Novelette?

Renee Collins · Jun 20, 2009

I am about two thirds done with a short story and it's looking like it's going to be around 11,000 words. I'm sure I will be able to trim it down some, but I doubt I can shave off enough to get it into the 7,500 word limit that most magazines have for short stories.

So, my story will probably be stuck as a novelette. I'm wondering what the market is for those? Pretty bad, I imagine. Do any of you know? How hard is it to sell a 10 or 11k story? If it makes a difference, the story is sci-fi (dystopian,) and very much character driven.

alleycat · Jun 20, 2009

You might try Analog.

http://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml

Izz · Jun 20, 2009

On http://www.duotrope.com you can search for specific word lengths. I find that function quite useful myself. There are a few magazines that take up to 10,000 words in the SF genre

Apart from analog, mentioned above, there's also Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Futurismic. Others too, but my brain needs food right at the minute, so isn't being much help.

nolabohemian · Jun 21, 2009

Sci Fi

is more open to novelettes than almost any other genre, so you have that going for you. Some of those mags might serialize it for you too. Definitely check out duotrope.com. Not only can you search by word length, as mentioned above, but also by genre, so you can get really specific about market, length, pay rate, etc.

Renee Collins · Jun 21, 2009

Thanks guys! Great thoughts.

Gray Rose · Jun 21, 2009

Renee, is your protagonist male or female? (question for market purposes).

My first sale was an SF novelette, but I was in the right place at the right time. Looking back and having the skills I have now, I could trim it at least 1k.

Good luck!

Renee Collins · Jun 21, 2009

Gray Rose said:
Renee, is your protagonist male or female? (question for market purposes).

My first sale was an SF novelette, but I was in the right place at the right time. Looking back and having the skills I have now, I could trim it at least 1k.

Good luck!

Male. And it's first person, present tense.

More or less marketable?

The Rav · Jun 22, 2009

If you try all the publishers out there with no bites (novelettes and novellas tend to be hard sells), why not try marketing it yourself, either on your blog or through Amazon Kindle (or some such thing)? That looks to be the future of publishing anyway. Something for authors to think about, anyway.

Gray Rose · Jun 22, 2009

Renee Collins said:
Male. And it's first person, present tense.

More or less marketable?

It's not the question of marketable, but there would be a nice market for you if you had a female protagonist (Warrior Wisewoman anthology). Fist person present tends to be a hard sell, but don't be discouraged. Keep writing, polishing and submitting. I sold stuff in 1st present, 1st past and 3rd past, though I am yet to sell my 2nd present story

Try the big ones: Analog, Asimov's, the Baen's Bar. Then the semi-pros like Abyss and Apex when they reopen. Fantasy Magazine, despite their name, takes some SF.

Novelette?

Renee Collins

Plotting . . .

alleycat

Still around

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

nolabohemian

Renee Collins

Plotting . . .

Gray Rose

Beware of the Thorns!

Renee Collins

Plotting . . .

The Rav

Gray Rose

Beware of the Thorns!