Which Magazine to submit to??

[humor me]

Hello to those of you reading this. I have a short story I am looking to submit - I have just been scouring a writer's reference guide I have and have been crossing off mags left, right, and center....b/w all the commercial mags and small presses I have a handful of candidates. Not got to the 'literary' mag lists yet.

This is the problem I am having: The story is centered around an utterly tabboo subject, but I have an absolute laugh with the whole thing - there's actually alot of meaning to the whole thing, but the engine of the story is the humor. There's no swearing, sex, violence - it's just drop dead funny (er, I think anyway : ) )

Perhaps I am being too careful in which mags to pick (I mean, there's some that say they take erotica and childrens stories - er??? I don't get that)

Does anyone have any advice? know any mags?

[Eleasha]

The main question I have is what kind of story is it? You've told us what it's not, so tell us what it is. What genre does it fit? What's the length? What's the taboo subject? If one knows to cross off the list all the sci-fi mags, for instance, it makes the whole process a lot easier.

[Twizzle]

As Eleasha said, you'll need the genre and word count. then go check out duotrope.com I'd start there. good luck.

[humor me]

word count fits most of parameters - 7k, perhaps a touch high for a few. Genre - I suppose I'd put it in commercial fiction, in the sense it has a 'high concept' catch to it - it takes place, here on earth, but has an outerspace bit to it. and, as I said before it's a humorous story, which I guess isn't really a genre unto itself, transcending many genres...a mystery, a 'thriller', a love story, etc, can all be written in a humorous tone....I guess so long as it says they take 'humor' they'll look at it, so long as it doesn't fall out of their other parameters - but this is where it's a bit tricky - as I said before there is a, well, sort of tabboo element to it - basically there is a human sexuality elemenet in it - but there is no sex, no erotica, no swear words, no vulgar bits.....that bit is all written as an allusion, albeit a pretty obvious allusion....so, if they say, for example 'no erotica' should I assume they would see my allusions as not appropriate for their magazine....the odd thingi is some of these mags note that they take, like 10 different genres - examply of one: needs - adventure, experimental, fantasy, feminist, gay, historical, horror, lesbian, literary, mystery, suspense, new age, pyschic, supernatural, sci fi - - - well, this mag isn't exatly mainstream, point is though many of them take half a dozen or more genres....anyway, thanks for your feedback

[Twizzle]

on a side note, humor can mean something different with markets than humorous, as in a funny story. you might want to go down to the humor board and click on their thread for humor markets-such as McSweeney's, etc. if you're unsure.

My best advice is still to start at duotrope and research the publications that might fit your probable genre and word count. then read them. several issues. find the one where your story would fit best. it's not so much what genres they take (though this IS important. don't go sending sci-fi to one that only takes romance, for ex.), but if they'd think yours would fit, whether it's something they'd want to purchase and publish. truly, it's the only way to get a story accepted-to send it somewhere it belongs. if you find something you think might be a match, research their guidelines and make sure you understand the rights given, etc. come here for questions. AW is a great resource.

I'll add, if you're still unsure to genre, I'd post it in SYW under "Other." Let people take a look and help you.

sadly, there're no short-cuts, it's a bit tedious. Submitting is my least favorite part of the job. :(

[astonwest]

Ralan.com also works...

[mikeland]

Genre - I suppose I'd put it in commercial fiction, in the sense it has a 'high concept' catch to it - it takes place, here on earth, but has an outerspace bit to it.

I'll throw in two cents, but with the little I know about your story, it may only be worth a penny.

You say there is an outer space element to the story. I fear that is enough for most non-genre editors to call it science fiction. Unless, of course, you're writing a realistic story about a NASA astronaut on the space shuttle (or something else that actually happens in space these days).

Re: the taboo subject. Having an element of sexuality in a story does not make it erotica, as you note. Kind of like humor, sex can be found in any genre. As long as you don't have explicit descriptions, I wouldn't worry about the "no erotica" tag.

Sounds intriguing. Good luck.

[Stijn Hommes]

It sounds like you're trying to cram in too many genres. If you look at the overall story, what is the dominant genre?

[humor me]

thanks for the feedback mike, er, land...that is a fine picture - is that a guy in desparate need of a drink (or, er, a little action) or is it some gollum-ish character you found underneath your floorboards while doing some home renovations? the outerspace bit is limited to the fact there are a whole bunch of meteors bound for earth, which is about to be blown to smithereens, but the story takes place within the gravitational pull of our little planet. Stijin, I guess I would label it as commercial fiction written humorously. Your from Holland, eh? Been in the Amsterdam airport many times transferring, but have never been out of the airport. Always wanted to though - I've heard it's a great place to see!

[mikeland]

thanks for the feedback mike, er, land...that is a fine picture - is that a guy in desparate need of a drink (or, er, a little action) or is it some gollum-ish character you found underneath your floorboards while doing some home renovations? the outerspace bit is limited to the fact there are a whole bunch of meteors bound for earth, which is about to be blown to smithereens, but the story takes place within the gravitational pull of our little planet.

It's mikeland. As in Welcome to Mikeland. I am a country unto myself.

Not sure what you mean about the picture. That's me. I'm giving my best smile.

Yeah, I can see how meteors flying toward Earth could show up in a commercial fiction piece, rather than SF. With all your comments about taboos, I figured you had a little human-alien hanky panky going on. Not sure why I thought that. But then again, we've already established that there is something seriously wrong with me.

[Stijn Hommes]

I've always considered commercial fiction one of those vague marketing terms that don't really mean anything. I'd go with humor as your main genre.