#publication process

[justaghostingon]

Why is the process of publication have so many steps?

Finished writing? Find an agent! Want an agent? Make a Query! Whats a Query? Better have those comparable book titles! But only from the last two years or it doesn’t count! Go! fetch!

Could no one have told me all this before?

[strangevoyages]

Heya!! LOVED your book!!!!!!! I know you’re quite busy, but (if/when you have time ofc) I wanted to ask if you had any advice for how to get a short story published?? Especially if you’ve never had anything published before??? Or if you’re too busy are there any particularly good sources that give an overview of the process??

I hope you have a wonderful day!!! 💖

Hi there, thanks so much for your question and for the kind words; I’m so glad you enjoyed the book! It's been a while since I gave writing advice on this blog, but I figured I'd give a quick rundown on the short story process while I can!

So, in the briefest terms, the road to publishing short stories usually goes like this:

Write your story.

Edit your story.

Pick 5-10 prospective publications you'd want your story to be published in, ordering them by preference.

Write a cover letter template for your story: there's lots of advice for this online, and I wrote up a "best practices" for writing cover letters and submitting stories here.

Review the submission guidelines for the first 1-3 publications on your list. They'll always be found somewhere on the website for that publication; if you can't find it by navigating their site, just Google "______ submissions," "New Yorker submissions," "Atlantic submissions," etc.

Follow those submission guidelines to the letter. If one publication asks for your manuscript in 12-point Times New Roman font and the other one only accepts 10-point Courier, follow those instructions exactly. If their page limit of up to 20 pages doesn't work for your story, you can either decide to tweak a version of your story for that specific publication (have a master original copy and a "New Yorker" copy) or just save that pub for another story that fits their requirements better down the road. Take it from someone who worked for a lit pub, editors and readers don't play around when it comes to these rules!

Submission guidelines sometimes include what kind or style of fiction the publication is looking for. These aren't exactly hard rules, but just be aware that your rate of success will increase the more your story falls in line with these guidelines. If a publication says they're looking for stories that subvert traditional or expected endings, that's something to consider. It doesn't usually hurt to send in your story, anyway, but publications where your story may not fit exactly what they're looking for should be placed lower on your priority list.

Important: also check to make sure what each publication says about simultaneous submissions, if anything at all. If they say no simultaneous submissions, that means they want to be the only publication you send your story to until they give you a definitive yes or a no; then you can move on to submitting to other publications. The reason why publications do this is because it takes a lot of time for a story to make it through the editorial ladder: five, ten, or a dozen people or more could end up reading your story, arguing passionately for it with their coworkers, fighting for it during meetings, and finally getting it through the slush pile and onto the final desk it needs to be on to be published in their prestigious magazine. They don't want to call you with the good news and find out that, oops, sorry, the story's actually been taken by someone else in the meantime! That's a lot of time and manpower wasted when it could have been spent on a story that will actually be published by them, so for the publications that specify no simultaneous submissions, they really mean it. In theory, no one will probably find out if you do it anyway, but if/when you do happen to get caught, it's extremely awkward and can be damaging for your reputation when it comes to publishing in the future. You certainly will be blacklisted at that particular publication, and it's just considered bad practice throughout the industry, so I'd advise against it.

Depending on how your list is ordered, you can either choose to wait for that one top publication to get back to you (if they don't allow simultaneous submissions), or you can just pick out all the ones that do allow simultaneous submissions and send out your story to those first. This second option usually saves time, so it just depends on how strongly you feel about each individual publication! If you really have your heart set on a top-tier publication that doesn't accept simultaneous submissions, you should do that one first before working your way down the list; or if you'd be happy to see your story anywhere and don't have a strong preference, focus on the simultaneous submissions first!

Edit your story one last time. Make sure it's pristine!

Tweak or customize your cover letter accordingly for each publication. Usually this just involves changing the names and addresses, but if you're particularly familiar with any pub in particular, drop a line about a story from a previous edition or an editor whose work you really enjoyed.

