The "Where can I send this story?" thread

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Polenth

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Markets like "Premonitions". Then again, they're hardcore genre. I can see their point.

Your story concept sounds like normal genre SF to me. But it doesn't sound like horror. Premonitions wasn't a market I'd heard of, but they appear to be more of a science fiction horror market, so they don't come across as a good fit.

They're also token payers. It's in your best interests to start at the top, as you want to sell to the best market who'll take it.

Pro SF markets: Analog, Asimov's Science Fiction, F&SF, Lightspeed, Redstone Science Fiction, Clarkesworld (if it has a darker edge), Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Strange Horizons.

Semi-Pro: Abyss and Apex, Electric Velocipede, Ideomancer, Interzone.

...as a few to get started. You can find the market details on Duotrope.
 

alexshvartsman

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I've never heard of Premonitions before, either. Polenth's list is an excellent place to start, but do remember that not all of these markets accept flash fiction. Duotrope.com is your friend for that - it'll let you know which markets do.
 

Polenth

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I've never heard of Premonitions before, either. Polenth's list is an excellent place to start, but do remember that not all of these markets accept flash fiction. Duotrope.com is your friend for that - it'll let you know which markets do.

Ah, yep. I missed the word count. I'll add Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online then.
 

Deizelcore

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Your story concept sounds like normal genre SF to me. But it doesn't sound like horror. Premonitions wasn't a market I'd heard of, but they appear to be more of a science fiction horror market, so they don't come across as a good fit.

They're also token payers. It's in your best interests to start at the top, as you want to sell to the best market who'll take it.

Pro SF markets: Analog, Asimov's Science Fiction, F&SF, Lightspeed, Redstone Science Fiction, Clarkesworld (if it has a darker edge), Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Strange Horizons.

Semi-Pro: Abyss and Apex, Electric Velocipede, Ideomancer, Interzone.

...as a few to get started. You can find the market details on Duotrope.

I'm unsure whether I'm good enough to submit to pro markets.
 

Deizelcore

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Quite a good piece of writing you go there. Very organic and defined.

There are a lot of markets for this type of fiction. You should probably do a search in the "General" genre of Duotrobe.

There's this one thing though. It's 1,100 words in lenght, right? Well, if you are going to sell it as fiction, this isn't the easiest sell as it is 100 words too big to be considered FLASH and simply too short to be a full-fledged short story (3-4 k is what most 'zines want).

Best of luck,
Arthur.
 

cmi0616

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Quite a good piece of writing you go there. Very organic and defined.

There are a lot of markets for this type of fiction. You should probably do a search in the "General" genre of Duotrobe.

There's this one thing though. It's 1,100 words in lenght, right? Well, if you are going to sell it as fiction, this isn't the easiest sell as it is 100 words too big to be considered FLASH and simply too short to be a full-fledged short story (3-4 k is what most 'zines want).

Best of luck,
Arthur.

Thanks Arthur! So glad you liked the piece! I'd never heard of Duotrobe before, very helpful! Thanks a ton!
 

Deizelcore

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Thanks Arthur! So glad you liked the piece! I'd never heard of Duotrobe before, very helpful! Thanks a ton!

Ah, come on. Sure, my suggestions may not be among the best AW has to offer, but the the best I can do for now. The sarcasm was uncalled for.
 
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Izz

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Deizel, i don't think cmi was being sarcastic. :)

cmi, here's a link to duotrope. It's a fantastic resource, and one i'm sure you'll fall in love with :)
 
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alexshvartsman

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Warning label: Duotrope will hurt your productivity and suck up HUGE amounts of your time... but it's soooo good :)
 

victoriajakes

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Ok, I know it's been talked about before, but I'm looking for horror humor/dark humor. Right now my list is Shock Totem, Apex, maybe One Buck Horror. I could have sworn I read on some submission guideline page that they were looking for more dark humor, but I cannot remember which market it was. Anybody got any great places for goofy, weird, funny horror?
 

mhaynes

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Hello, everyone. Hoping for some advice on a place to send a crime short story. About 1600 words, with a bit of dark humor around the edges. I already have a story in AHMM's (long) queue and the "sister" market to same just sent me a very nice but regretful "pass" on this one.

I dug around on Duotrope long enough without finding anywhere I was "happy" with that I thought I'd stop by and see if anyone had anything they'd like to suggest.

Preferences would be a publication that pays at least semi-pro rates and that typically responds in no more than a few months.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might wish to send my way!
 

matdonna

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coincidentally, I have a similar question to yours, mhaynes.

I just got a form reject from AHMM (after many many months...) on a 4K story. Mine is a bit odd, I usually do SF, fantasy and YA -- have a number of published things under my belt in those areas.....and I only tried AHMM for this one because there is indeed a crime in the story.

