{"id":10805,"date":"2016-11-30T12:38:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T19:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=10805"},"modified":"2016-12-04T23:42:08","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T06:42:08","slug":"so-youve-written-a-short-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/so-youve-written-a-short-story\/","title":{"rendered":"So you’ve written a short story\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

So you’ve written a short story, and you’re wondering what to do with it. You think it’s pretty good and you want to see it published, but you’re wondering what’s the best way to do that.<\/p>\n

I can’t guarantee that this is the best way, but it is the way that I do it. Let’s start with the basics.<\/p>\n

Indie vs. Traditional<\/h3>\n

Traditionally, short stories\u00a0were published in magazines, anthologies, or collections. These were known as the “markets.” The editor was the one who chose which stories would go in\u00a0and shepherded them to publication. Because\u00a0of the periodical nature of the markets, there were a lot more short story slots than openings at the big publishing houses for novels, and many\u00a0editors considered it a way for new writers to cut their teeth and prove their chops. It was also a great way for writers to get feedback, on the rare occasion that an editor wrote a personalized rejection.<\/p>\n

In the 90s and 00s, the short story markets entered a period of decline, mostly due to the\u00a0technological disruption of this newfangled thing called teh internets. Subscription rates for all the major sci-fi magazines went down, just like they did for newspapers. However, several new markets emerged to take advantage of the new ways to reach readers. The same innovations that spurred the indie publishing revolution also gave birth to new short story markets.<\/p>\n

Today,\u00a0when you write a short story, the first question you’ve got to answer is “do I want to self-publish this, or should I submit it to the markets first?” If you’re a happily self-published indie writer like me, the urge will be to self-publish\u00a0first and ask questions later.<\/p>\n

But Wait!<\/h3>\n

The awesome thing about short stories is that you can get the best of both worlds. How? Because unlike the major publishing houses, the traditional short story markets don’t\u00a0impose prohibitive measures<\/a> designed to gobble up your rights and lock down your\u00a0publishing options. Publishing the same story in multiple markets is not only possible, it’s encouraged.<\/p>\n

To\u00a0maximize your returns, you have to\u00a0be patient and impervious to rejection. You also have to learn some key terms. But first, as with any job, you have to select the right tools.<\/p>\n

Get Thee to the Grinder!<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>To start out, you’re going to have to need some way to track all of your story submissions. By far, the Submission Grinder<\/a> is the best free tool on the internet to do that. It’s a massive database for every English-speaking short story market, with stats compiled from user data. Not only does it tell you where you can submit, it gives you all sorts of useful\u00a0statistics about each market. Create a free account, log your story, and use the Grinder’s search tools to find out where you can submit it.<\/p>\n

Because I’m paranoid and believe in redundancy, I also keep a spreadsheet with all of my story submissions. At this point, though, it’s largely a backup. There’s no one right way to keep track of your submissions, but you absolutely need a system to keep track of them, and the best one out there is the Grinder.<\/p>\n

Pro vs. Semi-Pro vs. Token<\/h3>\n

To decide whether a market is worth submitting to, you first have to determine how professional that market is. The best way to do that is\u00a0by looking at the pay rates.<\/p>\n

In the old days, when SFWA was more than just a snobbish\u00a0in-crowd\u00a0full of petty drama, you could tell that a market was professional if it was on the qualifying list for SFWA membership<\/a>. Today, though,\u00a0any market is considered professional<\/strong> if it pays at least 6\u00a2 per word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If a market pays\u00a0between 1\u00a2 and 6\u00a2 per word,<\/strong> it is considered semi-pro.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If it pays less than 1\u00a2 per word,<\/strong> it is considered a token-paying market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Original vs. Reprint<\/h3>\n

Some markets want to be the first place where a story appears. If it’s already published elsewhere, they won’t touch it. Other markets don’t really care, though they may pay\u00a0less for reprints.<\/p>\n

The thing to look for here is “original fiction”<\/strong> or “first publication rights.”<\/strong> If a market’s submission guidelines\u00a0specify either of those, then they won’t take your story if it’s self-published. Obviously, if you want\u00a0your story to appear there, you\u00a0can’t self-publish it first.<\/p>\n

