In a very short amount of time this will establish a stable of short fiction from which you can draw. One story may not be doing as well as you like, but you’re already working on the next.Īlways be writing, proofing, or submitting a story for publication. Not only will this help you hone your art, it will also temper the impact of any setbacks. This doesn’t mean you should rush through one step to get to the next, just that once you know there’s nothing more you can do on one story, it’s time to do something else. Instead always be writing, proofing, or submitting a story for publication. One of the worst uses of that time is to worry and fret about the result it’s a waste of time, and it makes rejections all the more crushing. You write a story, you submit it for publication, and then there’s a huge expanse of dead time before the response. Not only does this help your chances and put you in the right mind-set, but it keeps you working towards publication. For example prize money is often a less reliable indicator of acclaim than a professional-looking website. Researching will also help you learn some of the signs of respectability and acclaim for various publications, and gauge which would be suitable for the type of story you write. As I mentioned above, far more publications are interested in three thousand word stories than in five thousand word stories, however the market also tends towards higher prize money or acclaim for longer stories (hence needing to decide what you want). This shouldn’t take up too much of your time, a few earnest sessions with Google will do it, but it’s important to understand the dominant trends in the short story market. Of course the only way to make sensible choices is to have an accurate overview of the market. Even the choice between writing a five thousand or three thousand word story can significantly alter your options. A longer word count, or the inclusion of adult themes and language, will limit your options if your first choice of publisher doesn’t accept your entry. This advice isn’t restricted to themes you also need to consider word count and tone. Is the story you’d write the kind a non-themed publication would accept, or could it be adjusted along those lines if necessary? If not it’s best to avoid this kind of publisher until you have some experience in what it takes to get a short story published. Because of this, you need to know your plan B before you get involved with a themed publication. This means the pool of entrants will be smaller, but there’s a good reason for that if they turn down a themed entry then it’s going to be difficult to use that short story elsewhere. Most anthologies, and some competitions, are likely to have themes or subjects. This means that you should manage your expectations – not getting discouraged by rejections is important – but it also means that it’s important to write for publication rather than to write for a particular publisher. Click To Tweet #2 Assume it will take more than one tryĪpproaching any kind of publisher is a case of hoping for the best but being prepared for the worst. Publishing a short story is a long, difficult process the more focused your efforts the better. That’s not to say that you need to throw secondary motivations aside, just that getting a short story to publication is a long and difficult process the more focused your efforts the better. If you value acclaim more than a fee, then it’s better to look at publications with a high reader base or some awards under their belts. If visibility is what you’re after, then focusing on online publishers or writing websites may be preferable. If it’s important to you to be paid for your work then anthologies and competitions are the way to go. #1 Decide what you wantĭo you want acclaim, money, or visibility? Of course, in an ideal world you’d get all three, but when you start out trying to get a short story published it’s important to focus on one.īecause there are a lot of places that publish short stories, and you need to be pursuing those which suit your goals best. That’s why, in this article, I’ll be sharing 10 things you should do to give your short story the best chance of publication. In fact, there are a lot of issues faced by first-timers and experienced short fiction authors alike that have easy, but little known, solutions. It can also be incredibly difficult, especially for those just starting out on their journey to publication. Getting a short story published is fantastic for an author, whether it’s an end in itself or a way to increase visibility and reputation.
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