A few days ago I finished writing my latest short story, a 5000-word mystery that I began a week earlier, and although I'll probably do a little more polishing on it before I send it out into the world, I'm satisfied that it's almost ready. And one thing I don't have to worry about is where to submit it. I knew that before I started writing it.
For years now, I usually have a market in mind as soon as I get an idea for a story. That wasn't the way I worked in the mid-'90s, when I first started writing shorts for publication. Back then I would almost always write the story first and only when it was complete did I start thinking about where I might send it. This is a conversation I've had often with Michael Bracken; both he and I started out thinking "story first, market later" and wound up changing at some point to "market first, story later."
I think that's what happens with most fiction writers. At first, just write the best story you can, no matter what the genre or theme is, and then when it's finished see where you think it might fit. Trying to tailor a story to a particular publication isn't something I think beginning writers should worry about. Eventually, after you get some publications under your belt and you get a good feel for what certain editors want (and build relationships with them), it's natural to start writing stories earmarked for those editors and those places.
I mentioned earlier that when I started out I "almost" always wrote the story first and then looked for place to sell it. The exception in my case was Woman's World, a magazine that has always wanted its stories to be a certain length and written a certain way. Even before they migrated in 2004 to their current "interactive" format, WW stories were different from others, so I always wrote those stories specifically for that market. Other exceptions, of course, are stories for anthologies, which are sometimes written to a certain theme or subject.
Another reason for choosing a target market first and then writing the story is payment. At some point you begin wanting to be paid well for your work. So yes, I like to write stories with places like WW, AHMM, EQMM, Strand, BCMM, Mystery Magazine, etc., in mind, and it's not just because I like their editors (which I do). NOTE: I'm still not sure what kind of payment is considered in the industry to be a fair rate, but I've heard some say it should be at least three cents a word. And if it's a flat-rate, one-time payment instead, it should be reasonable. Even if writing is more of a hobby for you than a business, writers should still be paid for what they produce.
BUT . . . I do occasionally send stories--reprints and originals--to publications that don't pay well, or pay at all. There are two reasons for that: either (1) it's for the benefit of a charity, or (2) I know and like the editor, who is often someone who's been kind to me over the years. It's for that second reason that I still submit stories now and then to Mysterical-E, Kings River Life, and other non-paying venues, and I plan to continue.
Which brings up some questions. Do you, if you write short stories, usually create them with a market already in mind? If not, how do you choose that market? Do you submit work only to those publications that pay? Do you use a top-down approach, and try the most prestigious or well-paying publication first? Do you ever submit stories to non-paying, online-only "e-zines"? Are those stories reprints, or do you send some original work? Is a magazine's or anthology's editor ever a factor in choosing a market? What do you consider fair payment? Have you submitted stories to anthologies that pay only in royalties? Just curious.
Meanwhile, I'm about to start a new story tomorrow--a "howdunit" mystery of about 3000 words (I think). Do I know now where I plan to send it? I sure do.
Whether they'll like it is another story . . .
Leigh Lundin16 April, 2022 04:58
ReplyDeleteYou and Michael amaze me, John. You shine like beacons amid the market.
I'm betwixt and between, occasionally writing with a market in mind and sometimes not. The clearest example is one I wrote with The Strand in mind, but dunno if they'll agree. As you pointed out, it takes a long time to find out.
Great job, John.
Leigh, you're too kind. Michael's the beacon. I might be sort of a dull glimmer. In the distance.
DeleteI probably should't have implied that I ALWAYS write with a market in mind. I don't. Sometimes I just want to get a story down on paper (on the computer, I mean), with no thought as to where it's going when I finish. But those are usually stories written in other genres than mystery. Even the cross-genre stuff I try to send to certain crime markets first.
I do hope you'll dig that Strand story out and send it in. I never know, either, whether they'll agree, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. You're right, though, about having to wait a long time to find out, from some of these markets. And I never was good at patience.
Thanks as always--take care.
John, I did indeed submit it as of… checking my log… 3rd of March last year!