But it has, well...talking animals. Not the Wind in the Willows kind, more the Richard Adams Iron Wolf collection kind, but in a modern North American setting.

So what genre does this one fit in? Urban fantasy, of a sort, I suppose?
 

alexshvartsman

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@matdonna: Sounds like any speculative market that takes fantasy could be a potential target for your submission.
 

MamaStrong

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I can't offer advice as I am too new to this...however, I do have one that I'd like an idea of where to send it. Thanks for this thread.

*****

Words: Right now it's a 50,006 word novel.
MFC gets a suicide letter from her estranged mother shortly after her mother's funeral. The contents of the letter lead her to a lake town set in Northern Minnesota. Settling in, she begins searching for a reason for her mother's interest in this specific place. While there, she meets two different men. One turns out to be her final love interest by the end of the story, the other seduces her and then tries to kill her.
During the course of the novel the MFC deals with her mother's suicide, a miscarriage, faces an abduction, attempted rape, and cancer. By the end of the novel she experiences love, marriage,childbirth and an answer to her mother's interest in the specific lake town.

It's all over the place I know, but the novel makes more sense when read.

Again I'm new at this so I don't even know if there IS a place for it.

I would rate it PG-13?
One major sex scene
 
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Brett Marie

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How about this one? 'The Squeegee Man,' about 6k words, about a racist commuter who has to face down a homeless windshield washer on his way to work each day. I posted the story awhile back here -- some of you may have read it.

It may be a tough sell, I understand (it's written from the POV of the racist guy). The material may be considered offensive (though I intended it as more satirical than anything). It may not be funny enough to be humor, and it probably isn't horrific enough to be horror. Still, this is a favorite of mine, and I'm kind of heartbroken that it hasn't found a home.

Any suggestions? Please?
 

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Recommendations (merged into Where Can I Send This Story thread)

I submitted a short piece of humorous fiction to The New Yorker more than four months ago. I just heard from their editors today. They said they thought it was "a very clever" story which they "very much enjoyed reading", but didn't feel that it was right for their publication.

Until now, I have primarily been writing drama. I have no idea on where to submit this story next. My style of humor is often compared to Woody Allen's. It's mostly character based, with a healthy sense of the riddiculous, though perhaps a bit more willing to tinker with wordplay. Any suggestions?
 

mhaynes

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I submitted a short piece of humorous fiction to The New Yorker more than four months ago. I just heard from their editors today. They said they thought it was "a very clever" story which they "very much enjoyed reading", but didn't feel that it was right for their publication.

Until now, I have primarily been writing drama. I have no idea on where to submit this story next. My style of humor is often compared to Woody Allen's. It's mostly character based, with a healthy sense of the riddiculous, though perhaps a bit more willing to tinker with wordplay. Any suggestions?

How long is the story (wordcount, approximate)? Any genre it might reasonably be construed to fit under other than "humor" or "general literary"?
 

Asha Leu

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That sounds like something that would be appropriate for a lot of literary markets, they generally tend to publish a pretty eclectic range of stuff. Here's what Duotrope comes up with for pro markets that accept humorous stories - just make sure your story suits their guidelines.

With anything that's a bit weirder and experimental, its always going to be a crapshoot as to whether an editor feels its appropriate for their publication, or even if they "get it" (or believe their readers would), so all you can really do is keep submitting until you find an editor that likes it enough to buy it.

If it could be classed as a genre story, than any of the bigger magazines that publish that particular genre should be fine. Most seem to publish the odd comedic story. (Off the top of my head, Fantasy & Science Fiction certainly does, and Shock Totem's guidelines say they're open to dark, macabre humor.)
 
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Raphee

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I submitted a short piece of humorous fiction to The New Yorker more than four months ago. I just heard from their editors today. They said they thought it was "a very clever" story which they "very much enjoyed reading", but didn't feel that it was right for their publication.

Until now, I have primarily been writing drama. I have no idea on where to submit this story next. My style of humor is often compared to Woody Allen's. It's mostly character based, with a healthy sense of the riddiculous, though perhaps a bit more willing to tinker with wordplay. Any suggestions?

I was reading an interview of Zoetrope editor yesterday. He said they could do with some humor submissions. Might want to try that. Zoetrope is amongst the best.
Btw, if The New Yorker likes you that should be a welcome sign that others are going to at least consider your story.
 

defcon6000

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Okay, so I have a 800-word flash bizarro story, and I was looking at adult markets since this story falls out of the PG-13 range -- not just cussing, there are some rude bits. I know there's few listed on duotropes, but not very many, and not pro-paying (I'd like to start up top and work my way down).

So if anyone has any recommendations, that would be great!
 
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