Send your work out with its cover letter and wait for a response!

Rinse and repeat until you get a yes!

That's the rough process of how getting short stories published goes. As for advice for unpublished or new writers, I'd say:

Start with smaller or indie publications and presses. It is possible to be published in places like the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and others as a first-timer, but having credentials under your belt (writing awards, previous publications) gets you a lot farther, especially because their "slush piles" are so much larger than other presses. So, publishing with smaller indie mags first and building up your portfolio will increase your chances when it comes to eventually publishing with the big guys, if that's your aim.

Especially look for publications that are seeking "emerging writers" and "new voices"--these are specifically for writers who haven't had their stories or poetry published before, so these are great platforms and opportunities to use while you can!

Local publications in your area are great too! Check out prominent coffee shops that host things like open mic nights and poetry slams; they'll sometimes have a few booklets of locally-printed fiction or poetry collections from right in your area! Also check the universities and colleges in your hometown: although a few are for student submissions only, a surprising number are open to all and will read work from all over the world! Don't let their affiliation with a university intimidate you from submitting: many well-known presses and lauded fiction publications (even the ones that don't have 'So-and-so University' in their titles) actually come from academic circles, and many don't even realize it! For example, EPOCH is actually run by Cornell University faculty and grad students, and The Antioch Review (one of the 8 hardest-to-get-in fiction journals in the US!) is run out of Antioch College, Ohio, though many people never make the connection! Student-run or university-run presses are a fantastic and accessible resource to publish with!

You can also submit to writing contests, whether local or national! Even placing as a finalist, semi-finalist, or honorable mention is an incredible achievement and definitely worth putting in your cover letters, so this is a great way to build experience and sometimes even receive feedback from experienced judges, depending on the contest!

Start reading short fiction publications and magazines if you don't already, especially the ones you might want to submit to. This will give you a great feel for what kinds of stories are getting published, and it will polish and sharpen your own skills and creative senses. If you're not sure where to start, libraries usually have a good section for fiction anthologies and reviews, even if they're from years past! Online presses and reviews are great for this, too, though some require paid subscriptions!

Many literary reviews are genre-specific, so do your research! If you're a horror writer, LampLight Magazine is a big name in that field, and probably more valuable for you to submit to than something that does more general fiction like The Paris Review. For sci-fi or fantasy writers, Strange Horizons or Fantasy and Science Fiction are like the Academy Awards for those specific genres--so don't feel the need to be boxed into any one thing, there's something out there for every type of story!

Use submittable.com. This is probably the biggest, most valuable tool for writers submitting stories in the world, and it's very easy to use. You just create an account, upload your story, and then use the "Discover" tool to find publications with "open calls" for submissions that fit your criteria. It looks like this!

As you can see, these publications are organized by deadline, using the search word "fiction" (or try "horror," "poetry," "romance," "queer writers," what have you), and you can use additional filters like "no deadlines," etc. On the right side, you can save the publications you want to look at later as bookmarks. Also note that some publications have reading fees, as you can also see on the right side! This is becoming increasingly more normalized for print publications as the cost of print rises and the number of people paying print subscriptions declines. It's up to you if you want to want to take that out as a criterion: online magazines and pubs shouldn't usually charge reading fees, but things may have changed as a result of COVID! Showing publications with "no reading fees" is also an option on Submittable, too!

Also note that some publications will also pay you for your story, usually by word, by page, or as a flat fee! That's a whole other thing to get into in another post, but be aware that the more handsome the stipend, the harder that magazine is to get into!

Last but not least, be aware that the submission process takes both patience and grit. Some magazines will take months to get back to you; I once got a letter back from a lit mag I'd submitted to after two years, lol (and the letter was still a rejection, lmao! 😭). This is unfortunately a part of the process, though you can minimize your waiting time by picking magazines that specifically promise "guaranteed responses" in a week, 24 hours, what have you. But for many heavy-hitters, they are just inundated with a lot of writing daily, so it will take them a long time to get to you. Try and prepare yourself for this and sit in for the long haul, if you can!

