Author Topic: Short stories, anyone?  (Read 1660 times)

Joe Vasicek

Short stories, anyone?
« on: November 05, 2018, 03:01:30 PM »
Who here still writes short stories and submits them to the traditional markets? Have you found any success?

Any tips on blending a traditional short story career with an indie writing career?

What have you found helps to keep you on top of your short game?
 

CoraBuhlert

Re: Short stories, anyone?
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2018, 09:59:34 PM »
I write a lot of shorts and occasionally submit them to magazines, anthologies, etc..., though many also go straight to indie, because they're part of an established series or world or because I have a couple of stories with a similar theme, so I bundle them in a collection. Poems still go to on submission, because there is no real indie market for them. My hit rate isn't too great, but then my work doesn't fit all that well into the current SFF short fiction market, which is part of the reason I went indie in the first place. And other genres barely have a short fiction market at all.

Otherwise, the same rules as always apply. Read the submission guidelines and follow them and read the magazine itself, whenever possible, which is easier now that many/most are online. If can get to know the editors personally, either online or at conventions, it probably also helps. Though if you only interact with them hoping to sell a story, they'll notice.

Blog | Pegasus Pulp | Newsletter | Author Central | Twitter | Instagram
Genres: All of them, but mostly science fiction and mystery/crime
 

Mark Gardner

Re: Short stories, anyone?
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2018, 12:34:48 AM »
I also write and submit short stories to magazines and anthologies. It’s a solid way to get trad cred. You write and submit every month, and after a year to 18 months, you compile the ones not accepted into a collection and self pub.
 
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Vijaya

Re: Short stories, anyone?
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2018, 03:47:23 AM »
I still write and submit short stories. And I'm thinking I should be doing more of it because it's a good way to promote my other work, esp. if I'm given a line or two.


Author of over 100 books and magazine pieces, primarily for children
Vijaya Bodach | Personal Blog | Bodach Books
 

Joe Vasicek

Re: Short stories, anyone?
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2018, 07:37:41 AM »
I also write and submit short stories to magazines and anthologies. It’s a solid way to get trad cred. You write and submit every month, and after a year to 18 months, you compile the ones not accepted into a collection and self pub.

That's basically what I've been doing, except that I tend to write short stories in bursts, not at a steady rate. Also, in the past I've self-published as soon as I've exhausted the pro markets (5 cents per word and up). Now, I think I should keep my stories on the market longer and write them at a more consistent pace.