2020 Writing Review Part 1: Submissions
This year, I’m going to break up my year-end review into three or four posts so I can do a deeper dive into the data. I’m starting off with the raw submission numbers, and I’ll cover rejections and acceptances in their own posts, as there are separate points I want to make about them that don’t fit into this broad overview. Okay, so how did I do submission-wise in 2020?
- Submissions: 87
- Acceptances: 19*
- Rejections: 68*
- Withdrawn: 1
- Pending: 5
My goal was 100 submissions, but I’m more than happy with 87. The number of acceptances I received in 2020 ties my yearly high, and I placed more stories with pro-paying markets than any other year. But let’s look a little deeper at the make-up of the submissions. First, how many distinct stories did I send and how many were written in 2020.
- Distinct Stories: 40
- New Stories: 20
I submitted 40 unique stories in 2020, and 20 of those were written this year. That’s about par for the course, honestly. Most of that has to do with how much flash fiction I write. I generally have a new and submittable flash piece every couple weeks. Now lets look at the length of stories I sent in 2020.
- Flash Fiction: 27
- Short Story: 10
- Microfiction: 2
- Novelette: 1
Well, none of this is surprising, save for the fact I actually submitted a novelette. The three to one ratio of flash to shorts is similar to previous years. Now let’s look at the genres of the stories I submitted.
- Crime: 2
- Fantasy: 9
- General: 2
- Horror: 18
- Sci-Fi: 9
I’d say the biggest change of 2020 came in the genres of stories I wrote and submitted. In years past, I wrote mostly horror, and I still produced a fair amount of it in 2020. I also experimented, with some success, with other genres, namely sci-fi and fantasy. To clarify, with a few exceptions, my fantasy is strictly of the urban variety, and some of it does feature horror elements. Same goes with sci-fi. Still, I’m glad I stretched my legs genre-wise in 2020, and I plan on continuing to do so in 2021. Now let’s look at the markets I sent my stories to.
- Distinct Markets: 45
- Pro: 26
- Semi-Pro: 15
- Token/Free: 4
I sent stories to 45 different markets in 2020. I counted markets that ran contests and have regular magazines submissions as one market. Same goes for markets that have a newsletter and anthologies and so on. As you can see, I focused primarily on pro-paying markets, though I did submit to a bunch of semi-pro markets too. I cut down on the number of token/free markets I sent to, choosing those with a broad reach and a large audience that will read my work (one of those netted me big spikes in blog traffic). This trend will definitely continue in 2021, and I’m hoping to crack some of the big pro markets in the new year.
That’s it for submissions. I’ll do a deep dive into rejections next and then acceptances. I’d love to hear about your submissions in 2020, so tell me all about it in the comments.
A Week of Writing: 12/14/20 to 12/20/20
One more week of writerly endeavors. Here’s how I did.
Words to Write By
Here’s a great quote from novelist Nora Roberts
“[As a writer] you have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done.”
― Nora Roberts
I believe talent is a necessary element in the makeup of a successful writer, but is it the most necessary? Some very successful authors like Nora Roberts and Stephen King seem to think not so much, or at least the level of talent doesn’t need to be off the charts for a writer to publish and make a living. I’ve seen successful authors along the entire spectrum of talent, from those whose prose just leaves me in open-mouthed awe and those whose prose is simply workmanlike (though they’re storytelling ability is often quite good). What I’ve found, though, regardless of the level of talent, is the authors who get published are the authors who finish things. And that, friends, is where I think Nora Roberts three Ds come in. To finish a novel, brave the feedback of your critique partners, revise the book within an inch of its life, and then submit yourself to the grueling process of querying and agent-finding and all that other stuff requires more than simple talent. It requires a whole bunch of drive, discipline, and desire.
The Novel
A little more progress on the novel, but it won’t be until the new year that I really get going again on the revision. Mostly what I’m doing now is finishing up some new material and working on my revision notes, clarifying things that need to be revised, and figuring our how I want to tackle them. My deadline for finishing the revision in January 25th, but I think I’ll likely knock it out in the first couple of weeks of the new year.
