Writing for Woman’s World Short Fiction Markets

by Paula
Gail Benson

If
you’re interested in writing short romance or mystery stories, you might want
to consider submitting to Woman’s World
(WW), a weekly magazine found in most grocery stores. Before sending in a
story, you’ll definitely want to read the publication. Its fiction guidelines
are strict: (1) romances must be contemporary and no more than 800 words, and
(2) mysteries must be up to 700 words written in a “solve-it-yourself” format to
allow readers to test their sleuthing skills with the resolution at the end.
The pay is excellent (about $800 for romances and $500 for mysteries), but the
competition is fierce. If your story is selected, you’ll become part of a distinguished
group, including John Floyd and B.K. Stevens.

Several
websites have been developed to help writers determine how best to hone their
submissions.

The
following provide guidelines:

for
romances

and
for mini-mysteries

Until
September 6, 2016, when she had to suspend her messages to concentrate on
caring for her mother, Jody Lebel, a WW published mystery author, analyzed the
mini-mysteries and listed other markets accepting shorts. Her blog is well
worth reading to understand the type stories and formatting that WW is seeking.
Here’s the link:

In
addition, two Sleuthsayers blog messages from R.T. Lawton (“Me and the
Mini-Mystery”) and John Floyd (“A Woman’s World Survival Guide”) give some
excellent advice for successful submissions. They can be accessed at: http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2012/08/me-and-mini-mystery.html
and http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2012/08/a-womans-world-survival-guide.html.

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