On This Day in Submission Land: June 21st

Time for another installment of On This Day in Submission Land. Slight change in format going forward. I’ll show you the submissions I sent on the fateful day, including my cover letter if it’s interesting, as well as responses I received. So, let’s take a look at June 21st.

Submissions Sent

1. 6/21/15 – “Manny” to EGM Shorts

Dear Fiction Editors,

Please consider my flash fiction piece “Manny” for publication at Evil Girlfriend Media. The story is approximately 1,000 words in length.

Bio: I currently work as the publications manager for Privateer Press, Inc., and my short fiction has recently been published by Allegory, Devilfish Review, and The Molotov Cocktail.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Aeryn Rudel

Back in 2015, I was fairly new to sending submissions, and my cover letter, thought not terrible, shows some of my inexperience. There are a few things in here I don’t do anymore, such as the closing phrase “Thank you for reading” and the opening “Dear Fiction Editors.” Now I just address the letter to Dear Editor, and I don’t use thanks for reading at all. I was also including a bio even if the submission guidelines didn’t call for it. Though, in truth, that “bio” was really just a list of my writing bona fides and a few credits. I don’t do that anymore, as it’s not necessary, and if the guidelines don’t ask for a bio, it’s probably best not to include one.

The story, “Manny,” I never sold, and it has been relegated to the trunk dimension. I did, however, eventually sell a story to EGM Shorts, a saucy little take of autophagia called “The Rarest Cut.” Sadly, EGM Shorts closed down years ago.

2. 6/21/17 – “Small Evil” to The Spectral Book of Horror Stories 5

Dear Editors,

Please consider my short story “A Small Evil” for publication in The Spectral Book of Horror Stories 5. The story is approximately 2,100 words in length. My short fiction has recently appeared in DarkFuse Magazine, Pseudopod, and Havok magazine.

Thank you,

Aeryn Rudel (byline) 

The story here, “A Small Evil” I eventually sold to The Arcanist as a flash fiction piece. I had less luck with the longer version I sent to this anthology. As far as I can tell, The Spectral Book of Horror Stories 5 was the last in this series.

3. 6/21/18 – “The Last Scar” to Trembling With Fear

1. 6/21/17 – Rejection from Black Static for “A Small Evil”

Many thanks for sending “A Small Evil”, but I’m sorry to say that it isn’t right for Black Static. I wish you luck placing it elsewhere, and hope that you’ll send me something new soon.

This is a standard form rejection from Black Static, a pro market I’ve been trying to crack for years. Not much else to say here other than you might notice I submitted this story on the same day this rejection arrived. That’s not unusual for me. If I get a form rejection with no feedback, and I still feel confident about the story, I’ll generally send it out again the same day.

1. 6/21/17 – Rejection from Arsenika for “The Last Scar”

Thank you for sending “The Last Scar” to Arsenika. Unfortunately, it’s not quite what we’re looking for at the moment. Best of luck placing it elsewhere, and thanks again for trying us.

Noticing a pattern here yet? 🙂 This rejection from Arsenika for “The Last Scar” was turned around immediately into a submission to Trembling With Fear, which I detailed earlier in this post. Arsenika was a speculative flash fiction and poetry market that ran from 2016 to 2021. The were a pro market, paying $60.00 for flash fiction up to 1,000 words. I only submitted to them twice, both times in May of 2018. Both stories were rejected. I definitely would have kept trying, as they were a quality market and, looking back, I think they might have been a good fit for some of the stories I was writing in 2020 and 2021.