Short Story Submissions
Just one submission last week.
- Submissions Sent: 1
- Rejections: 1
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 0
- Shortlist: 0
- Pending: 7
Yeah, I only sent one submission last week, but there’s actually kind of a good reason for that. I was all set to fire off three stories and found there were no markets to send them to. When I went through my list of usual suspects, I found I’d already summitted the story and been rejected, the market had closed to submissions until the new year, or I had already had a story pending there. In other words, pickings are slims right now for markets accepting the genre and length of story I have to submit. Things will open up again in the new year, but I might just have to be content with 87 submissions and 18 acceptances for 2020.
The only submission activity of real note last week was the single rejection, but how that rejection happened is important. I had a story pending with a publisher with whom I’ve published before, and the story had been held for much longer than usual. Finally, feeling something was off, I sent a submission status query. Well, turns out, they’d rejected the story a couple of months ago but their system glitched and the rejection email never went out. I’m absolutely fine with this, because, you know, shit happens, but I bring it up because it’s a prime example of why you should send submission status queries when a story has been held longer than usual. Sometimes the editors are just running behind and sometimes an actual mistake has been made. You’ll never know unless you ask. So, ask. 🙂
Super Secret Project
Last week, I signed the contract for a project I am very excited about that must remain a secret for the moment. I hope to announce this project early in the new year and then bombard everyone with constant posts and updates about it. 🙂
Goals
No goals this week. I think I’m just gonna take it easy for the last week and change of 2020. Yeah, I might tinker with the book a little or send a submission or two, but if I don’t, I’m gonna cut myself some slack and just be okay with it.
And that was my week. How was yours?
Close Calls: The Shortlist Rejection
I’ve discussed the shortlist rejection a few times on the blog, but it’s worth revisiting, mostly because I’ve gotten a bunch this year. 🙂 First, a definition. A shortlist rejection is when the publisher sends you notification they’re holding your story for further consideration, then the story is ultimately rejected, usually with some feedback as to why and/or general encouragement to submit more work. For the purpose of this article, I’m using shortlist and further consideration as interchangeable terms (though, there can be slight differences).
In my opinion, the shortlist rejection is one of the toughest a writer is likely to encounter. You can’t help but get your hopes up, and the disappointment is a little more intense. But let’s dissect this further and talk about the significant aspects of the shortlist rejection, both those that should encourage you and some that might take the wind out of your sails (at least at first).
- Feedback. Most of the time, the editor will include some kind of feedback with a shortlist rejection. This will often be what ended up being the deciding factor for them not choosing to publish the story. This kind of feedback does two things. One, if you revise the elements that ultimately made the publisher reject the story, you might have a better chance of an acceptance on its next submission. Two, this kind of feedback often tells you a lot about what the publisher/editor wants (or doesn’t want) to see in a story, which is very useful for future submissions with that market.
- Ouch. For my money, the shortlist rejection stings more than any other. Knowing you got close and were ultimately rejected is a tougher pill to swallow than a filing away another faceless form letter. Additionally, the feedback you receive might highlight real issues with the story or your writing, and while that’s incredibly valuable in the long term, it can be a bit of a gut punch in the short term. Though I firmly believe the shortlist rejection is overall a good thing, they can cut a little deeper than other nos.
- Good story. If the story was held for further consideration or was shortlisted, that means it’s probably pretty decent, right? I think you can be confident you’ve written a piece that is likely sellable. For reference, my acceptance rate on stories that received shortlist rejections is right around sixty percent, as opposed to an overall acceptance rate of between fifteen to twenty percent (depending on the year).
- Good stories get rejected. Sometimes the shortlist rejection feedback will be all positive, and the reason for the rejection is something you simply couldn’t control. Maybe they just published a similar story or maybe it’s not a great fit for their upcoming issue or a dozen other perfectly valid reason. As I’ve said many times on this blog, good stories get rejected all the time, and that’s just a reality of publishing.
