Write One, Sub One

KatG said:
Ah, sounds like some of these magazines have readers who don't know how to act professionally. See, this is why I have to keep explaining that book editors really aren't interested in your grammar. Because some fan voluntarily reading short story subs thinks the job is to act like an English teacher towards a writer the magazine isn't interested in.
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I'm starting to realise this. More and more.
 
ASIM has an anonymous submission process (they strip out your name and assign your story a number). Then it gets sent to a slush reader. Some are fast, some are slow. Normally you don't get the feedback on your story from the slush readers unless you've made it further into the process (round 2 or 3). I've gotten form rejection from them, and I've had a story held for 145 days. All the feedback on that story was great, but after the 3 months they hold a story in round 3, it was eventually passed back to me.

My latest story, like I said, doesn't show on the page, but then it never did. I'll wait until I see the #20442 and #20506 drop off the list before I inquire. I seem to get lucky with the extremely slow slush readers. I keep hoping that longer means better.
 
JRMurdock said:
ASIM has an anonymous submission process (they strip out your name and assign your story a number). Then it gets sent to a slush reader. Some are fast, some are slow. Normally you don't get the feedback on your story from the slush readers unless you've made it further into the process (round 2 or 3). I've gotten form rejection from them, and I've had a story held for 145 days. All the feedback on that story was great, but after the 3 months they hold a story in round 3, it was eventually passed back to me.

My latest story, like I said, doesn't show on the page, but then it never did. I'll wait until I see the #20442 and #20506 drop off the list before I inquire. I seem to get lucky with the extremely slow slush readers. I keep hoping that longer means better.
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The number system isn't bad, but the rest sounds overly complicated. They do have a good rep but the question is always whether the freelance readers are really in line with the magazine's needs and goals. But that's what happens in the magazine market -- a lot of variance.
 
Okay, progress report!

I just submitted my piece for Crossed Genres' Fierce Family anthology! Now to spend the next two and a half months agonizing over it! 0_0

....or, to spend the next week or two writing something different. I think the next project will be the May Flash Fiction. Looking forward, not back!
 
Btw, what, if anything, do you guys use to track short story submissions? I keep a spreadsheet for agent/publisher submissions for my one finished novel, but it seems like keeping track of an ever-growing number of short stories might be a little more complicated. Is there a good tool for this?
 
Congrats, Charlotte, for getting your story in!

I still haven't decided whether I want to submit something or not. I guess I better decide quick, huh?

Anyway, I haven't submitted anything this month, but I still have three weeks!
 
CharlotteAshley said:
Okay, progress report!

I just submitted my piece for Crossed Genres' Fierce Family anthology! Now to spend the next two and a half months agonizing over it! 0_0

....or, to spend the next week or two writing something different. I think the next project will be the May Flash Fiction. Looking forward, not back!
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But...but, I wasn't finished critiquing it yet! :(

Good luck, hope you hear good news!
 
Wulfen said:
But...but, I wasn't finished critiquing it yet! :(

Good luck, hope you hear good news!
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Meep, I know, sorry! I went through two fairly major revisions after sending you the doc, and the responses I got were almost all the same, so I figured I probably caught most of the major issues.

...all of which is backpedal-speak for, I got impatient to submit and just did. ;)
 
No problem, Charlotte, I definitely understand.

I'll probably submit mine this weekend, getting a bit antsy myself. I haven't looked at it for the past couple days on purpose, and I'm hoping when I do my final read-through it'll pass muster. :)
 
CharlotteAshley said:
Btw, what, if anything, do you guys use to track short story submissions? I keep a spreadsheet for agent/publisher submissions for my one finished novel, but it seems like keeping track of an ever-growing number of short stories might be a little more complicated. Is there a good tool for this?
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The defacto standard for tracking shorts used to be Duotrope until they went pay. I still haven't quite decided if it's worth the money to keep using them or not, but it probably is if you sub a lot of short stuff. They don't want much IIRC, about thirty quid a year or something.

QueryTracker is still free but that's more aimed at agent queries than direct subs for short stories.
 
Which reminds me since I can't get at Duotrope's market listings any more and Ralan's is such a pain to search, does anyone know of any markets that like Weird West?

I know Ceaseless Skies do and they'll probably be my first port of call, but they're a notoriously tough sell. I know it's a bit of a niche-of-a-niche market but haven't found anywhere else that looks likely at all yet.
 
Remember, you can pay for one month ($5, I think) instead of a full year. You can check all the pubs/deadlines you want during that time, make a list of 'em, and then not renew or pay again until you run out of places to send stuff to. Just an idea.

I thought to do that when they went over to the pay model, but I haven't gotten around to even trying that. Has anyone else? Wulfen, you just paid for the full year, right? I should just do it, too. It is only $50. I spend that much a week just in snacks at work. :o
 
tmso said:
Remember, you can pay for one month ($5, I think) instead of a full year. You can check all the pubs/deadlines you want during that time, make a list of 'em, and then not renew or pay again until you run out of places to send stuff to. Just an idea.

I thought to do that when they went over to the pay model, but I haven't gotten around to even trying that. Has anyone else? Wulfen, you just paid for the full year, right? I should just do it, too. It is only $50. I spend that much a week just in snacks at work. :o
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Yep, I did a year, but it still comes out in monthly $5 installments. I just figured for the ease of use, it was probably still worth it, and honestly it has been. I'd never have heard of some of these anthologies or magazines otherwise, as I don't have the time I'd like to be searching through different sites (and I'm too lazy).

Pete, hate to say it, but Ceaseless is probably your best shot.
 
Wulfen said:
Yep, I did a year, but it still comes out in monthly $5 installments. I just figured for the ease of use, it was probably still worth it, and honestly it has been. I'd never have heard of some of these anthologies or magazines otherwise, as I don't have the time I'd like to be searching through different sites (and I'm too lazy).
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Okay, I think I'm basically sold. I have been trying to write stories with a "plan" of three destinations, but once those three are exhausted, I'll be stumped. When I get to the "stumped" stage, I'll sign up.
 
I've been using Submission Grinder.

It really seems like a clone of duotrope to me. I like it, but the couple times I cross referenced the two systems, I found that Duotrope had maybe as many as 3 times the amount of markets that fit my story/search criteria.

Right now it would seem to be a case of you get what you pay for.
 
SteveW said:
Right now it would seem to be a case of you get what you pay for.
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Yes, I believe that is the case. And I've used Duotrope for years before it went to the pay-for-service business model. In my opinion, it is worth it - if you sell. The thing for me is that I'm not at the point that my work is selling to justify the cost. But, I'll probably pony up in June or July when I have a few stories I think I can sell.
 
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