Most of the markets that accept reprints don’t mind if your story is already self-published. A couple\u00a0of them do, which is super annoying, but whatever. As always, read the submission guidelines carefully before you submit.<\/p>\n

In general, the\u00a0more a market pays, the less it’s willing\u00a0to accept reprints. Adjust your publishing strategy accordingly.<\/p>\n

Multiple and Simultaneous Submissions<\/h3>\n

If\u00a0the first thing you do after finishing a short story is submit it to every market that might possibly accept it, you’re liable to\u00a0get yourself blacklisted and make a lot of editors angry.\u00a0There is\u00a0etiquette and protocol to the traditional publishing game, and if you want to succeed by going that route, you’re going to have to learn it.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0simultaneous submission<\/strong> is when you submit the same story to more than one market simultaneously.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0multiple submission<\/strong> is when you submit another story to the same market where you already have a story in consideration.<\/p>\n

Most editors hate multiple and simultaneous\u00a0submissions. If they like your story and want to buy it, the last thing they want is to\u00a0find out that another editor beat them to the punch. Likewise, if they’re swamped with submissions (as they usually are), the last thing they want is more stories from someone who’s already submitted something to them.<\/p>\n

For that reason, assume that a market does not accept multiple or simultaneous submissions, unless their guidelines say otherwise.<\/p>\n

Of course, what’s bad for the editor isn’t necessarily bad for the writer. You can greatly speed up the submissions process by submitting to all the simultaneous-friendly markets at once, or by not having to wait for a\u00a0response before submitting to a market again. The faster you can get through the\u00a0submission process, the sooner\u00a0it makes sense to self-publish.<\/p>\n

With That Out of the Way\u2026<\/h3>\n

Before you decide which publishing path to take, you first have to determine your publishing goals. Are you trying to make money, to build an audience, or both?\u00a0Can you afford to be patient, or is time not on your side for whatever reason? Once you’ve determined what you personally want to accomplish, you’re able to make the important decisions that will take you there.<\/p>\n

As a professional writer, it’s important for me to\u00a0maximize profits. Also, I’ve found that I can do more to build an audience by self-publishing than by going through the traditional markets. That said, the prestige of publication\u00a0in a pro market is still important in my field, so I find it worthwhile to submit original fiction to the pro markets before self-publishing.<\/p>\n

Here are my criteria for submitting original fiction:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Will I make at least $100 from this story sale? ($20 for flash)<\/li>\n
  • Is the average wait time for this market more than 60 days?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In a world where I can self-publish my stories and sell them directly,\u00a0or give them away as freebies to build a readership for my other books, the traditional submission process costs both time and money. Also, if a market has eggregiously long\u00a0wait times, that’s usually a red flag. Publish with them at your own risk.<\/p>\n

    However, for reprints I will submit my stories just about anywhere. They cost neither time nor money, because they don’t care if you self-publish first; all they want is non-exclusive publication rights. They don’t typically pay as well, but who cares? It’s free money, and the extra exposure isn’t going to cost you anything.<\/p>\n

    When making simultaneous submissions, I generally do it by tiers. If the story is at a pro market that accepts simultaneous submissions, I will only submit it to other pro markets. Likewise, if a story is at a semi-pro market, I will only simul-submit to other semi-pros. This is the best way to maximize your potential returns for original fiction.<\/p>\n

    In practice, though, since most simultaneus markets\u00a0don’t pay more than $100,\u00a0I usually end up submitting to them after I’ve already self-published. At that point, it doesn’t really matter where I submit, since a sale to\u00a0a token\u00a0market isn’t going to keep a\u00a0semi-pro market from buying it too.<\/p>\n

    So in short, here’s my process:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Submit to all the markets\u00a0that will pay at least $100 and respond in a reasonable manner (usually takes 1-2 years).<\/li>\n
    2. Self-publish.<\/li>\n
    3. Submit everywhere that accepts reprints and pays at least token rates.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A Word About Royalty-Share<\/h3>\n

      In today’s rapidly changing publishing environment, a few markets are experimenting with non-traditional forms of payment. Royalty share is one of those. Instead of paying up front by the word, these markets pay you a share of the profits after the work is published.<\/p>\n

      In general, this is what I think of that:<\/p>\n