How high should you aim when submitting?

TsukiRyoko · Mar 30, 2007

Mods- I'm not entirely sure where this should go (I was considering Freelance, but I'm not 100%), so move it if it needs it.

As someone new to publishing, I was wondering- just how high should you aim? Is it better to start small and build yourself up, or go straight for the big dogs and cross your fingers (I'm mainly talking about magazines, but this question could be applied to any other forms of writing as well)?

kristie911 · Mar 30, 2007

I say aim for the top and work your way down. If you start at the bottom, you'll never know if you could have made it at the top.

But what do I know? I'm unpublished.

benbradley · Mar 30, 2007

Kristie's answer is the same as I read about in the SF magazine market a long time ago. Submit to the highest paying market (that your writing is appropriate for) first, and (IF rejected) then work your way down.

But there may be other considerations. I've read where at least one SF market may be backlogged for close to a year, so one might want to submit to others that pay less, but have shorter turnaround time on accepting/rejecting submissions.

But also like Kristie, I'm unpublished.*

*Well, actually, I've written THREE letters-to-the-editor to three national magazines, and they were ALL printed, so I'm so far an "unpaid" writer, but am I really unpublished?

Birol · Mar 30, 2007

We all have our own areas of interest, but this is a topic with universal writer appeal. I have no problem with it staying here.

Birol · Mar 30, 2007

As you develop your ability to effectively evaluate your own work, you'll better know if you've produced a story that is best targeted for the top, middle, or lower markets. Until you've developed that ability, aim high, never give up.

Pat~ · Mar 30, 2007

I say start at the top and work your way down. For all the reasons already stated. (And I'm published, just a tad.) I used to start in the middle somewhere, and then realized I'd never know if I could've done better...so now I start at my top market and work down. I mean, somebody's going to submit to them, so why not me? It takes a little more time (some of the top markets don't accept sim subs), but I think it's worth it. I cherish the rejection letter I got from Saturday Evening Post with the comment "cute" on my poem!

Lyra Jean · Mar 30, 2007

Start at the top and work your way down. I have one short story published 2005. Horrible I know. I had 13 rejections before it was accepted. I did a sim submission and contacted all the magazines I didn't hear from when I go the acceptance but even up to a year later I was getting rejections from them for that story.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 31, 2007

High

There's a rule for this. "If you start at the bottom and work your way up, the worst place that wants your writing will buy it. If you start at the top and work your way down, the best place that wants your writing will buy it."

Starting at the top and working down may draw a few more rejections, and may take more time, but it's the only possible way to sell your material to the best place that wants it.

ChaosTitan · Mar 31, 2007

How are we ranking "best" and "worst?"

Respect in the literary field?

Pay scale?

Number of issues sold per month/market saturation?

My top and your top may not mean the same thing.

Toothpaste · Mar 31, 2007

I guess start at your top ten then. Aim high, whatever high means to you.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 31, 2007

chaostitan said:
How are we ranking "best" and "worst?"

Respect in the literary field?

Pay scale?

Number of issues sold per month/market saturation?

My top and your top may not mean the same thing.

Pay scale, and respect in the field for the particular kind of story you have. Every other measure is nonsense.

ChaosTitan · Mar 31, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
Pay scale, and respect in the field for the particular kind of story you have. Every other measure is nonsense.

How would you rank a highly regarded literary magazine that pays only in contributor's copies? *genuinely curious*

Pay scale is important, of course, but to an un-established writer with few to no credits, it may not be the most important thing.

Birol · Mar 31, 2007

As you indicated, Chaos, your top and my top may not be the same thing. You have to aim for the markets that you think are the top markets, irregardless of what I believe. It's your work; where do you most want to have it published?

ChaosTitan · Mar 31, 2007

Birol said:
As you indicated, Chaos, your top and my top may not be the same thing. You have to aim for the markets that you think are the top markets, irregardless of what I believe. It's your work; where do you most want to have it published?

At this point, I'd just like to be published. Somewhere. There are many ways to have this happen, and we don't all have to start on the top tier.

There's nothing wrong with sending stories to a few small, legit mags that pay in tribs, or very low scale. It's a credit. It's something to put into a query letter, rather than not including an author bio at all, because there is nothing to put there.

Sometimes, especially for new writers, your work just isn't ready for the big, high-paying markets. It takes time and sweat and patience. Piling up rejections from the big markets--rather than starting from the bottom and growing in skill and gathering some credits--is a good way for a writer to give up before they've reached their full potential.

Just sayin'.....

Birol · Mar 31, 2007

I think I said something similar when I said you'll learn to how to evaluate your work and know which markets it's suitable for.

maestrowork · Mar 31, 2007

I'd say always aim high but do know your market. Sometimes a book is more suitable for a smaller or a niche press. The question is not whether you should target the biggest, bestest market first (The New Yorker?) but what a good fit for your story is.

How high should you aim when submitting?

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