DeleteLeigh, I think you're justified in sending that story elsewhere. Sounds like your story (like some of mine) is AWOL. But I'm still glad you gave them a try!
Deleteas always, excellent marketing advice!
ReplyDeleteHey Janice--thank you! As if you need marketing advice . . .
DeleteI saw from the AHMM website yesterday that you'll have a story coming up in their next (July/Aug?) issue. I look forward to reading it! I see that I have one in their May/June issue, along with Bob Mangeot and Stephen Ross--I haven't yet seen a copy--but looks like you and LOT of SleuthSayers will be coming up in this next one. Congratulations on your umpteenth publication there!
As always, good advice. I know if I'm writing something for AHMM, but that's the only one I'm sure of. I still have a lot to learn.
ReplyDeleteSusan, sounds like you've learned pretty fast, to me. I can honestly say that most of what I write, crimewise, is something I could usually send to any of several mystery markets--but I know what you mean: some things are more suited for Hitchcock than EQ and vice versa.
DeleteWouldn't it be great to always know exactly what an editor's looking for . . .
Great advice. As always, I'm in awe of your work and your work ethic!
ReplyDeleteEve, that is so kind of you! I'm not at all sure my work ethic is, or should be, awe-inspiring. The truth is, I just love sitting down and working on a story, and that's probably why I go straight from writing THE END to one and starting another one, like a chain-smoker. I can't remember a time when I didn't have a story cooking in my head (though some of them probably get left in there too long and others get taken out of the oven before they're done). I just know the whole process is fun for me, and I feel fortunate I stumbled upon this love for writing. I wish it had happened earlier!
DeleteThanks as always for your thoughts. Take care, and have a great Easter!
It's always great to hear how successful writers do things. I support myself as a freelance journalist, and, when I hear an idea, my first question is always, "But who would publish this?" For fiction, I just write what I write and hope that some pub will appear out of the ether that might be a fit. I think your advice about this for us newer writers is, um, write on.
ReplyDeleteHey Susan--good to have you here. Yes, I suspect the process is a little different for nonfiction: that target market is probably a little more obvious from the get-go. (I admire you, by the way, because I find nonfiction harder to write.)
DeleteAs for hoping that a market with pop up when you've written a piece of fiction, I find myself doing that also--and sometimes, especially in the case of anthologies, it does. I might have a story written that I feel I might send someplace and suddenly a submission call comes in for an anthology that my story would fit perfectly. Alas, that doesn't happen as often as I wish it would.
Write on, indeed! Thanks again for stopping in at SS.
When I was working I unfortunately had a couple of jobs where the employer stole my pay. Yeah, I reported the most recent occurrence to the N.Y. Department of Labor, but nothing ever came of it ... anyway, after that I decided to only submit to paying markets. The exception was a drabble I wrote several years ago, which was accepted for an anthology, but the project did not go forward. So I put it aside until the call for submissions to the BOULD Awards & it won a prize of a few dollars. Sad to say the editor of the BOULD Awards anthologies passed away not long ago.
ReplyDeleteIf I write something I think might fit any of several places, I submit to the (paying) market that decides fastest, then to the next fastest market & so on. I have a story in the queue now at a notoriously slow responding market, 350 days & counting!
Elizabeth, I'm glad that story eventually found a home. And yes, Jake Devlin's passing was sad--he will be missed.
DeleteYou're not alone, in your decision to submit first to paying markets that respond promptly. I think I know the one you're referring to, the one that takes a long time, but if your story's been in the hopper for 350 days, I predict you don't have much longer to wait! Good luck!
Thanks for chiming in, here.
One of the biggest challenges when writing to market is becoming complacent. I went for many years writing for several publications and several anthology editors (various publishers, various genres) and had an extremely high acceptance-to-rejection ration. So, of course, I essentially stopped exploring other markets. Then, over a relatively short period of time, the magazines ceased publication or changed editors or cut back on their fiction needs and the anthology editors stopped editing anthologies (various reasons, sometimes the editor's choice, sometimes the publisher's) and I had no fall-back markets. Suddenly, I was writing almost everything on spec again.
