Questions regarding trying to get your first published short story

The best thing to do is write a good story. I prefer to write stories and find homes for them (thus far, mostly unsuccessfully, but I've come close.) My friend likes to write for calls. Neither is more right or wrong than the other, and neither has more chance of success than the other. Same with daily postings, weekly collections, or monthly magazines versus anthologies. It's the quality of the work compared to the quality of all the other submissions that matters.

Use the Submission Grinder to take a look at potential markets. There's a lot out there. You shouldn't ever feel confined to one technique.

ETA: It seems like SG is having some server issues today or something, so if it doesn't work for you, bookmark it and come back later, because it really is a fantastic reference for finding markets.

Better to write something you love and care about than to try to cater exactly to the individual venue's tastes. Unless you're a very good writer it will seem forced. Peruse the Grinder for places that seem relevant to the stories you want to write, get a feel for the general type of stuff they all seem to want, then write your story with that maybe in the back of your mind but don't obsess over it. If you then need to adjust it based on specific guidelines, like word count, language, etc, it's usually not hard to tweak. BTW, I recently sent a story to a small publisher for a specific mag, but it was accepted for an anthology instead, so you never know where something will land!

I would do both, at the same time: write stories you love and try to find markets for them, and write stories "to order" in response to calls.

Go for both magazines and anthologies. Why not? Also, I don't think anthologies are necessarily "bigger" than magazines. I would rather have one story in The New Yorker than ten in specialized anthologies that get no marketing or distrubution support. Most of the big anthologies that I know of are compilations of previously published stories anyway. Anthologies of unpublished stories by unknown writers probably don't do well (just a hunch, I have no data to back that up except for my own anthology buying habits).

All that said, it's generally advised to start at the top markets (those that pay the best and have the widest readership) and move down with a story. If I start at the bottom with the idea that I will build credentials to get into better markets later, what happens is the lower end markets get the story and that's the farthest it goes. My credentials would therefore consist of a bunch of low-end markets, which could make it look like I write crap that can't get published anywhere else. One mid-level credit that comes after a dozen or so rejections probably looks better than five low-level credits that got accepted on the first try.

I'm excited for you! Keep us updated on your progress.

Chris P said:

I would do both, at the same time: write stories you love and try to find markets for them, and write stories "to order" in response to calls.

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I agree with Chris. If you see a call that you think you can write a story to answer, then write it.

Even if that story doesn't get picked in that anthology or issue, there's a better than average chance you can use it for other markets, even if you have to make slight tweaks. One of my favorite stories to write was for a magazine requesting stories based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. They rejected it, but I was able to sell it elsewhere as-is.

3000 words is the sweet spot for most markets. Maybe starting now, write a 3000 word short story a month for twelve months. In six months you'll always have something submitted to a different publication. And though your main genre is horror, do different genres for the stories. Do some fantasy, some scifi, some speculative, even if most of the stories will be horror. Make sure you get them critiqued at the major critiquing websites. Here, Scribophile and CritiqueCircle are the ones I suggest. For available markets, go to Submissions Grinder. There are literally hundreds, and they're frequently updated. Do the research, wait for their submissions windows, always try to be the first one to get something in.

At the end of the twelve months, at least one of the dozen stories you write will be published. Publishing short stories is like looking for a job. Have a diverse enough set of skills, be persistent, and throw a wide enough net, and you'll get an offer somewhere.

brandenburgdm said:

Awesome! This is all great advice! I think I get stuck in this vapor lock where I have stuff but I'm scared to submit it, but I know I won't get over the fear if I don't submit, and so on and so forth. But, I appreciate hearing all of this advice on taking the leap. Thank you all!

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It gets easier. That first sub is terrifying. Took me literally all evening to double and triple check EVERYTHING. I mean HOURS. The first rejection, painful. Now, I just give everything a once-over to make sure I fit what the market wants submission-wise and pop it out, 10 minutes. And if (when) it gets rejected, I shrug and start looking for somewhere else to send it. You just gotta take that first step, and know that even if it gets rejected, you're not closing any bridges or banning yourself from subbing anything to them ever again. It's just "not this story, not right now," and eventually, it'll be "yes."

I prefer to write a story first and find a home for it later, but sometimes markets are asking for something specific that get the creative juices flowing. In that case, I find the market first and write the story based on their requirements.

Be persistent and consistent and you'll eventually get your first story published.

Just be aware that that may not be as sweet as you think. Publishing is nice, but the skies don't open up with rays of light and the angels don't start singing.

But if you are persistent and consistent, you will eventually get your first story published.