- On the radar. I’ve found that getting a shortlist rejection sometimes puts you on an editor’s radar in a good way. Often, my next submission to a market that’s sent me a shortlist rejection received a response quicker than usual and a few times it resulted in an acceptance.
- How close did I get? A shortlist or further consideration letter is often sent when your story is passed up to the editor by the slush readers. Sometimes, the story has to got through multiple editors after that before it’s actually accepted and published. Some markets have a transparent process, and will let you know exactly how far along your submission progressed before it was rejected. Some don’t, and you won’t know how close your story was to publication. This is not an indictment of how any publisher handles their submissions, mind you. There is always some level of uncertainty that goes with a rejection. The shortlist rejection, however, ups the ante and makes that ever-burning question what can I do better? burn a little brighter. This, too, is just another reality of writing, submitting, and all they comes with it.
Despite how disappointing they can be, the shortlist rejection is a net positive in my opinion, especially when they come from incredibly competitive pro markets. Your story made it through one or several rounds of cuts and was likely enjoyed by slush readers, editors, or both. That’s a good thing and more often than not, you’ll have an even better shot at publication with the rejected story and with the market that rejected you. When you get a shortlist rejection, it might smart a bit, but once the pain subsides, take heart in the fact that you and your writing are probably on the right track.
Thoughts on the shortlist rejection? Tell me about it in the comments.
A Week of Writing: 12/7/20 to 12/13/20
Another week down. Here’s how I did.
Words to Write By
Here’s a classic quote from William Faulkner.
“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.”
―
We’ve all heard this one before, and it’s been repeated by a lot of authors. What does it mean, though? Like all writing advice, its open to interpretation, and it likely means different things to different writers. For me, a darling is usually a humorous line of dialogue or a character thought I fall in love with that doesn’t really fit. For whatever reason, profanity is often involved. In other words, I’ll get a kick out of some crass line, even though it’s not really appropriate for the character or situation. For example, even the most foul-mouthed character will likely clean up their act a little at a job interview. Anyway, as I revise the novel, more of these darlings are jumping out at me, and, sadly, I’m murdering every potty-mouthed little angel I come across. A moment of motherfucking silence, if you please. 🙂
The Novel
I’m fighting the end-of-year doldrums but slowly working on the revision of Hell to Play. Last week I added 2,000 words to the book, material that served as a much-needed break in the action and fleshed out the protagonist’s back story a bit. I like how it turned out. As I mentioned in Word to Write By, I’ve also been pruning the existing text and working on the specific voices of the two primary characters. I think that’s been successful, and it’s helped differentiate their voices in dialogue, which was an issue in the first draft. Anyway, slowly but surely getting to a revised novel I can show my agent.
Short Story Submissions
Yeah, kind of dropped the ball on submissions.
- Submissions Sent: 0
- Rejections: 5
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 0
- Shortlist: 0
- Pending: 7
No submissions last week. I don’t even have a very good reason as to why other than those end-of-year doldrums I mentioned. I did get a boatload of rejections, though, and two of them were shortlist rejections from prominent pro markets. Both rejections came on the same day, by the way. Most of the time, rejections don’t bother me much, but these stung a bit. When you get a further consideration or shortlist notice, you can’t help but get your hopes up a little, so when that rejection comes, it’s harder to just shake it off. That said, getting shortlisted at these markets is a good thing, and I just need to keep writing and keep sending them my work.
Goals
The usual: keep going on the novel revision and try and get some more submissions out. It’d be nice to hit 90 subs by end of year, and I only need four more that.
And that was my week. How was yours?
A Week of Writing: 11/30/20 to 12/6/20
Here’s my past week of writerly endeavors. Normally, I’d try and play catch-up and cover multiple weeks since I haven’t posted one of these in a while, but the last month and change have been pretty hectic, so I’m just gonna start over. 🙂
Words to Write By
Here’s a quote from one of my faves, Elmore Leonard.
