A few weeks ago, at the crematorium where my husband was working—that was before his doctor recommended he quarantine due to lowered immunities caused from six months of chemotherapy—he received the first Coronavirus death in Los Angeles. She was a woman in her sixties, a loving wife and mother, who returned from traveling in Asia with her husband. Since it was history in the making, I felt compelled to write an essay that braids my husband’s story, her story, and my own into a piece on these unprecedented times. I’m still revising it, as things change daily; but as writers, we can use this time to document history—even if it’s just jotting down notes in our journals. (Check out the sidebar for editors seeking COVID-19 stories.) Or, if it’s too overwhelming to write about, you can take time for a creative diversion and pen something imaginative. When we’re in the fictive dream, our current state has a way of filtering into our prose, and you never know what magic those subconscious thoughts will inspire.

One thing I’ve noticed while sheltering is I need more motivation to write. If you’re anything like me, you could use some butt-kicking inspiration and levity to keep that pen moving. Well, we have just the thing for you! Our new markets newsletter.

I’ve been in a memoir writing group with several WOW subscribers since last July when we took Dorit Sasson’s memoir writing workshop together. Our group is called the “Mem-warriors.” As we battled through our works-in-progress over the past few months, fellow mem-warrior, Ashley Memory, provided us with markets to keep us motivated and on track. I marveled at her carefully curated selection and finally asked her if she’d be interested in writing a markets column for WOW ! I’ve been wanting to bring the markets newsletter back for several years, so I’m glad she said yes!

Our mission is to provide fresh markets (mostly paying) for the creative writer—poets, playwrights, fiction and creative nonfiction writers, and more. WOW’s team member, Nicole Pyles, is also on our markets team; and with her help, we’ll be sending out a variety of targeted market reports every so often geared toward freelancers, bloggers, and more. 

In this newsletter, Ashley inspires writers to spring into writing with April deadlines for contests and publications. We also share Success Stories from WOW subscribers and our community on social media. (I share my recent successes in the column, too!) If you have a success story you’d like to share with fellow writers, please see details below on how to submit your story/links.

We are also accepting newsletter sponsors. If you'd like to reach 50,000 writers via email, and also help support WOW, please visit this page for details.

Remember, WOW is a paying market. We have sent out acceptances for our May/June issue and are still in the process of getting back to all the wonderful writers who queried us—some we'll move to another issue, and some we may use for the blog, and others will be invited to query us for the next two e-zine issues. If you'd like to query us, please visit the Contact Page and scroll down to "Submissions" and look for themes and deadlines.

And if you have a market you’d like to share, please send it to [email protected], and you may just see it in next month’s issue!

Until then, stay brave, dear writing warrior, and keep submitting!

We deeply appreciate you, and hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe.

Much love,

Angela, and Team WOW !

3. Builds a portfolio of published credits—a huge selling point when querying agents.

4. Expands your circle of writing friends exponentially. One of my besties lives in Chicago, and we wouldn’t have met at all if we hadn’t both been published in the same online magazine two years ago.

5. Teaches you so much about the industry. Yes, you can even learn from rejections. Last year, I submitted an essay to “Funny Women,” a column in The Rumpus. I got rejected, but I didn’t give up. More on this later.

Still not convinced? Lest I forget, in addition to a byline, you can also earn money and prizes. Recognition of any form validates our work and serves as a colossal reinforcement on the darker days. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to earn far more than money. I’ve won T-shirts, a tote bag, a backpack, even a weather station I still use today. A writer friend once snagged a year’s supply of sticky notes! How cool is that?

You may already be a pro at submitting; but for any writer, it’s a challenge to stay on top of the rapidly evolving markets. To help, every month, we’ll sort through them and cull a list of upcoming deadlines for contests and publications, including quirkier ones you might not know about. Our first issue features over twenty calls for a diverse range of work, from cowgirl poetry and genre-crossing slipstream stories to intersectional feminist work and tales of dream inspiration. And the best part? These markets want your work right now!