Glimmer Train Press, Inc.

Galoot · Mar 14, 2005

I'm curious about Glimmer Train Press, Inc. They're a paying short fiction market, but they encourage writers to enter their contests (for a fee, naturally) by offering prizes that are significantly higher than their normal pay rates.

Regular submissions pay $500 (flat rate).
Prizes are $1200-$2000 (flat rate).

Their market appears to be subscribers to their quarterly Glimmer Train Stories. I've never heard of it, but that could easily reflect upon my own taste in reading more than it does GTP's value to the literary world. Most of my books have spaceships on the covers.

What are your thoughts on the company and their approach? At the risk of sticking my foot in it, the business model seems suspect. It's an unusual set-up to my way of thinking. But I'm unwilling to judge too harshly because they do pay.

Oh, I'm not planning on entering contests sponsored by GTP or anyone else. The prizes that interest me are the ones you win after being published. If you feel differently about it I won't argue the point. That's just my opinion.

pepperlandgirl · Mar 14, 2005

As far as I know, Glimmer Train Press is a well known, well respected market.

Sassenach · Mar 14, 2005

Glimmer Train's one of the top literary journals in the US. Very highly regarded.

James D. Macdonald · Mar 14, 2005

You might consider reading several issues before submitting to them.

clintl · Mar 14, 2005

I don't enter their contests, but I have submitted to Glimmer Train a couple of times. Both stories were rejected, but they were professional, prompt, and encouraging in their comments. I don't think it's that unusual for commercial literary journals like this to run regular contests. I remember that Story, when it was around, also ran a contest or two a year, and it was also a top market for literary fiction.

Anatole Ghio · Mar 14, 2005

I agree about the comments on Glimmer Train. It is one of my favorite Literary Journals. I have submitted to them and would be highly honored to be published in their magazine.

- Anatole

Galoot · Mar 14, 2005

Up here, some of the best literature is peed into the snow. I've never seen Glimmer Train before. Glad to hear they're one of the gooders.

Thanks. I'll edit the thread icon.

- The unlettered Galoot.

maestrowork · Mar 14, 2005

They're highly regarded, but also highly competitive.

Savannah Blue · Mar 17, 2005

I've submitted to them and been rejected by them also. They are very kind in their rejections and always encourage more submissions. Very nice people.

CaoPaux · Mar 17, 2005

maestrowork said:
They're highly regarded, but also highly competitive.

<random musing> Are they highly competitive because they are highly regarded, or highly regarded because they're highly competitive. </random musing> :idea:

rich · Mar 17, 2005

I've yet to find more "open" editors than the two sisters who run GT. If you go to their site you can find some of the best faq answers you'll ever find. Also, their submission set up is a well-oiled machine.

NicoleJLeBoeuf · Mar 17, 2005

I can attest to that. Their online submissions processed works exactly as advertised: auto-response confirming you story is in the system, status listed on your "My Submissions" page, and a (relatively) swift response from the editors. I submitted a story on the first of October last year, and received a rejection letter (darn!) on November 21st. Given that this highly competitive market is a two-woman operation, I find the round-about-six-weeks timeframe impressive in the extreme.

Two thumbs up, would submit again.

clintl · Mar 17, 2005

CaoPaux said:
<random musing> Are they highly competitive because they are highly regarded, or highly regarded because they're highly competitive. </random musing>

I'm not a regular reader, but I have read the magazine on occasion, and have been impressed with the quality. I would say that they are highly competitive because they pay very well for a literary short fiction market and treat their authors with respect, and highly regarded because they publish good stories.

zeprosnepsid · Mar 17, 2005

yeah, they are well known for having the nicest rejections in the business. which is good, because no one i know has ever been accepted. i haven't read their journal but asked around about it and heard they take a lot of emotional or ethnic stories. But again, that's second hand info.

cdg1951 · Mar 17, 2005

Short story question in general . . .

I was looking for a minimum word count requirement on their site and couldn't find one. Is there a general industry minimum word count for short stories?

