Get Your Short Story Published
Magazine Market Research Will Cut Down on Rejection Letters
The key to success in publishing your short story is to find the right magazine for it.
What’s the key to successfully submitting your short story to a magazine? How do you get beyond the form rejection saying “Your story does not meet our needs.”
Request Magazine Writer’s Guidelines
Editors make writer’s guidelines readily available, either on the magazine website or by mail. Study them carefully and then follow their instructions. You’d be surprised how many writers don’t!
Watch the Word Count
The general rule is not to exceed the maximum word count by more than 10%. Some magazines don’t want it to go over at all. If it’s too long, but otherwise a good fit for the magazine, tighten, tighten, tighten.
Magazine Story Needs
Some magazines may say they don’t want mysteries, romance, or genre fiction in general. Others will say they’re looking for heart-warming stories, stories with an edge, or fiction of high literary quality. Be honest with yourself about where your work fits.
Study the Magazine
What types of stories has the magazine published in the last six issues? What is the tone? Check the reading level by typing a couple paragraphs into a word processing program, or just note the level of diction. Look carefully at the stories. Are they fast paced or meandering? What’s the balance of dialogue to narrative? How much description? Long paragraphs or short? Vignettes or a satisfying plot resolution?
This isn’t to say that you need to re-write your story to add more dialogue, for instance. But if most of the stories published are fast-paced with snappy dialogue, and yours takes a leisurely look at a character’s internal thoughts, it’s not going to be the best fit for the magazine’s readers. The editor’s preferences show up in the stories chosen, and you won’t succeed by trying to get them to change.
Get the Editor’s Name Right
By the time Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market comes out, editors may have changed positions or even magazines. Check the current masthead for editors’ names and spellings. When a name could be either a man or a woman, such as Lee, Terry, Robin, etc., call the department and ask. Every editor wants to be addressed properly, without careless spelling errors.
If the guidelines say to send manuscripts to “submissions editor,” it’s a toss up. Some writers say to find the name of an actual editor, while some editors say that the submissions editor knows which person to send the story on to. Your choice.
Attention-Getting Gimmicks
In a word, DON'T. Editors want clean, professional submissions. Leave the perfumed paper, colored stationery, and pictures of your family/friends/pets for personal letters.
