So this is my dilemma... My first "serious" short story was rejected at the first handful of paying magazines/e-zines, so I decided to submit to a few non-paying publications. I understand both arguments pertaining to simultaneous submissions but, honestly, I couldn't see waiting that long between submissions for somewhere that doesn't pay for fiction. But I digress.. I was accepted by one and granted them permission to publish it a few weeks ago. However, it is for all intents and purposes just someone's blog. To be honest though, I was just happy someone wanted to put it out there. Flash forward to today -- I received an email from another publication who wishes to publish the same story. This is a much more professional outfit who has both online and actual copies of fiction magazines for sale. My question is two-fold... 1) Does it really matter from a resume standpoint if one is more professional since they're non-paying, or would some look at the more professional magazine and perhaps just assume they are a paying one? 2) If it does matter... is it possible to request to the owner of the fiction blog I originally was accepted at to take my story down?
Being the editor of a national magazine, I may be of some help. 1) Editors and publishers know the reputable publications from the bloggy internet ones and yes, it makes a big difference if you can say you have been paid for your work. Even more so if it's in print. 2) You can request it, but you cannot demand it. A good way to approach this would be to explain the situation and to offer him or her a different story as an act of good faith. Hope that helps.
I think it would also be necessary to let the second one know that the work was already published on the net. Even if it's a non-paying publisher, they may not want to re-publish. (I would double-check their guidelines on that)
Unfortunately, if it was ever "up", I think that it's too late to take it down and call it unpublished. First publication has already occurred and I think that you need to tell the other publication that. Even if it loses you this opportunity, you don't want to make an enemy of that publication, and possibly sully your reputation, by selling or even giving them something that isn't what they thought it was. (Where "what they thought it was" is an unpublished story.) ChickenFreak
ChickenFreak is correct. It does not matter if you ask them to take it down. Once something is on the Internet it is published. Even if it has been removed from the site, it was accessible at one point, and could have been copy-pasted and posted elsewhere. Check with the magazine to see if the work has to have been previously unpublished.
Don't be discouraged about telling the "professional" journal that the story has already been published. It will speak to your professionalism that you admitted it. Offer to send another story or two and see if they will accept that one. As a side note though, whenever I send stories for publication, I keep a spreadsheet of which story I sent, where, and when. If the story is accepted in one place, I generally let the other publications know that I'm withdrawing the submission and that it was already accepted. They tend to appreciate that. This "professional" journal may be a little annoyed that you didn't alert them your story was accepted, but take it as a lesson learned and move forward. The best way to be a professional writer is to... well... be one. We have to take all aspects of our work, from the planning and writing stages to the revising and publishing stages, very seriously. Drew
You should follow Drew's advice (as well as the other advice, above). If you make simultaneous submissions and it is accepted in one place, let the other editors know so you are not wasting their time.
