Submissions, Queries, and Other Stuff

summontherats · Feb 13, 2014

Hey there! I have a really basic question. Just tell me if I should direct this to another board.

I've decided to start submitting short pieces regularly. Since this is W1/S1, my goal is to submit at least once a month, at least until I get the hang of this.

The problem is that I have never done short pieces before. I've written novels and queried agents, so the process isn't foreign to me, but it's different. I've got a Duotrope account now and am looking around, and I have no idea what the norm is for submitting.

I know big publications make you query. But it looks like low-paying opportunities don't? Most seem to just want a submission with nothing else (like this one, which is manuscript + bio paragraph) Some are unclear, like Spellbound, which only mentions manuscript formatting rules.

I always try to follow the rules, but lot of these aren't super explicit. What's a good rule of thumb? Just submit with nothing else? Include a paragraph about yourself? Do a cover letter?

Project Deadlight · Feb 13, 2014

There's no one way to do it, each particular market has different guidelines. Choose the highest paying market that best fits your story then work through the pro markets, the semi pros, then the tokens. The market you mentioned doesn't state preferences, as you say, so I'd use Shunns manuscript formatting in these instances (google if you're not familiar.)

summontherats · Feb 13, 2014

Makes sense! And hm. That makes me wonder if I'm underselling myself by going right for the token markets just because I've never published anything before. Interesting.

But if they don't specify otherwise, do you just email the manuscript? Nothing else?

pdichellis · Feb 13, 2014

I always include a brief cover note, just a few sentences. Story title, word count, thank you for reading my story, etc. Maybe one sentence (maximum) about the story, especially if the market is multi-genre.

I decided to do this after reading lots of interviews with editors. Duotrope is a great source for these.

Best wishes,
Peter DiChellis

fihr · Feb 13, 2014

summontherats said:
Makes sense! And hm. That makes me wonder if I'm underselling myself by going right for the token markets just because I've never published anything before. Interesting.

You might be. Depends if you write literary or genre, too.

If you write literary shorts, many markets will pay nothing or next to nothing yet still have a good reputation. If you write genre, the markets that pay more generally are the hardest to get into, though there are also semi-pro markets that are very hard to get into.

Some people like to build their confidence by starting with easier markets, but others like the top-down approach: start with the pro markets, progressively eliminate them (while developing a thick skin along the way), then move onto the semi-pros (some of which have as good or better reputations than some pro markets), and from there to token.

I started with semi-pro when I started out, and was shocked to be booted into the final round at one with my first submission. That story has not yet been accepted anywhere, but it was a confidence boost. So I've been subbing to pro and semi-pro ever since. Or, 'token' when the token payment works out to semi-pro pay for the number of words anyway. Or, when the venue has a big circulation.

The other thing you might want to consider is response times. You might prefer a semi-pro that responds fast over a pro market that will take a year to reply.

summontherats · Feb 13, 2014

pdichellis said:
I always include a brief cover note, just a few sentences. Story title, word count, thank you for reading my story, etc. Maybe one sentence (maximum) about the story, especially if the market is multi-genre.

Aha! This is just what I was looking for. Thank you! (Also, thank you for reminding me I need to read more of what's up on Duotrope.)

And fihr: This gives me lots to think about. Thanks so much! I'm writing genre, and... I am extremely, extremely new to this. It looks like I have a ton of research to do! I already knew I needed to do that, but this gives me a lot of concrete things to think about. (And it means I *shouldn't* just limit myself to token markets just on principle. This is good to know.)

Izz · Feb 13, 2014

My cover letter usually looks something like this (with changes only if the market has specific requests in their guidelines):

Dear Editor(s) *--if i know the editor's name, i include that instead--*

Attached for your consideration is my xxxx word story, *insert story title here*. Short fiction of mine has previously appeared in *list two or three venues only*, and elsewhere.

*--if you haven't got any short fiction credits, leave that last sentence out--*

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best
Me

*--whole story attached--*

You'll find very, very few markets want you to query first, or only send a partial.

The Short Fiction Markets sticky in the Short Fiction room might be helpful too

summontherats · Feb 14, 2014

Izz said:
My cover letter usually looks something like this (with changes only if the market has specific requests in their guidelines):

Dear Editor(s) *--if i know the editor's name, i include that instead--*

Attached for your consideration is my xxxx word story, *insert story title here*. Short fiction of mine has previously appeared in *list two or three venues only*, and elsewhere.

*--if you haven't got any short fiction credits, leave that last sentence out--*

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best
Me

*--whole story attached--*

You'll find very, very few markets want you to query first, or only send a partial.

The Short Fiction Markets sticky in the Short Fiction room might be helpful too

Thanks so much! This is all perfect.

I'm also a little surprised. Querying magazines was a big topic in my journalism classes (which was... years ago), so I assumed it was normal for most short fiction markets. But hey, that's awesome! Querying is painful.

Submissions, Queries, and Other Stuff

summontherats

Generally More of a Lurker

Project Deadlight

summontherats

Generally More of a Lurker

pdichellis

Murder! You want fries with that?

fihr

summontherats

Generally More of a Lurker

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

summontherats

Generally More of a Lurker