So, there you are, you've written a cracking little story, all your fellow-WWers like it and you're not displeased with it yourself.

Now, what do you do?

1) Enter it into a few competitions. Check for results every ten minutes for two months. Repeat until feeling suicidal.

2) Submit it to the most appropriate magazine you can find. Wait for your rejection slip. Submit it to the second most appropiate mag around. Repeat until successful/suicidal.

3) Shove it in a drawer/show it to your mum only/keep it for the future grand unveiling of your Short Story Collection.

Well, I wouldn't go for 3 myself (apart from the drawer bit once I reach the suicidal stage, I guess).

But out of 1 and 2, which one would you recommend?

I only started writing short stories a few months ago and, so far, have found that:

1 could become a rather expensive/time-consuming hobby. However, the feeling of coming third in a decent sized comp was amazing, one of the best days of my life. But, what did I get? An 'interesting'-looking earthen trophy, hand-crafted by a Spanish artist. Mmh. (No publication)
Then, I came fourth in a smaller competition and the prize was...publication, in the worst ever anthology, full of typos and badly designed. I don't want to sound ungrateful but it felt like a waste of a decent story: no-one will ever read it (it was distributed to winners only, but it still seems to count as 'publication' and I'm too embarrassed to show the anthology to anyone.

2 is perhaps less exciting, but seems slightly more rewarding: more people will read your story (unless you've won the Bridport but, hey, I'm trying to be realistic here) and at least you get to keep a nice glossy version of your work. I had a 150 words published in Mslexia and nearly fainted with delight when I received the mag. I'll cherish it forever (it was my first time).

What do you think? Are the odds better for 2 than 1? What solution is the most beneficial? If you were an agent, for instance, would you be most impressed by a CV full of 1s or full of 2s? (OK, I'm merely dreaming here, but don't wake me up, that's partly what keeps me writing )

Nancy

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That first smiley appeared from nowhere, by the way

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And all the typos appeared from nowhere too. Ever noticed how skilfully they hide until you press the 'post' button?

Hi Nancy,

I'd go for 1 and 2 but be selective. Only submit work to competitions which have a good reputation and which produce anthologies you'd be proud to be in. With 2 often there's little or no money involved and a long wait. I tend to sub to competitions more than mags as they pay better if the story is successful, but occasionally send work straight to a magazine or anthology if it feels specifically right for them.

Good luck.



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Meant to add - and keep writing them. One rather lovely aspect of writing short stories is that they're always on the go, in a constantly shifting round of subs, so a week of rejections, sick kids and pets etc, late payment of invoices can be turned around by a piece being accepted or placed in an award. I don't set too much store by an individual piece and always have a handful of pieces doing the rounds.

There is a fourth option and that is to release it into the wilds of the internet, eg, by showcasing it on a blog or on various writers' websites - the hope is that agents will across them and like your stuff (rare, but it does happen).
The trouble with 2), submitting to magazines, is you really need to know what their criteria are for publication. It is very dificult to shoehorn a story you've written for yourself into, say, a womag, without it undergoing major surgery first.
Competitions are good, since winning them helps with your 'writers CV' when it comes to submitting to Agents, so definitely carry on with them - but be careful which ones you submit to; make sure there's some kudos to being shortlisted, let alone to winning.
If you do go with 4) then don't post it until you've finished submitting it to competitions, because it'll be deemed to be published - and disqualified - if the judges find it on the internet.


- NaomiM

Thank you, that's very useful advice.

May I ask one more question: How do you know what competitions to go for? There are so many out there!

Nancy

I go on the general principle that I don't sub for anything that requires me to pay a fee

There are exceptions but you have to weigh up whether it is worth paying out - or not.

One lesson I have learned is that while it is always better to write a story to suit a market it is also helpful to have a second or third or fourth or fifth option in mind - if you write something that is so specific that you can't place it elsewhere else then you are putting all your eggs in one basket - but then again - nothing is ever wasted and you may use what you have in a different format somewhere else.

Duotrope is great - I've only recently started tracking submissions and monitoring the stats as well as using it for market information and it is a very helpful resource - you can get some idea re who sends personal rejections and who has a good record for responses and who doesn't and who responds quickly and who might keep you waiting half a year or longer and what your chances are - percentage of acceptances for example

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Also if you will get paid...

The catch with showcasing your work on a blog is that it then counts as published and there is no editing filter. If you get a story published online in a reputable venue, even if you get paid in exposure rather than cash, then the rights revert to you - so there is usually the option to publish that story again later.

