The New Yorker

Your chances are much, much worse. The New Yorker virtually never publishes slush. See this article:

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/opinions/among_the_unsavvy.php

Another fine example of how being a great writer isn't nearly enough. The editor (she editor) says (paraphrasing) "anyone who is in the slushpile doesn't know anyone ............so they can't be worth a crap as a writer, either."


No fair.



It's true I don't know anyone .....................
and nobody knows me .............
but doesn't everybody start someplace ???


(Unless your name is Paris Hilton ..............or thousands of others born lucky enough to be able to do whatever the heck they want to .......with or without talent.)

New Yorker

I'm told Deborah Treisman has softened her attitude a bit since actualy becoming editor. I don't think she realized what a firestorm she was starting.

But in all honesty, The New Yorker has never been a place where a new, unpublished writer stood much of a chance. When you submit a story to The New Yorker, you're going up against the top writers the world over, and most of these writers do have agents.

macandal said:

So, does a writer stand a better chance at the Paris Review or any other of the major journals?

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You stand a much better chance at the other journals, including the Paris Review. The Paris Review even awards a prize each year to a writer they've "discovered" from the slush pile. Obviously, the odds are long with any major journal, but most of them publish a number of stories from the slush every year.

Greer is right. Most journals, especially ones such as The Paris Review, do want a number of professional writers in each issue, but they also make it their business to find new writers, new voices.


And, of course, they don't pay nearly as much as The New Yorker.

Does the New Yorker pay enough to make going through an agent even worth it?

Originally Posted by eldragon
Another fine example of how being a great writer isn't nearly enough. The editor (she editor) says (paraphrasing) "anyone who is in the slushpile doesn't know anyone ............so they can't be worth a crap as a writer, either."


dragon, where did she say that?

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Pay

trumancoyote said:

Does the New Yorker pay enough to make going through an agent even worth it?

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Generally, pro writers with agents don't sell short stories for the money. It's the exposure and prestige that matter. Being published in The New Yorker opens many doors, get's your name out in all the right circles, and can greatly increase novel sales.

Having said this, I'm not sure what the top rate is for a New Yorker story, but it's well over $5,000, depending on the writer, and that isn't chump change.

And the thing is, I don't know of any agents who handle short stories, except as a courtesy to their novel writing clients, though I suspect there may be one or two around somewhere. If you aren't writing books of some sort, getting a good agent is next to impossible.

So most of the writers who sell to such magazines as The New Yorker are also writng books, fiction or nonfiction, or have some other line of writing work, such as syndicated columnist.

This means going through an agent merely means sending their agent the short story and lettng them handle the sale.

Since The New Yorker was founded, it has been a tough market to crack. They've always been proud of their selectivity and the calibre of writers they publish.

but doesn't everybody start someplace ???

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Absolutely... just not at The New Yorker.