What do with accepted submissions to a dead market?

Writer'sBlockBuster · Sep 5, 2006

What to do with accepted submissions to a dead market?

Hi All,

New here and have a question...actually two questions. Any advice would be appreciated.

I've been publishing in lit mags for several years now, but this is the first time I've had to deal with a dead market and am not sure what the protocol is. A few months ago, I had several pieces waiting to go to press when I learned, via a web site, that the publication had folded. Although the editor had said that there would be a "delay," she never bothered to notify me when she upgraded the "delay" to a permanent hiatus...and, technically, she still had first rights. Eventually, I was able to dig up her contact info, although I wasn't sure if it was current. I wrote that I had heard about the mag's demise, expressed my disappointment, and indicated my intention to submit the work elsewhere unless I heard otherwise from her about the mag's status. Unfortunately, I never got any acknowledgment from her and don't know if she even received my communication. Is it safe to assume that she did and submit the work elsewhere?

My second question concerns resubmitting the story and poems elsewhere. Specifically, should I mention in my cover letter that they were originally scheduled to appear in the now defunct mag, or should I treat them like first-time submissions and not say a word about it? Since my resume isn't long yet, I'd love to be able to allude to the fact that a respectable publication gave the work a seal of approval, so to speak, but I definitely wouldn't want to insult the editors or give the impression that I considered their market "second best." Does anyone know what the protocol is in this situation?

Thanks for your help!

cree · Sep 5, 2006

I would love to know thoughts on this topic, too, Buster. Thanks for posting it.

Tish Davidson · Sep 5, 2006

Were you paid for the submissions even though the mag folded before publication? If you weren't paid, then I would say go ahead and submit them as if they were new submissions.

Kate Thornton · Sep 6, 2006

If you *were* paid, but the items not published, mention that the story was sold to ABC magazine which unfortunately closed before publication of your story.

Check your rights - presumably they *all* revert to you upon closure of the venue and you are free to offer first publication rights. But make sure of this with the editors. If you were not paid, and the story was not published, you still own the rights.

This happened to me - I sold a story to David Firks' Blue Murder just before the magazine closed. Even though David paid for the story, it never appeared. All rights reverted to me and I placed the story elsewhere.
(Blue Murder, incidentally, was a class act. David suffered a massive medical emergency and had to close the magazine. He contacted me once just before closure to assure my my rights had reverted and he didn't want the $$ back.)

Jaycinth · Sep 7, 2006

Hello WBB!!! I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have a similar problem. I am pretty sure that someone floatinaround here will be able to answer both of us. (Actually you have gotten good answers from some nice people!)

Anyway. Last year I subbed a short story that was accepted and supposed to appear in an anthology in February. Then it was May. Then it was June. I've heard nothing back from them since a June e-mail saying they were still trying to get things together.

In the meantime a couple of new markets have opened up and I want to sub my story to them.

Even though my story has been accepted, I have not received payment. May I send them a nice E-mail explaining that I am with drawing my story from their consideration and sub it elsewhere or have I been PA'd?

( Oh and should I tell the new sub-ees that it was accepted to a little known and likely defunct anthology and never published?)

Kate Thornton · Sep 7, 2006

I had a story accepted to the anthology, "Bullet Points" three years ago - the anthology is still not out. I don't consider it a dead issue, however - I know the editor is still looking to put the anthology out and this year may be it.

Why not contact the editor and ask - if the anthology is truly dead, you may submit the story - with full rights intact - to a new venue. But I would get it in writing first.

pdr · Sep 7, 2006

A Golden Rule?

Only tell an editor what s/he needs to know.

Generally speaking:
If you have full rights to your story and it has not been published the editor is really only interested in the fact that it's a great story for hir magazine and what Rights s/he can buy.

Don't confuse hir with details that this magazine bought it but never published it or it was accepted but the magazine folded but you finally have all rights back. Many editors are pressed for time and if they think that your story is going to be a complication they'll not touch it.

kristin724 · Sep 7, 2006

I had two reviews never appear at an online pub. I queried the editor several times, and no response. I emailed Ralan to ask if he heard anything-was the market truly doa? Ralan disagreed, citing the zine's May delay message. It's September. It's a shame, there's a lot of dead ones out there.

jchines · Sep 8, 2006

Do you have a contract? A lot of the time, the contract will specify that the editor/publication have X months from receipt of the final manuscript to get the story or article into print.