“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”
—Elmore Leonard
This is one of Leonard’s famous (some might say infamous) Ten Rules for Good Writing, and as with any writing “rule” is more of a guideline to writing in a specific style than anything else. Since I also tend to write dialogue-heavy, description-light fiction, Mr. Leonard’s rules work for me. Now, this particular rule I apply mostly to dialogue. When people talk it needs to sound as natural as possible, and because my current WIP contains a TON of dialogue, I’m definitely trying to apply this rule wherever I can. How do you make dialogue sound natural? In my personal opinion, it’s half writing how people actually sound and half writing how readers expect people in a novel to sound. It’s a balancing act. Too far one way or the other and you end up with something that reads oddly or sounds broken or stilted. Of course, this is what works for me, and as usual, YMMV. 🙂
The Novel
After a couple of months away from Hell to Play, I’m back at work revising. Before I took my little hiatus, though, I wrote a detailed road map of what needed to be revised and how. I compiled this document from notes from my critique partners, had them look at it, and then made tweaks based on their feedback. I ended up with a document that is proving to be invaluable as I stare down 90,000 words of novel that need revisions and rewrites in a number of key areas. I’m not saying that task doesn’t still feel pretty daunting, but breaking it down into many separate tasks makes it easier to keep forward momentum and not get completely overwhelmed. Anyway, I’d like to be finished with this revision by the end of the month.
Short Story Submissions
A pretty good week for submissions
- Submissions Sent: 4
- Rejections: 0
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 1
- Shortlist: 1
- Pending: 14
Four submissions last week, which gives me a total of 86 for the year. Not too shabby. It’s unlikely I’m gonna send another 14 subs and hit my goal of 100, but that’s okay. My acceptance rate this year is the highest it’s ever been, and, even better, a good percentage of the acceptances were from pro-paying markets. I had one publication last week, which I’ll discuss below. The shortlist was with one of my favorite pro markets, and, honestly, completely unexpected. I sent them two stories, and the one they liked best was, uh, not the one I thought they would like best. In fact, I wasn’t going to send it in at all but went ahead and pulled the trigger at the last minute. It just goes to show you that you shouldn’t self-reject. Let the editors decide which story is the best fit for their publication.
Publications
One publication last week. My story “Second Bite” was published by MetaStellar. This is one of my favorite flash pieces, and it’s been shortlisted and ultimately rejected a few times. So it was very gratifying to get it published and at a pro rate to boot. You can read it by clicking the link below.
Goals
Full steam ahead on the revision of Hell to Play is the main goal. I’m doing pretty well with submissions, so I’d like to get at least two or three more out this week. Feels doable.
And that was my week. How was yours?
Submission Protocol: Ask the Editor
As I’ve stated many, many times on this blog, you should always read submission guidelines carefully and completely. Nine times out of ten, all the information you need to successfully submit a story will be there in black and white. But every once in a while, submission guidelines might not address a specific situation and leave you wondering if and how you should submit a particular story. What do you do then? Could you ask the editor directly?
I know, I know. Sending an email directly to the editor sounds terrifying, right? I mean, what if you’re bothering them? What if you offend them with your question, and they put you on the dreaded author blacklist and you never get a story accepted again?! Scary, huh? Well, let’s look at submission guidelines and see what editors actually say about this.
Email [email address] for all submission-related inquiries, or if you have any trouble using our online submission system.
That doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s look at another one.
If you have questions about submitting materials to the site, please contact us [hyperlink].
Huh, it’s almost like they want you to contact them if you have a question. Okay, one more.
If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or criticism (but not stories) send them to our staff at [email address]. We’ll do our best to get back to you within a few days.
I guess that seals it. Maybe it is okay to just ask the editor. 🙂
Okay, okay, in all seriousness, if you have a question about submissions that are not covered in the guidelines, you should absolutely ask the editor. In fact, the vast majority of submission guidelines will instruct you to do just that (as above). You shouldn’t have any fear or hesitation about it, and, in my experience, editors are often grateful that you asked a question rather than sending in a submission that might not conform to their guidelines.
Some things to keep in mind, though, before you fire off that email.
