I have a problem, Writer Friends. I have a short story AND a poem ready for submission. Okay, it’s not exactly a problem. More a quandary.

I have no idea where to send them. You see, I really, really like this poem and story, but they both will have to fall into just the right lap to find their way out into the big wide world of publication. (Translation: they’re both weird.) And even though I’ve had similar work published before, these new pieces are just different enough to send me scurrying to all the corners of the Internet (not to mention the magazine racks, the bookstores, and my own bookshelves) to hunt down just the right venues.

I get emails from writers fairly frequently, asking me where good markets are for this, that, and the other. The truth is, I don’t know. No one seems to — and if they say they do, I’m not sure they aren’t trying to sell you (and me) snake oil. I think there is some not-so-small measure of serendipity that leads you to the right editor.

Of course, chance favors the prepared writer – so doing your homework, and surfing all those sites to find new markets is a step you can’t skip, no matter how you wish you could.

This shouldn’t even be an issue for me right now. I’m hip deep in second pass pages (the final round of editing for Sinister Sweetness), a draft of my agent-anticipated WIP, and prep for the holidays. But these short pieces are begging for attention, too. Heck, my pets are strays. I guess I’m a sucker for little brown dogs — and the “little brown dogs” that howl on my hard drive, too.

Any of you have short pieces you can’t find a home for? Where do you go to find them homes, other than duotrope?

Happy Thanksgiving, Writer Friends! May you all win your personal NaNos, or at least get the biggest piece of pie. 😉