pro sale since reviving my writing career a few months ago (after a 15+ year hiatus).

The folks at FFO are telling me the story will be out April 1, which is amazingly fast.

FFO is a fairly daunting market to crack, according to The Submission Grinder their acceptance rate is only 2.3 percent (as of this writing). They accept many different genres, which in a way makes it harder, not easier. They only publish about four fiction pieces per month, and typically at least one will be mainstream or another genre.

Strategy Used for this Story

FFO was the first market I submitted this story to. It’s pretty unusual to sell a story on the first try (unless you’re a well-established or multiple award winning author).

I wrote this story specifically in a style I thought they might like. If you read their stories (which is quite easy since all of them are posted free), they seem to like strong voices and interesting ideas that touch the heart. (Hey, who doesn’t like that?)

I’ve generally started targeting stories to specific markets and I’ve been getting a lot more “second round” notices (and now this sale) since doing that. I’m not saying that the stories could only be bought by one and only one market, a good story is a good story and there’s a great deal of overlap in what markets are looking for. I’m saying I read ten or twenty stories at the target market to find the kind of things they tend to like, and choose an idea from my list that will support that style in a pleasing way, then write the story. If declined, I find another market that has similar tastes.

Anyway, it’s always a good day when you sell a story!

When the story posts over at FFO I’ll of course publish the link here on my blog.