Multiple Submissions Question

Jeffrey Pace · Jan 22, 2009

In November I submitted two flash fiction stories to Ellery Queen's. I could not find anything on their site that discouraged multiple submissions. I dug in other places too.

Of course tonight I noticed that on Duotrope (that I was almost POSITIVE I checked, darn it) it read that they do NOT accpet multiple submissions.

Anyone in the know: will they likely discard my submissions without reading them? Or will they simply notify me of their policies and ask me to re-sumbit one at a time? How is it usually dealt with?

Thanks so much

Alan Yee · Jan 22, 2009

Someone with experience might be able to answer your questions better, but it seems that it if it wasn't explicitly stated in their guidelines, they probably wouldn't discard your submissions unread. Two flash stories is reasonable if they do allow multiple submissions. It's not like you're sending ten stories at once. I would think they might just give you a heads-up if they really don't accept multiple submissions.

However, in general, I think it's best not to send multiple submissions unless the guidelines explicitly state they are allowed. Or you could ask the editor if it's unclear.

Jeffrey Pace · Jan 22, 2009

Thanks. I could not find anything about multiple submissions on the Ellery Queen's site, but I did find something (later) on Duotrope.

I'm hoping that--as you mentioned--since they were short they may have given them a glance instead of discarding or sending me back a form letter.

Rufus Leeking · Jan 22, 2009

simultaneous or multiple. no one bans multiple that i know of. They'll say "limit to 2 stories at a time," or even "limit to one story," but they don't say multiple. simultaneous is different, it means sending to two mags at a time.

plus I just went to their web page. it doesn't restrict either. I wouldn't worry. if an angry editor calls sy you read the webpage, twice, and nothing was there.

Multiple Submissions Question

Jeffrey Pace

Alan Yee

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Jeffrey Pace

Rufus Leeking