REMINDER! Best Practices for Keeping Track of Deadlines
Writers sound off on the reminders they use for deadlines
One word you’ll often see in my bio is “freelance writer.” And like every freelance writer, I have deadlines to meet. These deadlines are either for a regular gig (like for my column in First Chapter Plus Magazine) or other submission opportunities out there.
And as many writers will notice, there are A LOT of submission opportunities out there!
Submission opportunities with deadlines.
I write short fiction, essays, articles, and poetry, so of course, I always keep an eye out for submission opportunities. These show up as posts on BlueSky, in Facebook groups I am in, as well as newsletters I am subscribed to, such as the one which Duotrope sends out every week.
And with so many deadlines for all of those submission opportunities swirling around, what’s a writer to do to keep track of them all? Especially if you are a forgetful writer like me?
The answer, of course, is to use reminders! But what reminder works best to stay on top of those deadlines?
I rely on two things to stay on track with deadlines: My day planner and sticky notes. If you’re curious about how I manage this, you can check out my detailed process on my new blog post here.
Other writers have chimed in on how they keep track of deadlines. They have granted me permission to quote them here.
Clarence Carter, a short story writer: “I usually just put the end date in my calendar on my phone and check periodically.”
Maryanne Chappell writes both short fiction as well as book-length fiction. She shared her method of keeping track of deadlines: “I keep a spreadsheet, and below are the headers for each column. Every piece I submit goes into this spreadsheet. It’s worked pretty well for me.
Publisher/Editor:
Date Submitted:
How Submitted: Moksha, etc.
Nice to Know Info:
Fee:
Closes:
Country of Origin:
Story Name:
Submission Guidelines Link:”
Clint Stevenson, a short story writer, also shared how he keeps track of deadlines: “I have a Word doc I use to track submissions and deadlines. I just put the market name, pay, and deadline with the name of the short story I’m going to send.”
Arindam Kalita, a writer of short fiction, noted that his method involves “bookmarking the sub pages. I name the bookmark with the date.”
Raven T. Nudd writes both short fiction as well as book-length fiction. Like me, one solution has worked best for Raven: “Sticky notes!”
Gotta love those sticky notes! I use them for everything else too.
As you can see, writers have a variety of ways to keep track of deadlines. There is no right or wrong way to do it. The method you choose must be the one that works best for you and your lifestyle.
The above methods work best for those writers. And the method I use works best for me. Got your own method for keeping track of deadlines? Feel free to share it in the comments!
What’s New This Week
My article “Science Fiction Novels Set on Polluted Planets” was published in the January 2026 issue of First Chapter Plus Magazine. My article is on page 18.
Book Reviews
I recently reviewed the Dominion trilogy by John Arkham at Dawn Reviews Books
I recently reviewed the short story collection 19 Doors by Rob Roy O’Keefe for Reader Views
I recently reviewed the memoir And Now, Back to Me by Rita Lussier at Reader Views
I recently reviewed the memoir Piece by Piece by Sheryl Hauk at Reader Views
I recently reviewed the poetry book The Body Can Tolerate by Loria Mendoza at Reader Views
What’s New at SPARREW?
Check out this informative article by award-winning poet LindaAnn LoSchiavo “How to Get More Poetry Book Reviews – Even if You’re a New Poet” which was published in the December 2025 issue of the SPARREW Newsletter!
Read it here.
CALL FOR SUBMISSION!
Week of Terrors Anthology series
Twisted Dreams Press is now accepting submissions for a new anthology series! It is seven books with ten stories in each book.
The first anthology will be published in June. The others will follow in the subsequent months. Submissions of stories for all anthologies opens the beginning of April.
Open until each anthology has ten stories. We will announce when an anthology is no longer accepting submissions.
Series Name: A Week of Terrors!
Here are the themes:
Monster Monday: Creature Horror Stories
Terrifying Tuesday: Evil Clowns
Werewolf Wednesday
Thriller Thursday: Zombies
Frightening Friday: Mix of horror subgenres: psychological horror, eco-horror, cyberpunk horror, erotic horror, etc.
Slasher Saturday: Slasher horror
Spooky Sunday: Ghost stories
Payment: One print and digital copy.
Submit your stories today!
Length: 3K-10K words
Reprints welcome! Simultaneous submissions welcome but please let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Email your stories as a Word .doc or .docx file. Google Docs are okay as long as you grant Dawn permission for access.
No PDF submissions, please.
Stories written with AI will NOT be accepted!
