posted
Hi everyone. I have a question that I hadn't seen asked in the archives (or maybe I missed it) and was looking for a little advice.
I finished a short story recently and think I have mustered up the courage to send it out and see if some starving, desperate editor is willing to publish it. Now, I read an article by Orson Scott Card where he said it was acceptable to query every publisher when submitting a novel for potential publication, but to make sure that the full manuscript only go to one company at a time.
So my advice request is as follows: Should I send my short story out to all the different magazines at once or should I only send it out to one at a time? I'd really like to see how my work stacks up against what others are submitting (in fact I am hoping for a really nice rejection letter which details exactly what I do wrong) and want to make sure I do not do something that puts me on the bad list of an editor.
posted
First off, most editors I've seen request that you do not query but just send them the submission. Find out what the editors want and obey them. You can check out Ralans or some such place for a great list of places to submit to and what the editors are looking for.
As for that rejection letter, I'm giggling. We all wish we could get rejection letters with really good details but that rarely happens. Okay, we wish could get acceptance letters and never see a rejection letter, but that's unlikely. If you want feedback, why not post your 13 in the forums and get some feeback.
As for mustering up the courage to send out the submission, good! Before I was ever published, my uncle told me what he had learned doing sales: Every no you get brings you a little closer to the next yes.
posted
For short stories the rule is almost always to send one story to one publication at a time. If you don't want to tie up your story by having it sit on an editor's desk forever (or in the dreaded slush pile) then read ralan.com or duotrope.com to find markets that have quick response times (as the users of those websites report them) and choose those places to submit your story to first, so that you'll hear back quickly and can prepare your story for the next market on your list when and if it is rejected.
For novels, simultaneous submission is the norm, where you send your query package (varies by agent/publishing house but typically some kind of query letter possibly with the first 3 chapters) to several places at once and then chew your nails down to the quick waiting for the responses.
posted
Last I heard, the Big Three are down on it...anything below that, check out their submissions guidelines to know for sure.
(By the way, my last finished manuscript was sent out to the first of the Big Three on April 4th, and received back from the last of the Big Three on June 19th. That's only two and a half months, give or take a few days. Not a great amount of time.)
Babooher, I haven't heard of Ralans before and I will look into that. Also, I am just barely informed enough to know that query is for novels and no query is necessary for short stories... but in rereading what I wrote I see that I wasn't clear. The rejection letter was kind of a half sincere joke on my part and I'm glad I made someone besides myself giggle over it!
Oh, and your encouragement is welcomed. I'll probably need it since as soon as you suggested I submit it on the forums here for others to look at my immediate reaction was, "But wait! It's not ready yet! Rejection from my peers! *hide*"
Anyway, I think I shall do what you suggest since I doubt anyone buying first electronic rights would object to putting a copy up for review on a messageboard... or am I completely wrong?
KayTi: Thank you as well for the website suggestions. I shall peruse them and see if I can learn a thing or two. The idea you share of waiting for a rejection letter (hopefully with details) so that I can adjust the story and submit it to someone else is exactly what I had in mind if I send things one at a time.
Thank you as well for the well wishes.
Robert Nowall: I know this will make me sound ultra ignorant but who exactly are the Big Three? I assume Asimov's, Analog and... someone else.
The timeline you've given me as an example is really helpful and hopefully I will achieve some kind of similar turnaround.
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