Interview with Writer Ray Daley

1. How did you get started writing fiction?

I used to enjoy writing stories for English class when I was 9. Our teacher would let us write whatever we wanted, and I was generally rewriting whatever episode of Doctor Who I had seen most recently. Tom Baker has a lot to answer for. I've always been grateful to my English teachers for giving me the chance to write and be creative. To the point where I recently tracked down my secondary school English teacher to let him know I was a writer now.

When I was about 10, a friend and I used to have a tall tales competition every week in the playground, making up what we'd done that weekend, and it'd be absolutely fantastical and impossible things that a 10-year-old couldn't possibly have done. Swimming with dolphins, riding Concorde, stuff like that. The idea was to get the other person to call you a liar. Until he went to a different school when we were 11, neither of us ever said it.

2. What kind of fiction do you enjoy writing? (Such as fantasy, romance, horror, or unspecified)

I cover science fiction (that's where I started), but I also write horror, fantasy, LitFic, anything speculative. I've also written nonfiction. I've been published in all the genres I listed here. And been paid for all of them too. For about 5 years I stuck to science fiction because it was my safe place, I'd grown up reading it so I knew I could understand it well enough to write it. It took a few more years to realise the same was true for horror and fantasy as well.

3. What was it about writing short stories that just seemed to "click" with your writing career?

Sometimes you just get a weird idea in your head and it's impossible to rest or relax until you can get it out, by writing the thing down. Don't be that person who says "I'll remember it when I wake up." Write it down now, even if it's just a vague outline. If you do remember it when you wake up, that's the time to add the details.

4. Is there a type of short story that you enjoy writing most? Please explain.

If you mean genres, probably science fiction, mostly because you get to say what is and isn't possible in your world. I know you can do that in any other genre, but it's interesting to draw a line in the sand and see if technology can cross it. I always try to explore new ideas, or take a different look at an old story to try and retell it in a different way. Two of my most recent sales were retellings of classic fairytales.

5. What was it like when you sold your first short story?

It felt really surreal, I didn't believe it had happened until they sent me the money. I had been so used to seeing people say no in various ways so an email saying "we would like to publish this story" was such a boost. Submission Grinder lists it as my first sub ever, which isn't correct, I know I had been sending stuff out before that. I discovered Submission Grinder later that year but it wasn't until that sale I started using it to track my subs and sales.

6. Where do you find short story markets to submit to?

Submission Grinder, Horror Tree, groups on Facebook and Discord. I subscribe to a lot of magazine newsletters and they always tell you when calls are coming. I also run a submission event myself, twice a year in January and June, where I choose paying markets across various genres where I'd like to sell my work.

The idea is to get used to sending out work on a regular basis and receiving rejections. I've removed the tough, time-consuming bit where writers have to find places that suit their work. We've been doing it for almost 5 years now and many of the people who have taken part have had at least one sale from taking part. I've had at least 2 pro sales from doing it. The saddest part is seeing some of the markets I like going under or out of business over the years.

I've included a link to the most recent event from January 2024 to give you an idea what it's like. If you're a writer and you want to try it, keep an eye on my blog during May when the next list will go live. You can also contact me on Twitter or Bluesky if you're curious to take part. Anyone is welcome, all levels of experience.

7. What is one lesson you have learned as a writer when it comes to writing short fiction?

Persistence pays off. Keep sending your work out to markets where it might fit, someone will take it eventually.

8. How is writing short fiction different from your work as a writer of longer fiction?

This is a tough one to answer for me because I've only ever written 2 novels. There's a lot more investment in writing a novel or novella. In a shorter story you can get away with a lot less research, sometimes not doing any at all. For a novel, you have to understand stuff a lot more, and be able to explain it to your reader in a way they can understand too.

9. What is some of the best advice you have received from other writers or editors when it comes to writing short fiction?

From Ray Bradbury, my namesake. Write at least one story every week for a year. Some of them will be garbage, but you'll have a few gems. I took that challenge in 2014, 52 stories sounded like a lot. I ended up writing over 180, and I'm still selling some of them.

From Neil Gaiman. Write whatever the fuck you want.

One comment I've heard from a lot of people is that you shouldn't be afraid to sub to certain markets. Nowhere is above you, too hard, or out of your league. You decide those things. Anyone can say no to you, but it's your call where you work goes.

10. Do you have any advice of your own to share with other writers?

Find other writers you like, support them, create your own community. It's always helpful to see what's selling to the markets you want to appear in, so read them. If you can afford submissions to the magazines you want to be published by, then do that. It's not always about writing, reading is important and finding time for yourself as well.

You are your most important resource, so know when to rest and relax, wind down, step away from creative things for a few days. Writing will always be there when you come back. The writing world has weathered so much, the threat of AI is just another storm on the horizon. Given time, it'll pass. True creativity can't be found in a few lines of code.

Never be afraid to try something new when writing. The worst thing that can happen is you find you aren't good at that specific thing. It also means you've learned something. Even failures can be educational.

ABOUT RAY:

Ray Daley was born in Coventry & still lives there. He served 6 years in the RAF as a clerk and spent most of his time in a Hobbit hole in High Wycombe. He is a published poet and has been writing stories since he was 10. His current dream is to eventually finish the Hitch Hikers fanfic novel he's been writing since 1986. Tweet him @RayDaleyWriter or on Bluesky @raydaleywriter.bsky.social