ReplyDeleteI've since developed relationships with new publications and new anthology editors, but my acceptance to rejection ratio isn't as good as it once was, and I'm writing more stories on spec than I was in my heyday.
The lessons, if there are any: Always have back-up plans! Keep your eye out for new (or new to you) markets. Explore new genres or new subgenres so you can transition if one or more of your key markets disappears. And, for goodness' sake, don't let a setback slow you down.
Good advice, Michael. The same has happened to me, and I'm sure to many others.
DeleteThanks for the helpful note.
I remember an article I read (by Leslie What, I remember that!) about writing for theme anthologies which touched on rewriting the story a bit for another market.
DeleteI probably need to read that Jeff!
DeleteI'll see if I can find it!
DeleteJohn and Michael,
ReplyDeleteGreat advice!
Thanks for tuning in, Jacqueline!
DeleteGreat advice, John, as always.
ReplyDeleteI find that I'm writing more stories to specific submission calls now than I did a few years ago. Sometimes, I finish the story and think it might fare better with another market after all, but I usually send to that market first.
Last week, I finished a story, then looked at the guidelines again and decided it didn't fit them well enough...BUT I knew another market I could offer it to. And I'm in the middle of another story for that first market because I still have time.
More and more, I find that submission calls give me something to aim at, but it's even better if I find a way to color outside the lines a little. More fun, and it pushes me more. And boy, do I need a push, sometimes.
And, as Michael pointed out, the markets keep changing...
Steve, I too am writing a lot of stories tailored to anthology calls for submission, lately. So far I don't think I've later decided to send one of those kinds of stories someplace else, but I do see how that (as you said) could happen. The important thing is, sounds as if those calls have inspired you to write more stories. I think all of us need that push now and then.
DeleteAnd I truly believe there are far more calls for submission to anthologies than there used to be. Either that, or I seem to be more aware of them. In any case, it's a good thing.
Keep up the great work!
I do a lot of anthology calls too! I actually sold a couple of them that had been specifically written for theme issues of a magazine that went bust and never came out! As for general sci-fi, mystery and general stories I kind of aim for the best-paying market when I'm writing them. (Yeah, right!) I seriously applaud your industry and perseverance and success, John!
ReplyDeleteI sympathize, Jeff--I too have written stories specifically for a theme and the project folded before my accepted story saw the light of day. (Well, once, actually, and this was an anthology and not a themed-issue magazine.) As for perseverance, you have plenty of that too. Keep up the great writing!
DeleteI have just found this site via Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI have written on novel and write a variety of different short stories, some of which feature Shadrack Bones a spoof of Sherlock Holmes.
Our writing group has its own publishing cooperative but I am looking to publish elsewhere, if I can find somewhere suitable.
Welcome to SleuthSayers, Philip. Good to have you here.
DeleteCongratulations on the novel and your short stories also. I wish you the best in all your writing endeavors!
Yes! Congrats, Philip! Welcome to the wild rumpus!
DeleteInteresting article, John. As you and others have mentioned, some pieces I've written for specific anthology calls have, after being rejected by the anthology, found homes elsewhere. Sometimes it's a matter of timing. That's why I keep plugging away.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
Blogger's acting up, but this is me--John.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bob. Glad to hear those stories wound up being published elsewhere. Same thing's happened to me.
Thanks for the thoughts. Take care, and keep writing.
Good column, John. I too often write to specific markets -- especially theme anthologies, which give me two things I love, a deadline and a box to work inside in. Of course the stories don't always sell to the intended market, but that's all right, since the hard part (the writing) is done and I can shop them elsewhere. Hope your new story gets picked up at the market where you've targeted it!
ReplyDeleteHey Adam -- Can't say I love a deadline, but I too have found some of those themed anthologies to be good kickstarters for story ideas. And yep, I agree that those stories sometimes don't fit into the place you thought they would--but they seem to eventually find homes. Will keep you posted on that new story.
DeleteThanks as a;ways. Best to you and yours!