One word of advice based on personal experience - if what you're looking for is to build up a good CV of published stuff, then more 'literary' short story magazines can be a good option if your style fits their style. However, they don't always pay, and one thing I've found is they tend to fold with alarming regularity, so if an agent or editor googles some of your CV credits, they may find them to be nonexistent, which is a bit embarrassing...

I don't share the policy of only subbing to ones that don't ask for a fee. Some top competitions have no fee but many perfectly respectable ones ask for between three and ten pounds, which goes some way towards advertising and administrating the comp and paying readers. No fee makes me wonder who is reading the hundreds, sometimes thousands of stroies entered, or if they are being read at all. Some winning entries of free comps make me wonder if they pulled out the first competent piece from the overwhelming mailbag and plumped for that.

I go by the judges. If I've not heard of the judge I don't enter. If Tracy Chevalier or Janice Galloway or Jim Crace is happy to work for the competition then I assume it's well run. Or if the comp is set up by a well-established literary magazine or publishing house.

What about those comps that ask for £15 or £20? Ok, sometimes it's €20, but, given the exchange rate at the moment, it's more or less the same.

Some of them might be well established (Fish, Cinnamon...), but it seems a bit much, especially if you enter several stories...

Nancy

Nez, I decided not to enter Fish anymore as I think they are not only too pricey but insist you collect your prize in person which is so costly it wipes out most of the gain even if you come first, so, yes, it's a matter of preference. With Cinnamon - you do get an anthology thrown in with the story/poetry fee which is no bad thing as it helps to read what they choose to get a feel for comps.

If the fees are too high maybe it's better to try for some of your preferred mags instead. Though they too despair of people who submit without ever having subscribed to them. Lots of editors express frustration that people aren't willing to buy or read what they put out but want their own name in print. I think for small mags that's a fair comment, so you do end up paying out a lot. My take on this is that it's part of the learning process rather than earning. Most people pay out a bit to do what they love - sports gear or painting equipment. Our costs are pretty low. If you think of submission fees as one of the few essential outlays of writing, it doesn't seem so bad.

Personally, I don't mind paying around £5 to enter, but £15-£20 is too steep for my pocket.
I guess it's ok if it's part of a membership fee, like SCBWI's childrens fiction comp which is free to members, but, even so, it would have to be worth the fee in the first place, and not just to enter their comp.

My take on this is that it's part of the learning process rather than earning. Most people pay out a bit to do what they love - sports gear or painting equipment. Our costs are pretty low. If you think of submission fees as one of the few essential outlays of writing, it doesn't seem so bad.

I think this has to be the way to see it: paying for the need to be read. After all, publishers spend thousands and thousands on getting their books into competitions, and sometimes more at different stages of shortlist, longlist etc. They regard it as part of the marketing budget.

Emma

Thanks for your answers.

Yes, seen like that, it doesn't seem too bad. I really take my writing seriously and would like to consider it as a possible alternative / parallel career one day; didn't I spend thousands on Uni fees, books and conferences in order to get properly trained for my first career?

I suppose competitions are always a tough choice because it's not really an investment: if you don't win, you get nothing out of it (apart from the incentive to write good stories, but I'd rather not have to pay for that).

There's almost an element of gambling involved...

Also, I guess some stories seem perfect for competitions, whereas others feel like they are more suited to certain types of magazines.

My problem, so far, is that I keep writing 'nice' stories that I'm 'quite pleased' with, but I can't imagine them winning anything at all, so all the fees feel like a complete waste. Definitely gambling! (yes, yes, I know what you're going to say: write better stories. I'm trying!)

Nancy

The thing is with stories there are multiple possibilities.

If you don't win the competition then you can always send the story out again - so long as you don't write a story that is so specific that you can't place it elsewhere. I think the trick is to see submissions as an ongoing process and, as Cherys says, have several in circulation at once.

I don't think you have to or should pay to be read - obvious exceptions are where you commission an editorial report or submit to a reputable competition that has a fee.

Personally I am wary of any competition or submission that compromises your future rights to the story - fair enough for the competition to acquire rights if you win but not - IMHO - rights to use elements of any of the stories that are entered for promotional or other purposes.

If you do go with 4) then don't post it until you've finished submitting it to competitions, because it'll be deemed to be published - and disqualified - if the judges find it on the internet.

But if you delete that post from the internet site, then you're OK, yes?