I think that the details aren`t as important than the headlines, knowing you got accepted is encouragement for the rest of us; that if you keep working hard and keep writing it will work out, in one way or another.
Sorry for the rejection, but congratulations on submitting more of your work. This is a process many of us haven't been doing at this moment. I hope you're keeping them all in a folder and not thinking about them negatively. These are the shots you're taking. One of them is bound to hit the net. What are you trying to submit anyhow? Book, article?
Thanks. I got a few still out much older than that one. I've received the form rejection after a year from some places. It sucks. But as much as the wait suck, I know an acceptance also can take a ridiculous amount of time. Generally, I think you want to have your story take a longer amount of time because it has to work it's way up the levels. You got anything out on submission?
Ooh no, I`ve never done anything like that yet. There is a small kind of plan to do that, the idea keeps surfacing in the old chemical bath every now and then. I write fiction, short stories, so maybe I will try a magazine, if the stories are any good. I want to post one or two here that I`ve been working on and will do that shortly I guess. A whole year, hard to believe. I think I might have forgotten I`d sent them in if it had been me. "Generally, I think you want to have your story take a longer amount of time because it has to work it's way up the levels." Not sure what that means.
@Krispee -- A lot of publications have different editorial levels. Your story sort of has to climb that ladder. These things take time. Though there are some markets known for how quickly they respond, if you look at how long it generally takes them to accept a story, it tends to be a quite bit longer.
Things always seem to be more complicated than you think they should be. From the posts here I take it you write short stories and poems? What genre stories do you write?
I write mostly short stories in the Science Fiction and Fantasy areas, or a crossover of both, Sci-Fan I guess you could call it. Working on one or two in other genres. I haven`t posted anything here, thinking of changing that as no-one has read them but me and they might not be good enough, if I ever do think about doing something with them. What is Literary Fiction, I`ve always wanted to know, and Wikipedia didn`t have much of an answer?
In oversimplified terms there in genre fiction and then there is literary fiction (which basically means fiction without genre). You could look at them as opposites, but then there is some crossover. Ray Bradbury is an example often used of a writer who mixed genre and literary in his short stories. Basically, the short stories you read in things like The New Yorker and The Paris Review are literary works. The stories in places like Clarkesworld are genre. MFA programs focus on literary fiction for the most part, though, there are a few newer options for genre writers, too, but still these programs work with and expect literary fiction for the most part. There is also a difference between popular fiction (which can sometimes be used to encompass genre works) and literary fiction. Some people mistake the world literary to mean good. Literary fiction is a storytelling option just like any other. Calling something literary, even if it is what most consider literary, doesn't mean it's any good. But the really good literary fiction wins the really big prizes like The Pulitzer and the best literary short stories from all the journals and magazines get anthologized each year in The Best of American Short Stories and The Pushcart Prize. I'm sure there is probably an equivalent of sorts for different genres. I just don't know them. Also, I would take a look at some past discussions about what posting work here may or may not mean when it comes to selling first rights. My thought is that if someone is paying you a few hundred dollars for a short story and the rights to publish it first, they really mean they want to be first. Or what are they giving you all this money for? It's something that might not matter everywhere, but I believe it could at quite a few and that's not a chance I want to take. But you should look over those. You can always swap stories for feedback privately with different members. I've done that a few times. I don't really look at the workshop section all that often if ever anymore. Personally, I'm not into harsh criticism unless it really points to a problem. And even then, there are different ways to say things. I've got a friend on this cite who reads me stuff from time to time. I feel like she really knows how to both praise and point to troubled spots. The last story she read from me was not one she liked. But, from her thoughtful comments and clear feedback, she saved my story. I'm in the process of a major do-over with this one. I think there is a benefit to feedback, but who is giving the feedback can make a big difference. I like to get to know someone or somehow just kind of click before sending out my work for feedback. When you post your work, you are inviting comments from anyone anywhere. Maybe that's what some people want. I don't like the idea of my work being torn to shreds publicly. I'm not saying that always happens, but I just know that's not what I'm looking for.
