How Long Should You Wait to Know if a First Person Story You Submitted Will Be Accepted or Rejected
What to Expect When You're Submitting
Submitting brusk stories to literary magazines for beginners
When you leap into the world of submitting short stories to literary markets for the outset fourth dimension it tin can be overwhelming. (To meet what literary markets are and where to find them read my previous commodity here.) In that location are a lot of unknowns. Even more, there are a lot of rules of etiquette and best practices involved that are not always obvious. While some literary markets spell out their expectations very clearly in their submission guidelines, others are vague and expect you to only know.
Then, to clear up any misconceptions and mysteries, hither is an annotated list of what to look, from both sides of the transaction, when you submit brusk stories.
Your story is set up
Every writer has a different process and every story has its own needs, so there is no prescription for how many drafts, rounds of feedback, or other steps a story needs earlier information technology is deemed prepare. The only definite matter that can be said is that information technology should be a 'clean draft.' In other words, free of spelling and punctuation errors, typos, and formatting problems.
If you lot believe your story is well-crafted, well-edited, and well-proofed, and thus ready for its chance out there in the smashing large literary earth, that is the standard you the writer has to go by for deeming a story 'fix.'
Y'all read and followed the submission guidelines
Each literary market has its own submission guidelines, although many share a lot of factors in common. However, those differences in the margins are of import and are often 'make or break' points with the editors. Many submission guidelines clearly land that if x or y rule is not followed, the story will be rejected automatically. Following submission guidelines increases your chances of acceptance and wastes less of the editors' time.
And then what kind of guidelines should yous be expecting?
Story guidelines
Short stories should be matched to their literary markets, and submission guidelines often make information technology very clear what the market is looking for.
Brusque stories should be within the discussion count parameters the guidelines provide. Unless the guidelines explicitly state there is wiggle room, exercise not assume there is. Well-nigh guidelines explicitly state there is not.
Short stories should exist the right genre. The broad strokes of this are easy to follow. If it is a children'southward magazine, the submissions should but be children'due south stories. If the submission says no graphic horror, don't submit graphic horror. However, magazines also sometimes list some elusive qualities they are looking for in stories that are hard to be sure of, or exist looking for a vaguely or weirdly defined subgenre (which is very mutual in sci-fi/fantasy magazines). If yous feel your story might fit although you're not one hundred percent sure, it is still worth a shot.
Guidelines sometimes include a list of specific things the marketplace is not looking for in stories. They tin range from specific and innocuous story tropes that the editors are tired of seeing to things they are taking a moral opinion on, similar violence against women or political blowhard. For either, you are non going to convince the editors that your story is the exception, especially when they accept hundreds of stories that are following their rules to consider instead. Save that story for a marketplace that will be more receptive.
Formatting guidelines
This includes the blazon of file format they want and how they want the words themselves bundled on the page. Standard manuscript format (link) is, well, pretty standard, merely variations exist. For example, if the market wants blind submissions, y'all have to make sure to remove all traces of your proper noun from the manuscript, including the championship page and the header.
Whether formatting nitpicks are due to technical limitations on the editors' end or as a way to weed out those who didn't read the guidelines, merely follow them. Information technology usually simply takes a minute or two of formatting alterations to have your story ready to get.
Method and time of submission
Transport your submission to the market in the way they desire to receive information technology. The major two are snail mail service (yes, some markets all the same do this and even some that exclusively accept postal submissions) and electronic submissions. Electronic submission can vary from email, submission manager software (with submittable being the most prominent), google forms, and more than. Send it how they want information technology and follow the directions, specially in an electronic mail in which not compiling could end up with your story caught in the spam filter.
Also, send information technology inside the submission menstruum, please. Some magazines are always open up with rolling submissions. Some accept limited submission periods. Some have to close at unplanned times. If closed or if in that location is a express submission menstruum, they will almost always exist at top of the guidelines.
Cover letters, bios, and other auxiliary information
Most guidelines will ask for you lot to include a brief encompass letter and do they mean brief. This is not the folio length cover letter of the alphabet of applying for a job or the equivalent of a novel query letter of the alphabet. A short story cover letter is a few sentences at the most.
In e-mail submissions, the cover letter should go in the body of the email. In class submissions, there will unremarkably be a text box on the course for the comprehend letter. In snail mail submissions you need to format your cover alphabetic character in proper business letter format, print information technology as a split page, and put earlier the story manuscript in the envelope.
What should be in the cover letter? Required are your story title, word count, and proper noun. Optional is your publishing history. Some guidelines ask for you lot to specify the genre of the story or some other quality of the story.
What you should not include is a summary or explanation of your story. Literary markets exercise not want it; they want the story to stand up on its own.
Here is a quick cover alphabetic character format you can feel complimentary to play with:
Honey Editors,
Delight consider my (#) word short story (story title) for publication in (mag title). I have had brusk stories previously in (2 or 3 of almost contempo or most notable story publications).
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Your Proper name
Sometimes guidelines will as well enquire for y'all to provide a brusk, third-person bio. (And if they do non want information technology then, they will want it when your story is accustomed for publication.) For these, you should spend just a couple of sentences to explicate who you lot are as a author, as a person, and where they can find more of you.
Things you should include: your name, where y'all are from, what you write, what your writer credentials are (important degrees, awards, publications, etc.), something personal or fun fact nearly yourself (other hobbies, pets, career, etc.), and where else they tin notice yous (author website, social media, etc.)
