Can I just randomly send my story as an attachment?

nicegrrl · Aug 2, 2006

So, I wrote a story and now I want to send it to people. Can i just randomly send it over email as an attachment or is there some query letter process involved. Really, a query letter would be kind of dumb since it would be like half as long as the story itself. But maybe that's how things are done.

Any advice?

Perks · Aug 2, 2006

Yikes. You could, and it would be free because you wouldn't have to bother about stamps.

Beyond that, yes, of course there's a process. You'll have to figure out good potential markets, query them and then reap the praise.

I'm suspecting this might have been an exercise in leg-pulling, but just in case...

Penguin Queen · Aug 2, 2006

I woudl definitely not send it as an attachment unless submission guidelines invite you to do so. Most places will delete emails with attachments unread, because of viruses.
Check, most journals & obviusly all ezines have a website with submission guidelines.

And good luck.

Shiraz · Aug 2, 2006

Well, first of all, there's really not enough information provided in your question to respond accurately. What kind of story? A novel? Short-story? Magazine article? And when you say you want to send it "to people," who do you mean?

Second, my first reaction was "no," I've never, ever seen any agency or publisher willing to accept a submission via an email attachment. It will almost always be deleted first, for obvious reasons.

But, that said, my best advice is to check each individual submission guideline carefully before you send your story to anyone. They can vary quite a bit and you don't want to assume anything.

Good luck to you!

johnnysannie · Aug 2, 2006

Yes, check the guidelines of any e-zine or traditional publication. Some accept attachments, many do not. I often submit via e-mail in both fiction and non-fiction markets but only if it is acceptable to the recipient.

When I do send an attachment, I do send a brief cover letter as well.

nicegrrl · Aug 2, 2006

well

I mean my story burka babes. Not every magazine is clear about submission guidelines. I was thinking about sending it to playboy. They take short stories, right? Maybe they'd like a short story about lesbians being frisky.

i mean, mostly I am sending it to smaller publications, but I figured why not send to big ones too.

Peggy · Aug 2, 2006

nicegrrrl, most magazines have information online for submissions. If not, call or write to them. I don't think you want to send anything that will go straight to the spam folder.

Here is a site to get you started (I don't know how accurate or up to date it is):
http://www.writingsite.com/index.htm?pages/markets.htm~mainFrame

For example:

PLAYBOY MAGAZINE
680 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611
Contact: Fiction Editor. Query first
Length: 7500 words maximum

I would say no email address means no email submissions. And query first!

emeraldcite · Aug 2, 2006

Not every magazine is clear about submission guidelines

Most magazines are fairly clear on their submission guidelines if you take the time to find out what they are.

If they're not in the site or inside a copy of the magazing, then you can query for them.

If you send something completely blind you'll just end up making yourself easy to weed out of the slush.

Imagine working for a mag and being inundated with hundreds of stories a month. Thousands of pages of people wanted to break in and publish. Wouldn't you be looking for ways to get through it quickly?

Don't make it easy for them by submitting blind. Know your markets. Target them. Give them a reason to read your work start to finish.

Here's an assignment for you. Go to Share Your Work. Read every story posted in there from start to finish. Figure out how long that took you.

That's what some magazines go through in a month. Some, like Playboy, probably reject more that all of those stories in a day.

Know your market. Don't give them a reason to reject you.

MidnightMuse · Aug 2, 2006

Honestly, if you email an attachment of any kind, to any legitimate market, without their express permission first - you'll be deleted without a glance.

You won't even get passed their spaminators, so they'll never know you tried.

Check out each market first, query and go from there. They might well give you permission to attach a file, but you'll need their okay first.

whistlelock · Aug 2, 2006

Can I just randomly send my story as an attachment?

That would be why the phrase, "we do not accept unsolicited material." was invented.

Send them a querry post card. Post cards work.

maestrowork · Aug 2, 2006

Attachments.. EEEKKKK, what with virus and all kinds of crap. Your message will go straight to junk mbox or deleted. Not to mention it's unsolicited.

If publications do accept unsolicited material via email, send your work as TEXT only, within the email message itself. Unless, of course, the publications specifically ask you to send attachments.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 3, 2006

nicegrrl said:
So, I wrote a story and now I want to send it to people. Can i just randomly send it over email as an attachment or is there some query letter process involved. Really, a query letter would be kind of dumb since it would be like half as long as the story itself. But maybe that's how things are done.

Any advice?

No, you can't. You always have to look up guidelines and send the story to each magazine in the specified manner. Even many magazines that do accept e-mail submissions will not accept attachements. Others only accept e-mail submissions if they have the right subject line.

Playboy, like many other magazines, does not accept electronic submissions. Here are their guidelines:Playboy is considered to be one of the top fiction markets in the world. We publish serious contemporary stories, mystery, suspense, humor, science fiction and sports stories. We do not consider poetry, plays, story outlines or novel-length manuscripts. It pays to take a close look at the magazine before submitting material; we often reject stories of high quality simply because they are inappropriate to our publication.

Writers should remember that the magazine's appeal is chiefly to a well-informed, young male audience. Fairy tales, extremely experimental fiction and out-right pornography all have their place, but it is not in Playboy.

The average length of a Playboy story is 1000-6000 words, and we will not consider manuscripts longer than 7500 words. Payment is usually $5000; very short pieces are paid $2000. We publish about twenty stories a year.
Manuscripts should be addressed to the Fiction Department. They should be typed, double-spaced and legible. Hand-written submissions will be returned unread. Writers who submit manuscripts -without- including a self-addressed, stamped return envelope will receive neither the manuscript nor a printed rejection. We will not consider stories submitted electronically or by fax.

