Picking the right magazine to submit to

Fruitbat

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@James, in my experience, just about none of what you've said above is true with flash fiction, and probably not with literary short stories in general, either.

ETA: Short stories in general simply have far higher supply than demand these days. Cutting down on the supply won't increase demand at all. It's just not a way most people are going to make a living and hasn't been for years.

People are not going to stop engaging in any of the arts unless they get paid any more than they'll stop having sex unless they get paid. And why should they. Also, I have never heard of an editor turning down any writing simply because the author's other stories weren't published in paying or prestigious publications (which are not always the same thing, btw).

I know of many flash publications where no one is paid and have read many excellent stories in them. Obviously they do not have the funds to pay rent on a building, etc. that way and are small operations. Litmags, especially flash fiction ones, often don't have huge audiences but that doesn't mean they can't be good. The only way to judge the quality of any particular story or publication is to read it. If the short story market wasn't so much smaller than the number of good stories out there, then I'd expect the stories in the small or no-pay pubs to be of low quality but I haven't found that to be the case overall. They are still deluged with stories to choose from.

Also, people engage in all sorts of activities without getting paid, whether it's the arts, charity work or whatever. I don't think they are being duped, stealing anyone's job, or that it's proof they suck or whatever lol.

But, one problem on a writer's forum is that I often don't know "who" I'm speaking to and what their opinions are based on. Obviously, people have reasons to want to keep their professional identity separate from their forum presence, though...

P.S. As far as pay for flash stories in itself, tbh it just annoys me. They're so short that it's usually only like $5 or $20 or a prize like a bottle of wine or something. So then at the end of the year I have all these annoying little things to track down and report and I get audited constantly anyway is so it only causes trouble for me. But like I said, I'd probably feel differently if I wrote longer stuff.
 
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CathleenT

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Hmm...I've been struggling with this issue myself.

At first I only submitted to markets that would pay. But short stories don't pay very much, even if you are accepted at top-rated markets (which has yet to happen for me). In terms of time invested, I'd rather make money at my day job and use the time to write more stories. And the short stories are really more of an aside for me anyway. I enjoy writing them, they've helped enormously in developing my craft, and once it's done, it's mentally time to move onto the next writing or editing project. I'm totally happy with giving them away to help me find a reader base. It seems like doing that is the real trick, whether you go self-pub or trade.

So, I put a lot of stories on my blog, entered blog battle, and won a few. But I've probably reached many/most of the readers I'm going to find that way.

Still, if the main point of putting my stories out there, at least at this stage of my writing journey/quest/muddle, is to attract readers, it makes sense to me to get the widest audience for time expended. For me, that would include free. I just want my short stories to be read. Maybe someone will be seriously excited and go check out my novels, which WILL get past the editing stage. Really. If it kills me. This year. :)

Maybe it's the case that I should take a hybrid approach, try to submit to a little to everywhere. But then there's not that much time left for writing and editing. *sigh*
 

athai

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Touching back on the thread topic at hand, the best way has to be checking out current and past issues to get a feel for the magazine and what the editor(s) want. Many make that explicit in their submission guidelines, along the lines of "please check out the magazine before submitting." Take note of different writing styles, creative plots, tropes used (or avoided), and what you think makes these short stories successful. At least, that's what I plan to do as I tackle churning out short stories this summer.

Speaking of non-paying markets, I've had two short stories published in two non-paying online mags. They're not much, or the big names, but they're something. I thought it was sensible to start out small, before I dip my toe in deeper water. (Two anthologies that took my work did pay me, though.) Should I leave out the non-payers in my novel query letter, and only mention reputable names in my publication history? Or is it ok to list them, anyway?
 

Myrealana

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FWIW - I submitted my first short story to a pro-paying publication and was accepted. My husband bought champagne. I had made it. WOOHOO!

That was two years ago, and I've submitted several stories to various publications since then, and have not yet sold another story.

