@matwoolf -- I'm about to crack open the story you sent. I should be able to get back to you tonight. The story I sent you (my most rejected story) just got rejected again. It's still out at a few smaller places. We'll see if I can even give it away. Otherwise, it might be best to let this one go. At one point I thought it was my best. It's clearly not. If anyone knows of a decent publication that is less hard (they are all hard) and responds without taking forever, please let me know. I still want to believe this is a good story, but I am also aware I am probably wrong about that. It always sucks to be wrong about anything. I'm not concerned about pay or lack of with this one. It's just hard to give up on some stories.
SIMULTANEOUS POST, about to reply It's those hideous narratives in the mind that may or may not have any bearing on reality. It makes me sick, as in ill. ... Nobody in the family gives a shit I've got some boreface write in a lit mag. I suppose money talks. If the 'literary masters' grab a copy down the book shop then there is always hope. Narrative projection again... Sort it out@DR...keep on keeping on :/
Thought I responded to this ages ago, time keeps getting away from me. Ah, okay, fair enough, my mistake. I'll check her out anyway. Nationally it's a pretty small circle of journals and they are pretty difficult to break into, but I feel like if you get published in one you should be able to make your way into the others. The standard is difficult to reach however. Beating onwards against the tide, etc. This was a fantastic post and I could have sworn I responded to it before but seemingly not. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it made me reconsider my views on submitting to various slush piles and has significantly informed my 2019 submission strategy, so thank you for taking the time to let us hear your own experiences. I think I agree with you that aiming lower does not produce better results, especially if you are trying to emulate the aesthetics of the higher tier journals. Right now I have a few submissions out and am aiming to make another two or three submissions within the next few days, just need to finalise some things. Still waiting to hear back from Gorse, it's been 122 days and the original submission was for their March issue so hopefully I'll be getting a response (whether it's positive or negative, who can tell) within the next few weeks.
I had thought this or hoped it would be true, that if you break in someplace, it would open doors at other places. No such luck for me. I've been rejected more than a hundred times since my last acceptance. The circle isn't that small either. There are a lot of journals and magazines out there at least when it comes to places that publish literary short fiction. Maybe there are less genre places. It does seem that way to me, but perhaps I've just been following the literary scene a lot closer and for a lot longer. If nothing else, this thread is a running list of places that I and others feel are worth submitting to.
Just submitted two poems to a journal I had a short story shortlisted for publication in last year, the 2019 resolutions are in full swing and I am back in the game. This is intriguing to read. I really thought an high-tier publishing credit would make the rest fall like dominos. All you can do is submit, submit, submit and hope it gets accepted on the other end. Have you ever considered submitting a collection of your short stories to an agent in the hopes of procuring representation?
Don't worry about your family, Mat, anyone who gets anything published in this difficult world has done amazingly well, don't let anyone tell you different.
Going through old works on my hard drive that I had given up on/forgotten about. Even if I don't rate them, I'm still going to send them out. I want to get to a point where I'm getting emailed a rejection a day. I just submitted a story to a respectable lit mag there, presumably don't have a chance at all, but it's been sitting on my hard drive for over a year, inert. Might as well do something with it. More to come.
And another buried story sent out once more, all for a future dopamine rush. --- It's devastating that Sleep Aquarium is no more, that was one of my favourite literary journals. If any of you know about any other journals that specialise in dreams and dreams alone, let me know. --- I am seriously considering setting up a literary journal of my own in a few years' time after I secure the relevant capital.
@Funerary -- If you want to submitting at a high level, you've got to get a subscription to duotrope. It's $5 a month or $50 for a year. I couldn't function without it. It track everything. It's got all these trends and stats to follow as well as interviews with editor and such. There are free options, but every writer I know who is serious about short fiction has a subscription to duotrope and when you are looking at stats and stuff those things matter. I can go into more details about doutrope here or through message. Or any questions. But I say do it at least for a month. It's a really cool tool for exactly what you're doing. Although I'm not sure a rejection a day is all that possible. And do give everything a read through and cleaning. You've got a chance. Make them good ones. I send out at least one submission a week. I usually do a few at the same time. But it took probably the better part of the year for me to feel like I was putting out work and getting responses at a similar level. And even now I could get ten rejections in a day or hear nothing for weeks. I do tend to hear something at least once a week. The other thing to keep in mind that what you can write is always better than what you have written. That's what I believe. So, I want to have new stories ready to keep trying my favorites. And the short fiction being published has a really fresh sort of feel. It's something I was actually talking about with writer friends. Just saying don't forget to put this awesome momentum into your writing as well. And I wish you a lot of luck with both. Keep us posted on where you're sending work and your response. It's sort of fun to compare notes, no?
Today I am and will be getting a little $ in a few months. Wish it would come sooner. How did I fall into this poor-and-struggling-writer trap? Still, I hope there is some more luck on my side when it comes to the big $ from the big grants.
It's coming. I've got five short stories polished and ready for the grinder. My wife got me a Duotrope subscription for Christmas and I'm about ready to go. Woooooo
That's awesome! Good for you. You'll find plenty of good places to submit on duotrope. I couldn't live without it. Keep us posted on how you're doing. Five stories polished and ready to go is great. Wishing you and all of us trying to publish in these places a lot of luck. You, my friend, also have a lot of talent.
Inspired by @DR I applied for a grant. Altho I was a bit of a cock on the application. 'Synopsis/Themes...' I said or I tried not to say that writers who compose wonderful synopses and proposals and who chair grant bodies but are unable to cough up a decent draft are the enemy of literature. I was standing on a chair.
Good luck with the grants! I'm trying to finish two applications by the end of the month. I'm running into some trouble trying to write about my novel. It's kind of hard, no? But these two grants are for big money so maybe I'm just overthinking everything. I'm going to try standing on a chair and seeing what that does. Just maybe you, @matwoolf, have all the answers.
What sort of spread should I play? I've got five stories, so I figured I'd send each out twice, but I don't know what the custom is.
I send out each story one to seven or eight places at a time. I do follow the rules for places that don't like simultaneous submissions. But for places that do, I like to have my stories out at a few places. I find it's easier to handle the crazy amount of rejections I get if keep a story at a handful of places. And given how response times are such a range you sort of learn how to time these things so a story doesn't fall off your radar. A lot of the genre places seem to not like simultaneous submissions, but many are quick to respond. And having five stories out there is great! I say submit each one to ten places even. Message me if you have any questions about specific publications or want recommendations. The whole short story publishing scene can seem overwhelming at times.