1) Make sure your question is not already covered in the guidelines. Read them carefully, then read them again. It’s easy to miss a single sentence on something like sim-subs or reprints. In fact, if I have a question about either of the two subjects, I’ll actually do a CTRL+F search for the word, just to make sure I didn’t overlook anything. I would advise against asking an editor if you can do something the guidelines expressly forbid. In other words, don’t ask if you can submit your 30,000-word novella when the publisher has clearly stated they don’t want stories more than 5,000 words in length. Instead, go find a publisher that accepts and publishes novellas.
2) Send your question to the right place. Most of the time, the submission guidelines will instruct you where to send a submission-related question, but not always. If submission questions are not directly covered in the guidelines, then look for a “Contact Us” or similar option on the publisher’s website. That’ll generally take you to the editor’s in-box or to someone who can answer your question without cluttering up the slush pile.
3) Be polite, professional, and brief. Your email should look something like a status query or withdrawal letter. Short and to the point. Make it clear you’re asking a question in the subject line. Something simple like “Reprint Question”. Address the email like you would in a cover letter (I always use Dear Editors), ask your question in a clear and concise manner, then close it out. Don’t include your manuscript and don’t talk about your publishing history (save that for the actual submission). Here’s an example of what a letter to the editors might look like:
Dear Editors,
Does Totally Awesome Professional Genre Market consider a story a reprint if it has been previously published on a blog or Patreon account?
Thank you for your time.
Best,
Aeryn Rudel
This is a question I’ve actually asked. Some markets mention where they stand on stories published on blogs and Patreon accounts and some don’t. I have a story I published years ago on the blog that I’ve since taken down and revised heavily. I’ll often ask editors if I should submit it as a reprint (or not at all if they don’t publish reprints) if that’s not spelled out in the guidelines. Each time, I’ve gotten a prompt, polite response that says, “Yeah, go ahead and send it in.” or “No, we consider that a reprint. Thanks for asking.” In the first case, I can now submit without worrying I’m breaking the rules, and in the second case, I can just move on with no harm, no foul.
4) Don’t argue with the answer. This should go without saying, but if the answer to your question is not what you hoped it would be, don’t argue. It’s a bad look because what you’re essentially getting is an addendum to the submission guidelines, and we always follow the submissions guidelines, right? Right.
So, to sum up, don’t be afraid to ask the editor if you have a question and can’t find the answer in the guidelines. Most, if not all, will be happy to answer polite queries about submissions.
Thoughts on asking the editor? Tell me about it in the comments.
Submission Statement: November 2020
November is in the books, and here’s how I did with submissions, acceptances, rejection, and all that jazz.
November 2020 Report Card
- Submissions Sent: 5
- Rejections: 6
- Acceptances: 2
- Publications: 1
- Further Consideration: 0
Well, I certainly did not get as many submissions out as I would have liked in November. Most of that was due to a particularly hellish move into a new house. The new place is definitely an upgrade, but getting there was a wee bit stressful. Still, I did manage to rally in the last week of the month and get five submissions out, giving me 82 for the year. It is extremely unlikely I’ll get another 18 subs out in December to hit my 100-submission goal, but I’m okay with that. The six rejections were mostly for stories I submitted in months prior. Two acceptances in a month is fantastic, and that gives me 16 yes’s for the year, which is two more than I managed last year. The fact that they’re both to pro-paying markets is just icing on the acceptance-cake.
Rejections
Six rejections this month.
- Standard Form Rejections: 5
- Upper-Tier Form Rejections: 1
- Personal Rejections: 0
Not much to see here. Each rejection was a form letter, and only one of them was anything but the standard “not for us” boilerplate no. Just so we’re clear, form rejections don’t bother me in the least. They’re the most efficient way for a publisher to say we’re not gonna publish your story politely and professionally.
Acceptances
Two more acceptances in November, which makes it a pretty good month. The first acceptance was to a market new to me, and, well, just new. MetaStellar accepted my flash story “Second Bite,” a story I’m quite fond of and one that has come oh-so close to publication a few times. I’m thrilled it finally has a home, and the folks at MetaStellar did a bang-up job presenting it. You can check it out in the publications section below.