When you submit your story, please put the following in the subject line:
Submission: WOT Anthology, (Title), (Day of the week your story is for)
Please include in your email if the story is a reprint as well as your bio.
Please send your stories to Dawn at submissions@twisteddreamspress.com
We look forward to reading your story!
BONUS CALLS FOR SUBMISSION
“Mythaxis seeks speculative fiction (sf/f/h/weird/slipstream/…), crime (also including police procedural/detective/mystery/cosy/…) and mashups of the same. All genres are equally welcome in each submission window. We don’t receive enough crime fiction, so if that’s your bag we’re always eager!”
Original work only. Simultaneous submissions welcome. No multiple submissions. Work they publish may appear in a future anthology, with compensation provided.
Length:
“Flash fiction: 500–2,000 words (we do not receive enough flash submissions! Please send more!)
Short fiction: 2,000–5,000 words (the sweet spot is 2k–4k)”
Payment: “$0.01 per word, with a $20 minimum. Please be aware before submitting that payment is via PayPal only.”
Deadline: January 30, 2026
Strange Quark Press
“A forgotten doorway. A forbidden library. Secrets buried for centuries beneath the shifting sands. The journal of a forgotten philosopher whose words were banned. A sleep-deprive scholar, who begins to see some very strange visions. Your ideas may be spooky, but we want to read them.
Original work only. They are accepting fiction, CNF, essays, poetry and artwork. All work submitted must fit the theme of “Gremlin Grimoire.” Writing must be science fiction and science based. No AI-generated work. Up to two submissions per author allowed.
Length:
Fiction, CNF, essays: 4K words max
Poetry: 400 words max
Payment: $5/piece (Note: “All proceeds go to Reading is Fundamental – an awesome charity that promotes reading in the US!”)
Deadline: January 31, 2026
Tales from the Moonlit Path
“Tales from the Moonlit Path publishes dark, eerie, speculative stories. Horror is not a necessary element, although fiction should contain some aspect of the weak, frail, changeable human condition.
Gore and explicit sex for the sake of visceral shock will not find a home here, though we are not opposed to it in general, if it belongs in the story.
We are interested in character-driven stories more so than plot-driven, and we prefer dark fiction that makes us think, makes us feel, wraps us in its well-spun dream.
Hard sci-fi and fantasy are a hard sell for us, but not impossible. Revenge and ironic stories are also a hard sell.”
They are accepting fiction and poetry. They only pay for fiction. Reprints are welcome but they prefer original work.
Length:
Fiction: 2K words max
Poetry: 3-4 poems
Payment: $10 for fiction
Deadline: February 1, 2026
Voices on Gender, Queerness & Becoming
IHRAM Publishing
“This edition will celebrate the uniqueness of every individual, whether gender queer, non-binary, agender, gender-fluid, transgender, or anyone within the LGBTQ+ community, including those who choose not to label themselves or are still embracing their journey. Each person decides their own path and identity.
We welcome work that reflects on:
· Experiences of feeling “othered” by societal rules and norms.
· Trans joy, resilience, and creativity as forms of resistance.
· Cultural perspectives on gender and identity, and how different societies approach openness.
· Reflections on restrictive laws or policies that deny freedom of expression, and the importance of resisting them through art-activism.
This magazine is not about “unconventionality”, but it is about uniqueness, freedom, and growing communities and care. Through stories, poems, essays, and art, we want to honor the joy, struggles, and resistance of queer and trans lives worldwide. We welcome submissions from all over the world, regardless of gender or identity.”
They are accepting works of poetry, short stories, essays and art. Art must be able to be printed in black and white.
Length:
Fiction and nonfiction: 2500 words max
Poetry: 5 poems max
Art: No limit
Payment: “Writers whose submissions are accepted will receive payment of $50. Accepted artists will receive $25.”
Deadline: February 1, 2026
The First Line
“We love that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we’ve notified you as to our decision (usually four weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don’t want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line.
Also, we understand that writers may add our first line to a story they are currently working on or have already completed, and that’s cool. But please do not add our first line to a previously published story and submit it to us. We do not accept previously published stories, even if they have been repurposed for our first lines. And, just to be clear, we do not accept simultaneous submissions.
A note about AI: We ask that the work you submit to The First Line is your original work and has not been generated or “co-written” by artificial intelligence. We use several AI detectors, but we know that they are not perfect. Submissions found to be AI-generated will be disqualified from consideration.”
Original work only. They are accepting fiction, nonfiction and though they rarely accept it, poetry. They want essays that are “critical essays about your favorite first line from a literary work.” Multiple submissions welcome but they will only accept one submission. Submissions can be sent through email as well as regular mail.
