I'm just wondering how big of a sin it is to do simultaneous submissions to fiction magazines that say they do not allow them. I am a speculative fiction writer and besides a very small number of fiction markets that get back to you in a relatively short period of time, most of the magazines take upwards of 6 months to respond. Literary magazines seem to allow you to submit to multiple places at the same time and then withdraw the piece from the remaining magazines once it has been accepted. This is not the case for speculative fiction. It would literally take years to submit a short story to ten to fifteen different publishers. This is absurd. So, my question is, how big of a no no is it to do simultaneous submissions to these markets? Couldn't you just withdraw the story from the other publishers if you were accepted somewhere without them knowing the difference? Or is withdrawing a story from one of these markets a big red flag that says, "I'm breaking your rules." Is withdrawing submissions burning bridges at those publications? Thoughts? ---ZHM P.S. It is really bothering me that I misspelled the word, "aren't" in the title of this post. If a moderator could find it in their hear to correct the spelling, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much! The information you provided is excellent. I have used Duotrope in the past, but not ralan. I am excited to give it a try. And you convinced me. No simultaneous submissions where they aren't allowed.
Yes, this is something that I've done in the past and am now kind of regretting it. I had the same opinion of it as you ZHM, but I've come to see it from the editor's perspective as well. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt me too much
Yeah this is a bad idea. At the very least, you want to say in your submission that it is a simultaneous submission. If you want to be treated like a professional, act like one. I take simultaneous submissions if they are identified as such. I've only had two people violate that submission requirement, and they both submitted again after having done so. Needless to say, I don't even read submissions from those authors. I just send back an e-mail explaining why I am not going to look at their work.
