Hello, I am just after a little advice.

If you have a short story scheduled for publication in a magazine, (with no payment offered,) but it is a short story you have already entered for a number of competitions this year, do you give the go-ahead for publication? Or do you say no and re-submit to the same magazine at a later date after you have heard back from the competitions?

Any advice/experiences would be most welcome.

Dan.

It all depends on the quality of the magazine, ie, whether it's a genuine "magazine" which is sold in shops or a fanzine/chapbook. I wouldn't let the latter put me off, but if its going to appear in a major, major magazine before the competition is judged, you might want to withdraw it from the competition. It depends which is more important to you. Bear in mind that most people enter competitions with the hope of being published (ie Fish Competition). Looks like you've already bagged that.

You could also argue that at the time of entering the competition, the story wasn't published. It might get tricky if you win the competition and insist they put an acknowledgement in , ie "first appeared in Radio Times Magazine".

Colin

Yeah, thanks Colin. It's a bit of a minefield really. The magazine seems to be pretty kosher to me, and it is a print mag, which leaves me a little more inclined to publish it. But I would hate to find out that I had done well in a competition, and then had to decline their offer of publication because it had already been published.

Tough one - thanks though.

Dan

Hi Dan
Your asking this question at all suggests to me that you don't actually rate this magazine that highly. Otherwise you'd be so pleased and delighted they'd taken your story that you wouldn't even be thinking about the competitions. You certainly wouldn't be dithering like this. So if the magazine, in your secret opinion, is shit (or let's say, not one you'd be proud to be published in), perhaps you should withdraw the story now, with no intention of resubmitting it to them at any time.

Frances

Interesting.

I hadn't thought of it like that. Perhaps you're right.

I am just chuffed that anybody is interested though, to be honest.

Dan

OK, think about who else is published in this magazine. Do you rate their work?

F

Thanks Frances, but I don't think that's quite it.

It's not that I don't want it published in the magazine - I really do - more that I don't want to jeopardise my chances in the competitions.

In many ways - I am asking...if the story has been published elsewhere - does that void it's cahnces in the comps.

Dan

<Added>

...void its chances in the comps?

Sorry.

It usually would, yes. Most competitions specify that the story be unpublished. On the bright side, you'll still be able to enter it for the National Short Story Prize - which you'll now qualify to enter! (You have to have been published in a print publication).

http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/prizes/nssp/index.html

£15,000 first prize and no entry fee - can't be bad.

F

Ah hell, seeing as we're advertising, any other stories you come up with can be entered into the BiscuitPublishing competition. First prize, £1000 plus a publishing contract.
Colin M

<Added>

er, when I say advertising, I don't have any affiliation with Biscuit Publishing - I just did the website.

You did the website, Colin? Wow! Are you going to enter?

F

Before I did the website I was going to. Entries are separated from personal info, so all entries are anonymous. I still might, but at the moment I'm working flat out on a redraft of The Worm Machine. If I can come up with something new between now and the closing date, then yeah, I'll probably give it a go. Mind you, I keep meaning to enter the Fish competition again and keep missing the deadline.