What I know is that I am capable of creating professional-level writing. The email where I made my first sale still hangs on my wall, and every time I'm tempted to write for "free" or for "exposure" I look at it and remember my writing is worth more than nothing.
 

King Neptune

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FWIW - I submitted my first short story to a pro-paying publication and was accepted. My husband bought champagne. I had made it. WOOHOO!

That was two years ago, and I've submitted several stories to various publications since then, and have not yet sold another story.

What I know is that I am capable of creating professional-level writing. The email where I made my first sale still hangs on my wall, and every time I'm tempted to write for "free" or for "exposure" I look at it and remember my writing is worth more than nothing.

If worst comes to worst, then yopu could make a collection and sell it on Amazon.
 

mrsfauthor

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Probably not. I'm not even as smart as I am. But I developed the knack of telling what editors want, and how they want it, very early on, and I did it from reading the magazines.

I've said this before, but I think it's worth saying again. "Well-Written" should always be a prerequisite, which means good use of language, good mood and tone, good flow, and good rhythm. But beyond this, editors want what no one else but you can give them, as long as it fits within the general scope of the magazine.

Too many read magazines in order to send editors stories like those the editor has already published. The reason to read magazines is so you can send editors stories that are, in substantive ways, unlike anything the editor has already published. Editors want a detailed, realistic location/setting that is unlike all the others. Editors want detailed, realistic characters who speak realistic language, and who are unlike all the other characters who inhabit stories they've already published. They want your next door neighbor who is what he is because of where he grew up, who does what he does because his daddy did it, who speaks the way he speaks because that's how people really speak where he grew up, who believes what he believes because of parental influence, and because of whatever his life experience has been. What they usually get is Captain Kirk, or Mike Hammer, or some other character the editor has seen a thousand times, and that readers know should not be in a new story. They really do want to meet new characters who behave and speak in a manner only someone who grew up where that character did would act and speak. They want the kids you played with when you were a kid, the teachers you had in school, the next door neighbor you talk to over the fence, the guys you play poker with every Saturday, and the people you work with Monday through Friday. And they want them as they really are, not as you would have them be.

They want a setting detailed enough that readers could go there and pick up a dime the mill operator dropped when he was getting a Coke from the old pop machine that sits in front of the local garage. What they get is a setting the editor has seen ten thousand times, and that isn't realistic, anyway, because the writer has never been within a thousand miles of the place, and hasn't done the hours and hours and hours of smart research it takes to bring such a setting to life, or because the writer doesn't use the right detail to bring a place he does know alive. They want a writer who knows his setting so well, and who shows it so well, a reader could go there and walk through it blindfolded without stubbing his toe.

All of this is part of writing well, all of it is part of telling a story well, all of it is part of building realistic characters, and none of it seems all that difficult to me, as long as you can write well, and as long as you learn what it means to give editors yourself.

This post is awesome.
 

mrsfauthor

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Never give away your work. I agree with you totally. I had a long discussion with one of my college professors who encouraged me to do just that, to give away my work, put my art into the world for free if I have to. I told him that I felt very strongly that this devalued the work. Two of my kids were working actors, there were plenty of things they could have done for free before they were in the union but a casting director told me that "if they are working, then they should be paid." I have always felt that being paid for writing indicates you are a professional. Even if it's 3cents a word, at least it's something to acknowledge hard work. The only free writing I've done is for nonprofits.
 

mrsfauthor

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FWIW - I submitted my first short story to a pro-paying publication and was accepted. My husband bought champagne. I had made it. WOOHOO!

That was two years ago, and I've submitted several stories to various publications since then, and have not yet sold another story.

What I know is that I am capable of creating professional-level writing. The email where I made my first sale still hangs on my wall, and every time I'm tempted to write for "free" or for "exposure" I look at it and remember my writing is worth more than nothing.

Such a great feeling!!! Congratulations!
 
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