Friday 9 November 2012

Priorities for the Short Story Writer: Part One: Submissions

Warning: Mileage will vary. This is how I manage my submissions. You might do things much better.

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This has got to be a golden age of opportunity for the short story writer. Duotrope lists thousands of venues.

But, in a whiny sort of way, I've been feeling stressed by too much opportunity. I thought I'd blog about how I've been attempting to organise my time.

And let's pretend that I just write shorts. I'm also writing poetry, and many of you are writing novels, too. Let's put that aside.

If you want to get published the aim of the game is to get your stories in front of editors. Occasionally I've sold without submitting (when editors have seen a story link on my blog) but its rare.

To increase your number of submissions, you can do two things: make more submission, write more stories and then make more submissions.

Guide to Making More Submissions.

1. Query Any Current Overdue Submissions. 

If you've been subbing for a while you might have overdue subs, submissions  that are taking longer than is usual (usual can vary widely). It's is not unknown for venues to die on me without me noticing. Check duotrope.com and the venue itself for response times.  This is how I query by e-mail.

Dear X editors,

I wonder if my submission is still under consideration.

Kind regards,

Deborah

I always forward the original e-mail, making sure the story is attached, in case it's been lost. Nine times out of ten this brings a very quick response, a sale or a rejection or a holding notice. If I don't get a response in a reasonable time (two weeks is reasonable to me) I politely withdraw the story. It's important to withdraw so that you have documentation if a dispute arises in the future.

Dear X editors,

I would like to withdraw my submission sent to you on xxx.

Kind regards,

Deborah

I usually forward the query letter and original submission, but, I don't like to go into the whys and wherefores of the matter. But that's your call.

2. Make Reprints Submissions

I don't make enough reprint submission which is very foolish of me, as I consider them pain-free. If you get a rejection, you know that it's due to editorial taste. After all the story has already been published.

There are many quality reprint venues that you can find using duotrope.com's nifty reprint search function.

3. Make Submissions from your Inventory.

Send out the stories that you've already written. A really nice tip, which I've never managed, is to send a story to a new venue immediately when you get a rejection.

There is a time cost to making submissions. If you have a lot of stories, you could probably spend all your time subbing. I suggest picking a number that you feel happy with, for me that 40-50 story submissions. If my race score gets low, like it is at the moment, I like to make a story submission a day, until it gets to a good level.

Be strong, Grasshopper. Do not get discouraged by rejection.

4. Write a New Story and then submit it.

You can either write whatever you feel like and then find a venue. Or you can find a venue and try to write a story that fits.

But how do you decide what venue to write for? And in fact, how do you decide where to send inventory stories? I've got some thoughts. And that's going to be the subject of part two.

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I'm interested in how you guys manage your submissions. Is it much like me? Are you happy with the number of submissions you've got out at the moment? Anything that I've forgotten, or gotten outrageously wrong?

17 comments:

  1. Great advice. I have a spreadsheet that I started using early in 2012... I've switched since then to Duotrope, but I still like my spreadsheet better so I maintain it as well.

    I suppose it is a numbers game. I'm pretty sure I'll soon overwhelm the market with my short stories and someone will have to buy a piece soon. Even if it's by accident'

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    1. I have a theory/dream that there's such a thing as a pity acceptance. If you sub 100 times to a venue without a sale they have to publish you.

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  2. I'm woefully lapse at sending out reprints - actually on subs in general lately. My race level is at 6 :(

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  3. You should work the reprint markets, Cate. Come on. One a day for the next five days. You'll feel good.

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  4. Some great advice there, Deborah. I use some software of my own to track submissions - the sort of thing you can do via Duotrope too.

    Not to self: make more reprint submissions.

    "Do not get discouraged by rejection." - absolutely.

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  5. Hi, Simon. I hope I haven't posted the obvious. I thought it might be helpful because I'd slipped behind on the querying and the reprint subs myself.

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  6. This sounds like a great process for short story subs! I haven't subbed shorts for a while, but if I do, I'll keep these tips in mind!

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  7. Congrats on meeting your W1S1 goals. I use Duotrope for tracking. I'm torn between writing a story and finding a market or writing a story specific to a market. As for reprints, I'm publishing them as collections or singles via Kindle on Amazon.

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    1. Nice use of reprints, Jeff. And you could still submit them to venues, if you wanted. Now that would really be working it.

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  8. I've never submitted a short story (or novel or anything else, for that matter) but I'm impressed by your numbers--40-60 stories sounds like a lot to keep track of and remember!

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    1. It's a bit of a pain sometimes, but it's got to be done. And I guess you might be subbing in 2013, Eagle.

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    2. Also, I kinda remember them in my head. Not that I could reel them off. But if I see I magazine, I say to myself, ah, I've got a story with, or it's about time I sent them something new, etc.

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  9. It is difficult trying to keep track of submissions and keeping them in progress. Whatever system you have going, I think it is a good one.

    Since I've been in W1S1 this year, I've noticed that my average is between 15 and 30 subs. I aim for 20, but see that number rise as I write a new story a week.

    I love Duotrope, but also keep my own record ... I have a list of what is in subs, what has been rejected and by who, and stories lined up for future subs, because sometimes I find a venue that might fit perfect for one sub that is already in a no SS sub, and so I make a note of that. I have several stories listed and ready for a future sub so when that big R comes along, I've already got another venue lined up.

    That said, it is still a lot to keep track of, and I find that I do spend more time in the subbing process when I'd rather being in the writing process, but I figure that's just a part of being a writer. As for queries, I rarely send them out. Perhaps I'm overly patient or am afraid of forcing a rejection ; ]

    Keep up the good work, Deborah. Your numbers are astounding and at the same time, inspiring.

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  10. Fantastic, you sound like you're really on top of things, Erin. And I love the idea of having the future sub lined up, Erin.

    Yes, it can be time consuming. It's taken me over an hour to report my subs, amend my records and make two new submissions this morning. And that's time I could have been writing. But, like you, I figure it's part of being a published writer.

    Keep up the good work, Erin.

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  11. Great post, Deborah. My spreadsheet keeps everything in order, and right now I've got probably half a dozen overdue that I should query + another four that need to find new homes ASAP. I try to get stories back out the same day they're rejected, but that doesn't always happen. Keep up the good work! I always enjoy reading your stuff.

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  12. About submissions? ... 'Speed of Love' ... glad you submitted it!

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  13. Hi, widdershins. You beat me to it. I was just wondering if to put up a DSF post. Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate it.

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