A while ago, I did a post on submitting manuscripts to a publisher which is, really, just how to format your query letter. After having a quick conversation with Tom at the shop, I realized I had kind of forgotten all the other stuff that’s part of submitting, like, for example, how you know when you can submit where. Time to remedy that situation.
So, you have written a story. Say it’s a 2,500 word fantasy piece about a man who communicates with god by pressing his ear to a conch shell. It’s called “Mon Dieu“. You wrote it, it’s as good as you can make it. Now you want to sell it. What do you do?
Well, standard advice is to look at the spines of the books on your shelf, find who publishes books like yours, and then look up their submission information. That’s fine for a novel but short fiction is different. The market for short fiction is… shall we say, difficult. Uncertain. In flux. Basically, magazines that are going strong sometimes suddenly shut down, and then, sometimes, suddenly reopen again (this isn’t limited to paper publications, either). You need to keep your eye on people who keep their eye on these sorts of things. Places like Ralan and Places for Writers are much better than the Writer’s Market because they’re constantly updated and totally free (but if you can, you should donate some scratch. A lot of work goes on at those places). Anthologies are just as important for short story sales as magazines, so keep your eyes peeled for short story collections (other than the “Best of the Year”, which have all been previously published).
The long and short of it is this: Try to place your fiction somewhere you would read it. This means you reach an audience that’s sizable (numbers are good) or local (local often = vocal, and a little local fame can help you hear about other opportunities to submit stories later on. Also, vocal fans are A-OK as far as I’m concerned). The best single resource I’ve found for names of fantasy magazines that I might (i) like to read and (ii) like to have a story in, is actually the copyright page of the Year’s Best Fantasy and Science Fiction, which lists the original publication.That said, you can find lots of great reading and places to submit by just googling things like “submission guidelines” “short fiction” “fantasy” or some other combonation.
OK. Once you’ve got an idea of where you want to submit, there are 3 things you should be looking for when you’re shopping a story around.
1) Do they publish work like mine?
Ask yourself if the magazine, zine, or anthology has previously accepted, say, Fantasy that deals with heretical topics and is neither flash nor long fiction. The answer had better be ‘yes’ if you’re going to send them Mon Dieu, or you’re just wasting everyone’s time (yours included). There’s no point sending Mon Dieu to Asimov’s because Asimov’s wants SF only, and Mon Dieu is firmly fantasy.
2) Are they open to submissions?
Check the “Submission Guidelines” section. There’s going to be one. It might be hidden under “Contact Us” but most likely it’ll say “Writer’s Guidelines” or “Submission Guidelines“.
A magazine will be in one of four states at any given time. It may be closed to submissions permanently, because it is dead (this means the magazine has ceased printing); it may be closed to submissions temporarily because it’s swamped, out of its reading period, or just is; it may be reading submissions right now; it may be reading submissions all the time. If you read the guidelines (and you really, really should), they’ll tell you. Some magazines are structured around themes, so sometimes you’ll have to submit your god-and-conch story to the “mysterious ocean” theme, which needs to be submitted by April 31st, say. If a magazine hasn’t got a “submit by” date, then there’s no closing date and you can submit any time you like.
3) Are they open to submissions from people like me?
Some few anthologies and magazines are pro-only, and operate on a system of invitations. Don’t bother subbing to these guys because unless you’re invited, you haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell. This isn’t because they’re mean or cultish or not giving other people a chance. Their product is rare and specialized.
OK, it’s time for supper, so I’m off for the night. I’ll post more on this tomorrow, including stuff about how to approach an editor, what the heck this “multiple” and “simultaneous” business is all about and all manner of fun stuff!
[...] stove and needs half an hour, so lets talk a little about submitting manuscripts again. We covered how to know where to send you story, and how to write a cover letter, and now let’s talk about some other stuff like when [...]