Fantasy Publishing - the Beginning

[aureliano.m]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and it really seems like this is an excellent place for fantasy writers, both established and just starting out. I apologize if this question has been raised previously, but searching through threads initiated since September hasn't managed to answer my question.
Like many of you, I'm interested in pursuing a career in fantasy writing (though I'm by no means counting on it, and as such already have a solid foundation for another, more readily bankable, occupation). I have a world ready to go, many plotlines and characters already designed... But I'm at a loss as to where to start. Stephen King (among others) seems to advocate writing/publishing short stories first, to both build up a "resume" and refine one's skills before attempting a novel. This is the approach I'd like to try, but countless web searches haven't turned up much as to where I should submit - I'm having difficulty discerning which magazines and sites take submissions, how reputable they are, etc. As I tend to be quite verbose and my stories/themes are pretty varied, I need to have some idea of my "target" before I start intensive writing/editing.
So... Does anyone have any advice as to what some good magazines/sites are for first-time writers? I'm not really concerned with payment, just garnering experience. Thank you for any help you can provide.

[Ward]

the best market reference on the web is ralan's.

http://ralan.com

it has links to different markets ranked according to pay scale (which is also a rough guide to how hard they are to get into, but not always), and also links to general writing sites, author websites, etc. you can easily spend many hours browsing this site to get an idea of what is out there and what different magazines are interested in (including themes, word count, formatting, etc.) and that's the first place you should start. while you are checking out the markets there follow some of the writing links to to articles about manuscript prep, submission, cover letters, and writing in general.

then, I recommend you identify the magazines you think might be appropriate for your stories and buy some copies of them, most magazines have a homepage, but you should also check out online stores like projectpulp and clarkesworld (both are excellent).

you might also be interested in an online critique or peer review group, critters is free and one I can recommend from experience.

http://projectpulp.com

http://www.clarkesworldbooks.com

http://www.critters.org

[David Forbes]

Get the Writer's Market (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582973946/qid=1136211625/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-3945018-8179107?n=507846&s=books&v=glance). Should have everything you need.

[Expendable]

Go to one of your local book stores and take a look at what's being offered on the shelves for fantasy magazines. A visit to that magazine's web site should get you the submission guidelines - and reading the magazine should give you an idea of their style and what they're looking for in fantasy stories.

Many libraries also have subscriptions to magazines so you might want to look there too.

[franjacobs]

ralan, quintamid and spicey green iguna are the places i go to. the first and last also list book puiblishers.

it can be an idea to get credit, if you are targetting a big agent/publisher. it doesn't make a difference with a smaller one BUT if they do accept your novel, then it will help promote it to have built a name for yourself with stories. i had my novel written, and a handful of stories, and only sent them out because i wanted credit so that it would make my novel more saleable.

but i like being in print, even in a little ezine. and the money is useful, even if it is ten dollars! so it is definetly worth doing, but there is no reason that you HVE to do it before your novel goes out. if you aren't good at short stories, and im not, particularly, then might be best to put your energy into waht you are good at, what you do enjoy, and worry about building a name later :)