The second acceptance was with Dark Matter Magazine for my reprint short story “Caroline.” It’s for their 2021 Halloween issue, and it’s the second story I’ve sold to Dark Matter. I’ve been super impressed with this market, especially with how they promote and market their authors. They also pay a pro rate, so if you write speculative fiction, definitely give them a look when they open up again for submissions.
Publications
Technically, I only had one publication in November, but MetaStellar published my horror story “Second Bite” today, so I’m gonna go ahead and include it here. The other publication was for my one and only non-genre story “Fair Pay,” which was published by Flash Fiction Magazine last week. You can read both stories by clicking the links below.
Read “Fair Pay”
Read “Second Bite”
And that was my November. Tell me about yours.
Hook Shot: Still More Fun With First Lines
One of my absolute favorite blog topics is analyzing the first lines of my short stories and trying to divine whether a good one helps you get published. This all stems from a fantastic essay written by Stephen King called “Great Hookers I Have Known” in his now sadly out-of-print collection Secret Windows. The term “hooker” in this case comes from an old bit of publishing slang that means a first line that hooks the reader. Anyway, through the years, I’ve been taking a look at the first lines of my published short stories, rating them, and trying to find evidence that supports the theory that a great first line improves your chances of publication.
So let’s look at some of my recently published stores, analyze the first line, and then I’ll explain why I think it’s a good one or not so good. Then, at the end of this we’ll see if there’s any correlation between a good first line and how quickly the story was accepted. I’ve also linked to the stories that are free to read online so you can check out the first line and compare it to the rest of the story if you like.
1) “Bites” published by Flame Tree Press in Footsteps in the Dark
“Here’s your stop,” Katelyn said, pulling the Prius up to the curb.
Super exciting, huh? Did my mention of a Prius get your blood pumping? 🙂 Yeah, this is, uh, not a great first line, which is unfortunate because I think it’s one of the better short stories I’ve written in a while. I mean, it’s functional as kind of an establishing shot, but it sure as shit ain’t exciting. The second sentence and the first paragraph improved things, and we get cooking in the second paragraph, but, yeah, not awesome. Grade: D+
2) “Reading the Room” published by The Overcast
“What do you want with this guy, boss?” Barry Fitz said as he and Jesse walked through the gaming floor of the Lucky Load.
I often start stories with dialogue, and I know some folks say you’re not supposed to do that, but, meh, it’s worked for me. Anyway, this another one of those establishing shot first lines, and it gives you some flavor and does a halfway decent job of setting up some of the premise. It’s still not fantastic, but it’s better than “Bites.” Grade: C+
3) “The Back-Off” published by On Spec Magazine
Frank Lori yanked open the door to the Lucky Duck’s camera room and a fog of cigarette smoke and old coffee fumes washed over him.
Not too bad. This introduces the man character, gives you some clue about the setting, and throws in some halfway decent description. The word yanked implies some urgency, and the cigarette and coffee stink sets a tone. Yeah, as first lines go, you could do worse (and I have). Grade: B
4) “His Favorite Tune” published in the Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter
Colton Jackson walked along a dirt road while the man ordered to kill him pressed the barrel of a gun into his back.
I like this one because it established some tension right away and gives you a few important details to boot. It doesn’t wow you, but I think it gets you interested in what happens next, which is really what you need that first sentence to do. Grade: B
5) “Stall Number Two” published by Ellipsis Zine
There’s a gateway to hell in the men’s room at Cory’s Pub & Suds.
Heh, I’m a sucker for first lines like this, and I think is a pretty good one. It’s weird, unexpected, and even a little silly. I think that’s a great combo for a first line, and I deliver the goods in the first paragraph regarding ye olde poop chute to Hades. Grade: A-
6) “Story X” to be published by Super Secret Publisher
Jared Stiles knew a lot about murder, but he’d always viewed killing someone as a permanent situation.
