Leaving the Nest: Where To Send My New Story

I recently finished a new story, and it’s time to send my poor little word baby out into the dark, feral wastes of submission land. In this post, I thought it might be fun to talk about how I go about deciding which markets to target first with a new story. This process is rife with rejectomancy, so it’s perfect for the blog. Let’s discuss. 🙂

The Story

My new piece, which we’ll refer to as “Baby Bird” for this post is a sci-fi cyberpunk-ish crime thriller and clocks in at just under 6,000 words. I generally don’t write stories over 5,000 words and rarely over 4,000, and the reason for this is simple. Once you get over 5k, the number of markets willing to accept the story shrinks considerably. But a story needs to be as long as it needs to be. That said, this one did creep all the way up to 7,000 words, but with the help of my very excellent critique partners, I whittled it down to a more manageable (and hopefully publishable) size.

The Markets

As I usually do when submitting a short story, I start with pro markets and work my way down. So, turning to Duotrope, when I enter the genre, length, and pay rate I want for “Baby Bird”, I come up with thirteen possible markets. However, I’ll be focusing my initial efforts on just five. I’m ruling out the others due to a number of factors, but primarily I’m just going with markets where I have a track record. So, the five markets I’ll submit to first are:

• Clarkesworld
• Analog Science Fiction & Fact
• Escape Pod
• Asimov’s Science Fiction
• Strange Horizons

These are in no particular order (that’ll come later), and I’ve subbed to all of them with various degrees of success (though I haven’t had a story accepted by any of them yet). There are, of course, other pro markets that might accept “Baby Bird” that are not currently open to submissions, and I’ll adjust my list according if and when they open up. I should note that I think all five of these markets are fantastic, and I would be overjoyed to have a story appear in the pages of any of them.

Track Record

Okay, now it’s time to take a look at my track record with each of these markets, so I can figure out where “Baby Bird” goes first, second, third, and so on. The biggest factor for me in determining the order will be my submission history with each market, but response time (from Duotrope) will play a part as well. So, how have I fared with each publisher?

Clarkesworld

• Submissions: 14
• Acceptances: 0
• Shortlists: 0
• Personal Rejections: 0

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has failed to make a dent in the slush pile of Clarkesworld. It’s a very tough market that gets a ton of submissions for very few spots. The subject matter and themes of “Baby Bird” look like they could be a good fit, but my track record here says I might want to start elsewhere. With fourteen form rejections, I just don’t have much to go on.

Analog Science Fiction & Fact

• Submissions: 1
• Acceptances: 0
• Shortlists: 0
• Personal Rejections: 1

Yep, just one submission to Analog. The reason for that is, well, I don’t write a ton of straight sci-fi. Sometimes my stories have science fiction elements, but they’re usually mixed in with horror. Their guidelines are very clear on the type of science fiction Analog is looking for, as stated: We publish science fiction stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. Unfortunately, my stories rarely meet that standard, but “Baby Bird” does, as did the only other story I’ve sent them. That story, “Time Has No Memory”, was rejected, but the editor added the following note after the form letter.

“I like your style of writing and suggest that you try us again.”

That’s encouraging, and since “Baby Bird” is written in the same style as “Time Has No Memory”, it puts Analog right at the top of the list.

Escape Pod

• Submissions: 5
• Acceptances: 0
• Shortlists: 1
• Personal Rejections: 4

I’ve done okay here, and one of my stories made what I’d consider a short list. I think Escape Pod adds a personal note to most rejections (at least they’ve done so for me), and that’s helped me decide which stories to send them. Now, the story they shortlisted is “Time Has No Memory”, the same story the editor of Analog commented on. Generally, that would put Escape Pod at the very top of the list, especially since “Baby Bird” is similar in tone to “Time Has No Memory”, but it’s important to read the guidelines. Though Escape Pod does take stories up to 6,000 words, their guidelines state that the sweet spot for a submissions is between 2,000 and 4,000 words. So “Baby Bird” is right at their maximum and well outside the sweet spot, and I have to take that into consideration.

Asimov’s Science Fiction

• Submissions: 6
• Acceptances: 0
• Shortlists: 0
• Personal Rejections: 0

As you can see, I’ve had no luck with Asimov’s, and I’ve received nothing but form rejections. That said, I have a feeling that “Baby Bird” might be a solid fit. That’s based on nothing but reading a few stories from the magazine and some gut intuition. I could be dead wrong, of course, and I have nothing to go on but six boilerplate form rejections, but, hey, sometimes you gotta go with your gut.

Strange Horizons

• Submissions: 5
• Acceptances: 0
• Shortlists: 0
• Personal Rejections: 0

Another market I’ve had very little luck with. Some of that has to do with when they’re open for submissions and what I have ready to submit when they are. Strange Horizons is a broadly speculative market, so I generally like my chances there since many of my stories are difficult to put into a single genre. Research and experience have led me to wonder if the tone of my work is a good fit for Strange Horizons, but since I’ve received only form rejections, it’s hard to say. This is another case where I’ll have to go with my well honed (hah!) writerly instincts.

Final Order

With all the information and variables I discussed above, the order in which I’ll submit “Baby Bird” to the five markets I’ve chosen is:

1. Analog Science Fiction & Fact
2. Escape Pod
3. Strange Horizons
4. Asimov’s Science Fiction
5. Clarkesworld

Now, there might be some wisdom in submitting to the markets that respond the quickest first, and since I’d be thrilled to be published in any of these journals, it’s tempting to order them that way. But I think I want to send “Baby Bird” to the markets where it’s most likely to get published, and from experience, feedback, and that good old gut feeling, I think the order above is probably right. Again, these are all fantastic markets, and I would be thrilled to place a story with any of them.

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And there you have it, my super scientific process for choosing markets to submit to. The list above is not set in stone, of course. Some of these markets could close to subs before I get to them, and/or another better-fitting market could open up. It’s a good place to start, though, and here’s hoping “Baby Bird” soon takes flight. 🙂