You are patient
While at that place are some magazines with short response turnaround times after you submit your short story, for many, information technology is expected that you will wait weeks or fifty-fifty months to hear if your story is accepted or rejected. Delight realize that these literary magazines and anthologies are by and large labors of honey by the editors that are doing the piece of work of running it for costless. They have other jobs and responsibilities that are dividing the time. They might even exist putting their own coin into printing, upkeep of the website, and paying authors. They deserve some realistic patience.
Plus, they receive hundreds of submissions they take to read, evaluate, and decide between.
How long tin can you expect to wait? Well, most markets mention an expected turnaround time in their submission guidelines, so use that as your guide. If they don't, y'all tin can utilize statistical aggregates on websites similar the Submission Grinder to get an idea. Magazines that have limited submission windows will more often than not not send out acceptances and rejections until after the close of the window; if you submit at the offset of a three-month window, don't expect to hear back until afterward those iii months plus some.
In general, markets that accept exclusively shorter works like wink fiction and verse will take a faster turnaround time than those who have longer short stories. Withal, there are many exceptions.
If you need to query about the status of your story, just do so after the stated or expected turnaround fourth dimension for that specific submission has passed, although you might want to give them a little jerk room as well.
You take reasonable expectations
Don't expect to get detailed reasons why your story was not accepted by the market (if not accepted). In one case in a while, you will have editors who requite feedback for costless, merely well-nigh of the time y'all will receive form rejections. On the same note, do not debate with the market after receiving a rejection. That is the blazon of behavior that can get you blacklisted.
Don't expect structural or story editing. In the submission phase, don't send a half-baked story thinking the editors will run into the raw potential and exist willing to piece of work with you on large story issues. If accepted, don't expect to go through a long, in-depth editing process. By and large, about story markets simply do line editing for grammar, typos, and clarity.
Don't expect special treatment just for yourself for any reason yous make upward in your caput. If the market offers any special treatment such as priority reading for magazine subscribers or preference for local authors, they volition state that in their guidelines. It is simply in those specific circumstances if they apply to y'all, can you lot expect said preference.
You lot act respectfully
This should go without saying, but unfortunately, it doesn't go without proverb. Be respectful and professional person in your dealings with literary markets throughout the submission process. The majority of readers and editors for literary markets are doing so on a volunteer basis. It is not their job and they are not getting paid. They are doing it because they beloved literature and the literary customs; practise not give them a reason to start hating it.
Following submission guidelines to the best of your ability is respectful as information technology respects the editors' fourth dimension. Using polite and professional person language in your communications is respectful considering we all know that information technology only really takes one jerk to ruin your day. (Additionally, sarcasm and humor exercise not always translate in text form then you are doing yourself a favor past not making yourself look like a jerk.) Accepting rejections with grace is being respectful. Information technology isn't that difficult to exist respectful.
You are respected
As much as this article then far has told you lot the author what to do and how to behave also as how sympathetic you should be to the editors of the literary markets, all that respect is as well owed you equally the writer and as a fellow man.
You lot don't deserve to be scammed. Y'all don't deserve to be treated unprofessionally. You don't deserve to throw your story into a black pigsty to never exist heard from over again. Yous are more than allowed to take standards for yourself and how yous are treated, fairly and professionally, equally long as they are based on reality.
Y'all are given articulate terms
A literary market place should be clear and open about what the terms for publication are: On how they plan to apply your story, what copyright they are licensing, and when the copyright reverts back to the author. If yous are being paid, this information includes how much, how you volition receive it (PayPal, check, etc.), and when yous should expect it (upon signing of the contract, at publication, xxx days after publication, etc.).
Sometimes all of this data will be in the submission guidelines. Other times only an overview will be in the guidelines, and the nitty-gritty details will exist provided in contract form after a story is accustomed. Yous are completely within your rights to not sign and decide not to publish your story with the literary market at that point if yous can't agree to the contract terms.
But because you publish with a non-paying magazine doesn't mean y'all should not care or worry about the terms. Paid for or non, your story is still your intellectual belongings that you should want to protect. These magazines should nonetheless be clear how they plan to use the story. (Will it be a print or digital or sound publication? Volition information technology merely be published for a brusk menstruum or volition it remain in perpetuity? What exclusivity is the magazine asking for and for how long?)
In my experience, nearly magazines do try to be good members of the literary community in being forthright and off-white with their terms. It is usually the extremely disorganized and the outright scammers that obfuscate their terms.
Anybody is a good communicator
The market should write clear submission guidelines. You should exercise your best to follow them. If the market is tedious or has some sort of meaning filibuster in its turnaround, it should let yous know. If you need to withdraw your story, you should permit the magazine know every bit shortly equally possible. Markets should provide a fashion for you to query after submission.
Be off-white
Mistakes happen. E-mail and spam filters gobble emails. Family emergencies occur. Even the most well-established magazine with the all-time submission software will slip up sometimes. And you volition skid up as well. This whole procedure is non about beingness perfect. It is almost being polite, professional, and trying to operate on a common ground of agreement what the standard expectations and behaviors are.
Hopefully, this guide has helped demystify the process of short story submissions.
Margery Bayne is a librarian past day and a author by night, a published short story author and an aspiring novelist. More than about her and her writing tin be plant at world wide web.margerybayne.com .
Source: https://writingcooperative.com/what-to-expect-when-youre-submitting-submitting-short-stories-for-beginners-d9b5c7291835
0 Response to "How Long Should You Wait to Know if a First Person Story You Submitted Will Be Accepted or Rejected"
Post a Comment