Since this one hasn’t been published yet, only accepted, I need to maintain some secrecy. I think this is a good first line. The whole “permanent situation” thing sets up the premise, and should get the reader asking questions. This is probably the best of the bunch. Grade: A
Okay, now let’s compare the quality of the first line in the stories above to how long it took me to sell each piece and see if there’s any kind of pattern.
| Story | First Line | Rejections |
| Bites | D+ | 12 |
| Reading the Room | C+ | 5 |
| The Back-Off | B | 10 |
| His Favorite Tune | B | 1 |
| Stall Number Two | A- | 3 |
| Story X | A | 8 |
Huh, well, I’d call that data inconclusive. “Bites” did rack up a lot of rejections, but it was shortlisted at a number of pro markets and did eventually sell to one. On the other hand, “Story X” was rejected seven times, then I revised it, which included rewriting the first paragraph, and it sold on the next submission to a pro market. The rest are kind of all over the place. I mean, “The Back-Off” and “His Favorite Tune” both have the same grade for first lines, but the number of rejections they received is night and day different.
If there’s one bit of info I can maybe take away it’s that the first line is more important in short stories than flash fiction. A top-notch first line seems to have less impact on selling a 1,000-word story than it does on a longer tale. Yeah, I know, sample size and all, but that might be an interesting comparison to run in the next blog post I write on the subject.
Thoughts on my super-scientific grading method or first lines in general? Tell me about it in the comments.
Good as New: Evaluating Fledgling Publishers
I covered this topic back in 2016, and I think it’s due for an update. In the last four years, I’ve seen a lot of genre markets come and go (one that showed up and disappeared almost overnight), and there are some things I think you should look for when considering whether to send a story to a brand new market. I’ve broken that evaluation process into six points. Let’s take a look.
- Presentation. Does the publisher have a professional-looking website that’s easy to navigate? Obviously, this is the first thing you’re likely to learn about a publisher, so I put it at the top. I’m not saying every publisher’s site needs to look like they spent a million bucks on it, but a website says a lot about how prepared a market is when they jump into publishing. A clean, easy to navigate site says I’m organized and efficient (a good sign), and a messy, clunky one says maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. The former gives me some confidence my work will be handled professionally, and the latter says I might not ever hear back.
- Guidelines. Are they easy to find? Are they clear and concise? This is one of the first things I look for, and, in my opinion, is one of the biggest indicators of whether a publisher knows what they’re getting into. If I see clear, professional submission guidelines that conform to industry standards (though I don’t mind a little deviation) and answer the questions an author is likely to have, that goes a long way to making me comfortable enough to submit a story. It also tells me the publisher understands the industry and what is generally expected of publishers.
- Rights. This is usually part of the submission guidelines, but it deserves its own mention. I need to know what rights a publisher will be acquiring when they accept a story. There shouldn’t be any mystery about that, and if there is, I get twitchy. If a publisher really wants to put my mind at ease, then using something like the SFWA model contract is just aces in my book. If I see huge deviations from the norm, like say a two-year exclusivity clause or ANYTHING that looks like a rights grab, I run the other way, fast.
- Editor(s). Who are they? Do they have any experience in publishing? After guidelines and rights, this is one of the first things I look at when I’m evaluating a new market. An editor that has significant experience in publishing always makes me more comfortable. That said, I’ve found that experience in an adjacent field or one that demands super tight deadlines and a breakneck pace can be just as good (maybe even better in some ways).
- Marketing. Does the new publisher market through social media, newsletters, and so on? I like to see a new publisher drumming up interest in their magazine and actively looking for ways to promote themselves and their authors. Marketing is kind of a you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours situation with new markets. New publishers often depend on authors to spread news of their publication (and the new market) far and wide, and, in my opinion, it bodes well when the publisher is set up to reciprocate.
- Payment. You’ll notice I put this one at the bottom, and in the original article I had it near the top. Why? Well, payment can be an indicator of a market’s professionalism and staying power, but in the four years since I wrote that last article, I’ve found it’s maybe the least telling of all the criteria I’ve mentioned here. I’ve seen markets that pay eight cents a word come and go in a year, and I know token and for-the-love-of-it markets that have been going strong for ten-plus. I’ve also received hands-down the most unprofessional rejection of my career from a new market that paid a good semi-pro rate. So, yes, payment can indicate professionalism and staying power, but in my experience, it’s not quite the litmus test some folks may believe it to be.