We strongly suggest a brief cover letter listing your publishing credits or other relevant information. All properly submitted stories are given careful consideration by our staff. Response time is approximately eight to ten weeks. We regret the delay, but we receive several hundred submissions each week and it takes time to go through them.

A little advice for the new writer: Please don't telephone the editor to ask how to submit a story or to explain a story. Don't ask for sample copies, a statement of editorial policy, a reaction to an idea for a story, or a detailed critique; it is not our business to provide these.

We appreciate your interest in our magazine, and hope you will submit material you feel is suited to Playboy's high standards.

It's reported may be switching their fiction submission address to New York. The old submission address is

Attn: Fiction Department
680 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60611
U.S.A.

The new one is:

Attn: Fiction Department
730 5th Ave
New York NY 10019

Kate Thornton · Aug 3, 2006

nicegrrl,

Please - read every word Jamesaritchie has said.

Okay - done with that? Now - let's look at what you have:

You have FICTION - a short vignette with religious and lesbian overtones. (It *could* even be an essay from the looks of it) You need to find a suitable market for this piece before you send it anywhere. Do some research - you may opt for an online magazine or for a print mag or submit to an anthology, but whatever you do, make sure your work is the sort of thing they are looking for. And there are a *LOT* of publications out there - your work is going to be a fit for someone, the key is finding out where.

Next - every publication that accepts submissions has submission guideline - yes, every one. Follow them to the letter redarding content, format & submission method (if they accept online submissions, they may want cut-and-paste-into-the-body-of-the-email or they may want an rtf attachment (rich text format). All will want a COVER LETTER (not the same as a query)

And come back here and let us know how it's going.

Best regards,
Kate

Kate Thornton · Aug 3, 2006

PS - Jamesaritchie, thanks for the update on Playboy - they have rejected some very fine contemporary writers. If you read it just for the fiction, you are *still* getting your money's worth.

K. (who doesn't look at the pictures, but loves the words)

stormie · Aug 3, 2006

All of the above gave great advice. For short story markets, go to ralan.com and there's a link to a list and guidelines for adult markets as well as paying, non-paying, semi-pro, etc.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 3, 2006

Playboy

Kate Thornton said:
PS - Jamesaritchie, thanks for the update on Playboy - they have rejected some very fine contemporary writers. If you read it just for the fiction, you are *still* getting your money's worth.

K. (who doesn't look at the pictures, but loves the words)

Playboy has words!!! Who knew?

Seriously, yes, some of the best writers of the 20th century were published in Playboy. Ray Bradbury, my favorite writer, has been published therein at least eight times, if I recall correctly.

The competitioon there is incredibly tough because of the very high pay and the number of famous writers who submit, but it's always worth the effort.

johnnysannie · Aug 3, 2006

Some of Stephen King's early work also appeared in Playboy.

Another good source for fiction markets can be found here:

http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx

It offers a chance to search for the type fiction writers wish to market.

The best rule of thumb for ANY submission is to research first. Finding the right market can be difficult but it's worth it.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 3, 2006

site

johnnysannie said:
Some of Stephen King's early work also appeared in Playboy.

Another good source for fiction markets can be found here:

http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx

It offers a chance to search for the type fiction writers wish to market.

The best rule of thumb for ANY submission is to research first. Finding the right market can be difficult but it's worth it.

Thanks for posting the duotrope site. I had it bookmarked a while back, then lost everything in a hard drive failure, and forgot about that one when I redid everythng.

nicegrrl · Aug 3, 2006

man...

I love the information I get from this board after asking the dumbest questions. If only it were as simple as getting your pictures in the magazine. I'm looking at this magazine, "Lilith"- feminist stuff. Probably more up my alley. There are lots of lesbian and edgy and feminist magazines. We'll see where I go.

Sassenach · Aug 3, 2006

nicegrrl said:
I love the information I get from this board after asking the dumbest questions. If only it were as simple as getting your pictures in the magazine. I'm looking at this magazine, "Lilith"- feminist stuff. Probably more up my alley. There are lots of lesbian and edgy and feminist magazines. We'll see where I go.

If you've ever read Lilith, you wouldn't consider submitting fiction about gay Muslims.

Sassenach · Aug 3, 2006

nicegrrl said:
I love the information I get from this board after asking the dumbest questions. If only it were as simple as getting your pictures in the magazine. I'm looking at this magazine, "Lilith"- feminist stuff. Probably more up my alley. There are lots of lesbian and edgy and feminist magazines. We'll see where I go.

If you've ever read Lilith, you wouldn't consider submitting fiction about gay Muslims.

If you've ever read many lesbian publications, you'd know that your story isn't particularly "frisky".

IOW, learning the markets is part of the job.

nicegrrl · Aug 3, 2006

No. I never did read Lilith. I have to go to the bookstore and find it. I dont know what my story is. It's just a story.

Sassenach · Aug 3, 2006

nicegrrl said:
No. I never did read Lilith. I have to go to the bookstore and find it. I dont know what my story is. It's just a story.

You need to know that before you submit it.

Can I just randomly send my story as an attachment?

nicegrrl

Perks

delicate #!&@*#! flower

Penguin Queen

Break the rules.

Shiraz

New kid, be gentle!

johnnysannie

nicegrrl

Peggy

emeraldcite

Art is Resistance

MidnightMuse

Midnight Reading

whistlelock

Whiskey Rebel

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

Jamesaritchie

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

stormie

storm central

Jamesaritchie

johnnysannie

Jamesaritchie

nicegrrl

Sassenach

5 W's & an H

Sassenach

5 W's & an H

nicegrrl

Sassenach

5 W's & an H