James D. Macdonald · Mar 17, 2005

Minimum?

Not really. Shortest stories I've personally sold were 800 and 850 words. Many of Poe's stories are about that long too.

Stories shouldn't be longer than it takes to tell the story.

Euan H. · Mar 17, 2005

Glimmer Train

zeprosnepsid said:
they are well known for having the nicest rejections in the business.

Specifically:

Dear Euan,

Although we won't be publishing this particular piece, we do thank you for sending "Looking Down the Canal". It was a good read. We're not able to give specific feedback, but please take a look at Editors' Input for some ideas. Again, we appreciate the opportunity to read your work!

Although it's a form letter (email), it's still phrased nicely. And their response time was fairly quick too. I subbed Jan 10th and the reply back on Feb 22nd.

zeprosnepsid · Mar 18, 2005

i think the maximum word count for a short story is whatever the minimum word count for a novella is. I'm not sure what that is (I write short short stories, so I only ever have to worry about classifying them as flash fiction). But do a google search, I'm sure the answer is easy to find.

cdg1951 · Mar 18, 2005

Thank you.

James D. Macdonald said:
Minimum?

Not really. Shortest stories I've personally sold were 800 and 850 words. Many of Poe's stories are about that long too.

Stories shouldn't be longer than it takes to tell the story.

Thanks for the info.

ramis · Mar 27, 2005

Glimmer Train is a well respected literary magazine--emphasis on literary. You can also submit to their books without entering a contest or paying a fee. They have a great on-line submission process that makes it easy. However, it is tough to get in!! I'd recommend you read several issues of their magazine before trying. One of my life's goals is to be published in Glimmer Train but I'm afraid I'm not at that level yet. Good Luck!

alanna · Mar 28, 2005

i submitted to glimmer train. i was rejected.

but i agree that their submission process was very well done. the rejection letter seemed a bit stuck up, but they had some good points and were very nice about everything they said. also, since they seem to be one of the most elite journals, i figure that they've earned a bit of snobbishness. ::sigh:: of course, i could just be looking for a way to sooth my bruised ego...lol.

Judi Bee · Feb 10, 2006

Glimmertrain

I'm pretty new at this writing game, and I've read in different places statements to the effect that if you have to pay to enter a contest then it's a scam. However, it seems as if most contest have at least a small fee. I just entered a short story in Glimmertrain's Fiction Open contest and had to pay a fee to do so. First prize is $2000, Second prize is $1000, and I forget what third prize is. They pay (according to their website anyway) $700 for the short stories they publish, aside from the contest entries. So in spite of the fee, it sure sounds legit.

Does anybody know for sure?

I apologize if I have posted this in the wrong place. I'm kind of new at this, too.

trumancoyote · Feb 10, 2006

Glimmertrain is very well-respected, as far as I know.

You shouldn't have any problems -- in fact, their contests are pretty damn difficult to win.

johnnysannie · Feb 11, 2006

There are also four periods each year when you can submit to Glimmer Train for free. If your fiction is accepted, they pay fairly well. I think the periods are January, April, July, and October but you should check their website and submission info to be sure.
Good luck! I submit several times a year in the free periods but have yet to crack this well-respected market.

Aconite · Feb 11, 2006

Judi Bee said:
I'm pretty new at this writing game, and I've read in different places statements to the effect that if you have to pay to enter a contest then it's a scam. However, it seems as if most contest have at least a small fee.

Judi Bee, hi and welcome. While many contests that require fees to enter are scams, it's not unusual for legitimate, respected literary magazines to charge nominal fees. Fees in this case are a sign to do careful research on the reputation of the magazine and the contest. You also want to look for things like a list of who will be judging the contest, so you can see if the judges have good reputations for recognizing quality work in the field.

Good luck with your entry!

jonnysannie, since the prestige factor of being in Glimmertrain is just as great as winning their contest and regular submission is free, I'd go your route, too. Good luck to you as well!

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