Now, of course, my six points above are not a pass/fail kind of thing, and there are fantastic markets that don’t hit all of them perfectly. For me, four and five are the real deal-breakers, and I can put up with a not-so-great website or token payment if the guidelines and rights are clearly explained. I’m also willing to give an editor without much experience in publishing a go if they’re hitting all the other criteria. Everyone has a comfort level when it comes to sending a story to a new market, and I think these six points might help you find yours. 🙂
Thoughts on new or fledgling markets? Got one you’d like to recommend? Tell me about it in the comments.
Story Acceptances: 2020 vs 2019
Yesterday, I received my 15th story acceptance for 2020, which is one more than I received in 2019. That’s pretty cool, and I thought it might be fun (and even informative) to take a look at this year’s acceptances, compare them to last year’s, and see what, if anything, has changed. Okay, to the numbers!
Submissions
First, let’s just look at the raw submission numbers for the two years.
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| Submissions | 77 | 76 |
| Acceptances | 15 | 14 |
| Accpt % | 22 | 18 |
So, I’ve sent roughly the same amount of submissions to this point in 2020 as I sent all of last year. My acceptance percentage is higher this year, though I’m not currently counting the eight pending subs in 2020’s number. It could go up, but will likely go down as responses for those subs come in. Also, I’ll definitely send more submissions in the next six weeks, exceeding 2019’s number by at least ten or so, which will also affect my acceptance percentage.
Story Lengths Accepted
Now let’s see what types of stories are getting accepted: microfiction, flash fiction, and short stories.
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| Microfiction | 1 | 5 |
| Flash Fiction | 11 | 7 |
| Short Stories | 3 | 2 |
Okay, now you can start seeing some differences between the two years. I’ve simply sold more words of fiction in 2020 than I did in 2019. I’ve sold around 20,000 words this year compared to last year’s roughly 12,000 words. That’s an improvement.
Accepted Story Payment
Finally, let’s take a peek at what I’m getting paid for my work.
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| Free/Token | 4 | 9 |
| Semi-Pro | 1 | 4 |
| Pro | 10 | 1 |
And now for the biggest difference between 2020 and 2019. This year, I got paid more for my work. Ten pro sales in 2020 compared to the single pro sale in 2019 constitutes the bulk of this difference, of course. That’s very good news, and it’s a trend I hope to see continue. Oh, and I’m defining “pro-payment” based on the SFWA and HWA definitions.
No matter which way you slice it, 2020 has been far and away a better year for me than 2019, submission-wise. Not only have I gotten more stories accepted, I’ve gotten them accepted by more paying markets. So why has this year been such an improvement over last? I have some ideas.
- I got better. I’m always trying to grow and improve as a writer, and the evidence suggests I may have done that in 2020. Some of the stories I sold were ones I failed to sell in 2019, revised, and then sold in 2020. I’ve also gotten closer with some bucket list markets than I have in years prior.
- More markets. A number of new pro-paying markets opened up in 2020, and I landed publications at a couple of them. Anytime you can take a whole new set of editorial preferences for a spin, you have another chance to find an editor who digs what you do. In other words, more paying markets to submit to means more chance of getting published at, uh, paying markets.
- Plain ol’ luck. As I’ve said countless time before, selling a story is some combination of right story + right market + right editor. A couple of the stories I sold in 2020 were widely rejected in 2019. I ended up selling them unchanged this year because I managed to find the right market/editor for them. If I’d started with those markets, my 2019 numbers might look better. 🙂
That’s my 2020 acceptances thus far, and I hope I can score a few more before the end of the year. My record is 19, so I’d need the next six weeks to be VERY good to beat that.
How’re your 2020 submissions and acceptances coming along? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Effectively Wild – A Baseball Horror Story
Night Walk & Other Dark Paths
Acts of War: Flashpoint
Acts of War: Aftershock
Acts of War: Stormbreak
Aeryn Rudel's Rejectomancy 