I've run out of markets

I've never had to deal with this, but I know some markets don't explicitly forbid multiple submissions (different from sim-subs). I would double-check to see which allow for it, and then send what you have to them, if they're still open for submissions.

Hold on to some of the stories that have been around the block. New markets are opening all the time.

If they are stories you wrote 1+ year ago, perhaps look over them again. Your level of craft has likely improved since then, and you might make them better. I revisit anything that doesn't sell after a while and almost always end up making some changes that improve the story.

Create your own journal. Publish there.

What Alex said.

Some distant while back, I realized I'd run out of markets before I ever submitted anything to one.

Seriously, dude, you have posted here many many many times that you rip off story after story after story in record time, and fling them out into the universe, like throwing mudballs against a teflon wall. Things really don't work that way, at least for the vast unwashed majority of writers. There's this thing called "craft" involved, among many other considerations. Spilling 2,000 words into a document doesn't constitute a story anyone is likely to be interested in reading, and sending those things out to editor after editor after editor isn't likely to get you noticed, except in a negative way.

You want to find out what's not working? Seriously? Post a story in SYW, and get feedback.

caw

Seriously, what blacbird said.

Let other writers see what's good, what's great and what could (possibly) be improved upon.

Well I kinda had this problem too. I would write and write and write, then submit, submit, submit. I had a nice amount of acceptances too. But I was yearning more and perhaps something different. That's why I moved from poetry and short stories to novel writing. The cool thing is that you have a whole slew of new places to send to.

Maybe write something else? In another genre, category? Non-fiction? That might open doors to new places. Good luck. I've had things accepted after it was out a year, so that can still happen too.

I would re-read the older stuff and see if there are edits/revisions to be made. I almost always find things I can tweak if I let something sit for long enough. I also find beta-readers for anything that seems like it's had a string of "close but not quite" rejections to see what I might be missing.

Every time I think I've run out of markets I find another one. Some of them are token paying but there are plenty of decent ones for any of the stories that have already exhausted the pro/semi-pro markets.

If you have enough short stories that have nowhere else to go, you could consider a short story collection. I have found some e-publishers will consider short story collections for publication. (Your research may vary.) Or you might consider publishing the collection yourself.

Aggy B. said:

If you have enough short stories that have nowhere else to go, you could consider a short story collection. I have found some e-publishers will consider short story collections for publication. (Your research may vary.) Or you might consider publishing the collection yourself.

Click to expand...

That's what I did. I put things to one side after running out of places to send them, and then produced a collection after a few years. If you're really prolific, you might have a collection a year.

I found putting the collection together was great for improving editing skills, and gave a place for those stories that'd be unlikely to sell anywhere (not due to quality, but just the themes not being what the markets want).

Get some beta-readers to go through any of your stuff that has received personals. They'll spot the little things that you may have missed. Also, try the SYW forum to improve your stories. Basically, what blacbird said.

Also, switch genres. Try some science-fiction, or some horror. Toy around with humor and fantasy. This will let you continue your W1S1 while opening up new markets and expanding your skill set. If you write shorts, switch to flash or micro fiction.

Just my two cents.

Yeah. I was a little irritated to see that both Apex and Lightspeed were closed to submissions for a while. (Still waiting on Lightspeed to open back up.) But I took that time while I was waiting to sub to re-edit the story I wanted to send them.

When I was doing the weekly challenge, I found I had to mix up what I wrote if I wanted to send something out every week. (That was one reason I did Twitter fic, it satisfied my submission bug while still allowing me to target the longer fiction to the top markets first.) And, eventually the submissions evened out. There were always points where I'd get several stories back in the same week and send out a bunch at once, instead of just one per week. It made up for the weeks when I didn't send any out.

I usually let my newer stories mellow for a couple of months before editing (and editing and editing) and sending out again. When I edit too soon after I've written it, I miss things. Maybe let your newer stories sit awhile?