What's the guideline for short stories and mags?

KikiteNeko · May 2, 2008

There's probably a great thread on this somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. If I wanted to submit a short story to a magazine (something I've never done), how would I go about determining length, and what is the submission process, and is there anything else I should know? I'm interested in submitting short fiction, not articles or biographies. Any length would be fine, I just want to find out which magazines accept what lengths and stuff.

Thanks so much.

Polenth · May 2, 2008

Every magazine is different, but most have their submission lengths and guidelines on their website. Those that don't should have it in the magazine somewhere. You can find magazine websites on this site:

http://www.duotrope.com

Common guidelines include no multiple submissions (submitting lots of stories to that magazine at once) and no simultaneous submissions (that's where you send the same story to lots of magazines). Those that do allow multiple or simultaneous submissions will have instructions on how they handle it.

KikiteNeko · May 2, 2008

Thanks. I was looking for the guidelines for Reader's Digest but I couldn't find it.

Polenth said:
Every magazine is different, but most have their submission lengths and guidelines on their website. Those that don't should have it in the magazine somewhere. You can find magazine websites on this site:

http://www.duotrope.com

Common guidelines include no multiple submissions (submitting lots of stories to that magazine at once) and no simultaneous submissions (that's where you send the same story to lots of magazines). Those that do allow multiple or simultaneous submissions will have instructions on how they handle it.

Polenth · May 2, 2008

tomothecat said:
Thanks. I was looking for the guidelines for Reader's Digest but I couldn't find it.

Their site says they don't take fiction submissions.

pdr · May 5, 2008

There are...

stickied at the top of this thread some market lists, zine markets and individual markets.

slcboston · May 5, 2008

Each magazine is different. The easiest way to go about it is to either check out their website - a lot of magazines now post their guidelines - or email the editor. You can also pick up (or browse) a copy of the magazine itself, that will usually give you a good feel for the kind of things they usually publish.

You may find you'll have to tweak a story, usually for length, between submitting it to different places. (Or that might just be my problem - I tend to write longer rather than shorter and run afoul or word counts.)

Siddow · May 5, 2008

Reader's Digest doesn't publish fiction.

C.M. Daniels · May 15, 2008

You can also hit the Writer's Market.

So long as you follow each particular magazine's submission requirements, you should be fine.

What's the guideline for short stories and mags?

KikiteNeko

.

Polenth

Mushroom

KikiteNeko

.

Polenth

Mushroom

pdr

slcboston

Pasture-ized

Siddow

I'm super! Thanks for asking

C.M. Daniels

Cinnamon, sit. Bad fish!