Some dead markets will also post public announcements, releasing all accepted and submitted stories.

If there's a contract, you're stuck with whatever you've signed. If not, I believe you still own the rights, and you should be all set to submit the story elsewhere.

MicheleLee · Sep 12, 2006

Are you all speaking of any of the following: Chainsaw Magazine. Meatgrinder Magazine, Maniac Press
Good lord if ya'll didn't know what I wrote before you do now! All these magazines/anthos folded recently. I too had been accepted in there. But since none used more than a verbal contract and they folded without paying the stories remain unpublished. How can they have rights if they aren't in business anymore? Also many of the editors on these projects stayed long enough to say they weren't doing it, and have now disappeared. Just in case I kept the messages of folding, or in one case last year the message where I withdrew my admission.
Send it someplace else. Don't bother to tell anyone in a cover letter unless it has already appeared in print. If a press is defunt they have no real leg to stand on to sue you, especially over a small piece.

writeroffthelake · Sep 19, 2006

What rights did you relinquish?

What rights did you relinquish?

If you relinquished all rights, whether for pay or for "other compensation", then you can not resubmit anywhere, anytime unless you can get them to sell or give the rights back to you.

If you relinquished first publication rights, then you still can't resell until they publish it or turn it back over to you.

Just because the mags folded doesn't mean they won't use the piece in another mag their company may own. Or sometimes they regroup after folding and start a new mag and will use the material there. Or first publication rights could be sold to another company who has bought the mag.

I'd keep trying to get a hold of someone in charge (try the publisher if you can't reach the editor) and see what their intentions are. If they don't have any other magazines, aren't planning to start another mag, and have just folded and not sold off the mag, you may get lucky.

I've had this happen to me; once it worked out ok for me, but the other mag bought all rights and I still haven't been able to find them to try and get the rights back.

Good luck!

MicheleLee · Sep 19, 2006

That's why I don't tend to go for places that ask for all rights. And if it's a small press and that one magazine is all they do if it folds then THEY didn't uphold their end of the bargan. You can't leave a good piece hanging like that. You can always send a withdraw notice. Even if they don't respond, keep a copy of the withdrawl and there ya go. You told them, and they folded. Most places specify where your story will be published. They can't switch that on you without your say so. A contract is contract on two ends. If they don't hold up their end it can be broken. Saying they will publish your piece in a specific issue or at a specific time then not doing it (and it's not because the issue is delayed or anything) gives you the right to withdraw if you want.

Writer'sBlockBuster · Sep 19, 2006

Thanks so much for all your thoughtful answers! I apologize for not responding sooner. I'm a new member here and stupidly forgot to bookmark this board, and it took me a little while to dig up the URL again after I returned from a much needed vacation this past week.

Anyway...I did sign a contract for first rights, which was why I was concerned about the legal ramifications. Thankfully, there was no money involved since this was a literary mag, just contributor's copies. A related web site indicated that the market is dead. I tried to contact the editor but didn't get a response. In my last communication to her, I informed her that unless I heard otherwise from her, I would assume that it was all right to submit my work elsewhere. At this point, I think I'm going to go with what seems to be the majority opinion here and re-sub it to other markets.

It's a real shame since they accepted four pieces, which is the most I've had accepted by a given mag at any one time, and the name of the journal was a nice boon to my cover letters whenever I mentioned that my work was soon to appear there. I still can't believe how the editor just disappeared without a word.

Oh, well. Such is life in the world of small presses.

What do with accepted submissions to a dead market?

Writer'sBlockBuster

cree

Tish Davidson

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

Jaycinth

Your Cuddly Sociopathic

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

pdr

kristin724

jchines

Got the hang of it, here

MicheleLee

writeroffthelake

MicheleLee

Writer'sBlockBuster