I like a story called All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, he won the Pulitzer for that so I guess that would classed as Literary Fiction? Still not exactly sure of the distinction when it comes to writing but I guess that`s not really important, unless it is, I don`t know. I`ve never read any of the magazines you mentioned there, in fact I`ve not read too many magazines that publish fictional stories (something that I`m trying to rectify). I also haven`t got any qualifications or attended courses for writing; perhaps that will limit my ability to publish, I`m not really sure about these things. As for posting....I am a member of three different writers forums, and they all seem to differ on the subject of posting and first rights. Some say every little bit of communication matters, some that only part of it does, and another that publishers are aware of writers forums, that writers post there for feedback, and that essentially it doesn`t have a bearing on anything. All these forums seem to feature published authors. The reason I am considering posting is that I literally don`t have anyone I can rely on to read my work. A writers forum seems to be the only way I have to get any kind of feedback on what I`ve written. I like the idea of what you do, it sounds much more reliable and less confusing, and perhaps more truthful in a way. I will probably post anyway, even if I won`t be able to use it to submit, not sure I have a choice in that regard. I hope your luck changes, it sounds like you`ve been writing for a long time and deserve the break.
Well, if you've never gotten a lot of feedback on your writing, then much of the feedback will likely apply to any piece of writing. So until you feel that you're past issues of writing style, etc., you could write throwaway scenes, in your style and carefully crafted and polished, but not things that you want to submit.
That's what I thought about some things I put on my blog and now I regret doing so. So I'd recommend throwaway over weird.
@Krispee -- I'm not trying to discourage you at all in any way. I went the MFA route and loved every second of it. But people have their own paths. And at the end of the day it's all about how high your story can climb that editorial ladder and reach publications. I think degrees and publications can help in a sense that maybe someone will read your entire story before deciding to reject it or asking a second opinion. But I think that story has to say the right thing at the right time to the right editor. At the final stage, it's all about the story. This is just kind of my take on how things seem to work. Also, I would definitely call Anthony Doerr's work literary fiction. I'm a fan. I recently finished About Grace. Did you read that one?
I did find a list of online literary magazines that I wasn`t sure to post here, whether it was allowed. Also you may have already heard of them.
Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting to look. I got the list from an author called Marylee MacDonald. I somehow got on her radar and get her newsletter. Anyway, I`ll try and find this resources thread.
Dominations? And I can`t find anything about links to Literary Magazines looking for new writers, which was what the list was about. Should it just go under publishers?
You don't need to find publications looking for new writers. Publications are always looking for new writers. You need to take a look at the places publishing works similar to yours. That's the best way to get a feel for the market. I mean there are a million top 25 lists or whatever, but I think it's worth it to spend some time getting to know the places you're sending work. Also, there are websites like duotrope.com that allow you to search markets, track submissions and give statics. It's $5 a month, but I think it's worth it if you really want to try and get your stuff out here.
No no, this isn`t for me, I got sent this list and I wasn`t sure whether you were interested. Forgive me if that`s a bit presumptuous, as I don`t know much about the publishing world, especially magazines. It`s a list for Literary magazines anyway, as I don`t write that kind of work, for the most part, it may not be worth much to me. If you already have lists of magazines that publish on your site then I`ll just ignore the list, or you can just ignore me, that`ll work too.
I sent out three new submissions today. These ones all had $3 submission fees. Grrrr. I know a lot of people avoid places that charge a fee. It's just that sometimes it seems like there's no way around it. I know that I need to submit like crazy to have any sort of success or luck and I think most people do. And I just really wanted to try these places because sometimes crazy things happen and people get published. When do you think it's worth it to pay a reading fee?
Oh, thanks. I would love to take a look at your list. I'm always curious as to who makes the list. So, post a link here or send it to me in a PM. And if you ever need help finding markets, I would be happy to return the favor.