Length:
Fiction: 300-5K words
Nonfiction: 500-800 words
Poetry: “We have no restrictions on form or line count, but all poems must begin with the first line provided. The line cannot be altered in any way.”
Payment: “We pay on publication: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction (all U.S. dollars). We also send you a copy of the issue in which your piece appears. You’ll receive your money and issue at the same time.”
Deadline: February 1, 2026
Roxane Gay Books
“In 2014, I published an essay, “Not Here to Make Friends” where I wrote about the importance and delight of unlikeable female protagonists. Likeability, I said, was a very elaborate lie, a performance, a code of conduct dictating the proper way to be, a trap, constraining women to very narrow ideas about how they should be. In fiction, characters who don’t follow this code are labeled as unlikable, as problems, as less worthy of taking up space on the page. I wrote the essay because of my own conflicted experiences with likability but also because I have spent a lot of time over the years thinking about unlikeable characters and how unfairly they are maligned.
As I also noted in my essay, unlikable are characters I’m frequently drawn to. I want interesting characters to do bad things and get away with their misdeeds. I want characters to think ugly thoughts and make messy decisions. I want characters to make mistakes and put themselves first without apologizing for it. I want authenticity and to read stories about real people who aren’t always picture perfect.
Because I remain fascinated by unlikable characters, I’m putting together Acquired Tastes, an anthology celebrating unlikeable characters: how we create them, how we understand them, how we love them and how they enrage us, and why they are so necessary to our stories.
This call is for young adult writers, whose work I’d like to include in this anthology alongside some more familiar names.
I’m looking for short fiction or essays, from young adults, ages 15-21.”
They are only accepting fiction and nonfiction for this call. No multiple submissions.
Length: 5K words max
Payment: “Contributors will receive a payment of $1,000 upon publication in 2027 and a copy of the anthology.”
Deadline: February 2, 2026
This Week’s Book Promo
Silly me, forgetting to promote my one and only 365 book that is in print at the beginning of January. Well, better late than never, right?
So, yes, I promoted my ebook 365 Quotes on Writing this week.
And guess what? Not only is this ebook available in different formats, but it’s FREE!
So what are you waiting for? Go get your own copy at this link!
Meanwhile, here’s an excerpt from that ebook. Enjoy!
Excerpt from
365 Quotes on Writing
Copyright © 2023 by Dawn Colclasure
ANNE RICE QUOTES
“If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If you feel blocked, write through it until you feel your creative juices flowing again. Write. Writing is what makes a writer, nothing more and nothing less.”
“To write something, you have to risk making a fool of yourself.”
“Protect your voice and your vision. If going on the Internet and reading Internet reviews is bad for you, don’t do it. … Do what gets you to write and not what blocks you. … Don’t take any guff off anybody.”
“I loved words. I love to sing them and speak them and even now, I must admit, I have fallen into the joy of writing them.”
“When I’m writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.”
“Go where the pleasure is in your writing. Go where the pain is. Write the book you would like to read. Write the book you have been trying to find but have not found. But write. And remember, there are no rules for our profession. Ignore rules. Ignore what I say here if it doesn’t help you. Do it your own way. Every writer knows fear and discouragement. Just write. The world is crying for new writing. It is crying for fresh and original voices and new characters and new stories. If you won’t write the classics of tomorrow, well, we will not have any.”
“Yes. To write a novel is to risk my sanity. The deeper I get into the suffering and conflict of the characters, into the very situations and thoughts and feelings that make the novel worthwhile, the worse I feel, and the more likely I am to be severely depressed when the book is finished. There is no avoiding this: it is the result of attempting to tell all you know, to reach for the stars, to write what matters.”
“Advice to a new writer: There are no rules in this profession. Do what is good for you. Read books and watch films that stimulate your writing. In your writing, go where the pain is; go where the pleasure is; go where the excitement is. Believe in your own original approach, voice, characters, story. Ignore critics. Have nerve. Be stubborn.”
“Writers write about what obsesses them. You draw those cards. I lost my mother when I was 14. My daughter died at the age of 6. I lost my faith as a Catholic. When I’m writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.”
Thanks for reading! See you next weekend!
Dawn, another fine column with useful tips. I make notes on important submission deadlines in my daily journal & I also email top picks to myself. My subject heading = submission dates + a KEY WORD that can be searched in my inbox. 🔎 . . . . . . . Thanks for boosting my craft piece, too: “How to Get More Poetry Book Reviews – Even if You’re a New Poet”