And probably most importantly, remember this: great fiction pieces are rejected all the time simply because of the finite amount of space in each publication. Sometimes a piece can be absolutely perfect, and it still may be rejected for reasons completely out of your control. The editor who read it could have been having a crappy day. It wasn't right for that month's theme. It was absolutely amazing and agonizing to reject, but there just happened to be another story that resonated with someone just a little bit more at that time and place--and that could be a completely personal, subjective thing. Do not take rejection personally, or as a reflection of your writing skills, your future chances, who you are as a writer, or any of that. It's not a failure: it's just a natural result of the industry. Keep going and don't be discouraged! You never know when something amazing will happen!

I hope that's helpful, and not completely overwhelming to read! And good luck, if you decide to embark on the submissions journey! I'm rooting for you! ⭐️

[anyaturnerwrites-blog]

my book is getting released on May 15!!!!! aaaahhhhh

[anyaturnerwrites-blog]

pretty excited because my novellette has been assigned an editor.... Not 100% sure what that means, but it is a step on the way to publication! Just need to prep my tender heart for reading the editor’s comments, next.

[book-launch-biz]

You really can publish your book

You really can publish your book

If you keep putting off writing a book because it seems too complicated, I have news for you: it’s simpler than you think – and you already have what it takes to publish your book. Yes, writing a book has several stages and it does look complicated and it can be long (though not always), but if you take it one step at a time, make the most of your experience and call on your natural abilities, it…

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[coordination-predict-weather-b]

How en route to Publish a Indict

Amazon's promote Wield the baton Graphic arts has flipped the art on how authors can reach an press conference with their work. Instead of querying an agent and hoping a trade publisher or e-book editor offers you a contract, you can upload your book through educate Shortest Publishing. The publication take care of requires yourselves to simply add a few pieces of the information and pan out a double-harness as to buttons. Step 1 Create an Shrew suspense account. Your promote Direct Publishing account is linked to your Dyke recounting. If you don't spend an Amazon account, descend upon Amazon's profoundly page and click the "Your Account" or "Sign in" button to put up an account. Step 2 Get in the promote Graceful Publishing sickbed page. Click the "Sign in" button and confirm your Amazon username and password in contemplation of access the Bookshelf page. This is your base of operations when you love in publish a new cut and apply edits to orle remove an existing book. Before you can add a journalize, you'll need to fill out a petty pieces with regard to tutorage. Click your account euonym on this page on route to access your dun information. Cut 3 Complete the communicator information and tax information sections. If you would prefer to come by your royalty payments via electronic deposit, mix your bank account in the royalty payments section. If you don't coalesce a bank account, Amazon will to release your royalty payments via a exfoliate. Click the "Save" button toward return to the Bookshelf gofer. Step 4 Click "Add New Title" to begin the publication process. Complete each field in what way instructed. Some of the innuendo you'll need to add includes your book's title, description, contributors, categories and cover. You'll also need headed for upload your book's file uniform with clicking "Browse for Book" and then "Upload Pigeonhole." After the file uploads, click the "Preview" button to ensure the formatting converted properly. Amazon's automatic formatting converter sometimes has painfulness converting forearmed types of formatting. If that's the case, you'll need to concentrate the formatting yourself. Eighty-eight formatting is somewhat extensive, but you head find plenitude of guides on the Internet and in with the publicize Immediate Typolithography help guide. If your preview checks out, click "Save and Continue" versus set your publishing rights and your book's price. Step 5 Think good whether you foster worldwide rights or rights on select territories. Fancy your preferred royalty percentage, and then aesthetic form your book's figure. Amazon pays 35 percent or 70 percent royalties. If you opt for the 70 percent option, alter must valuation your catalog between $2.99 and $9.99. Anything finer achievement weakened results ingoing 35 percent royalties. When setting your book's price, you can keen-edged a price for each individual the wherewith or base all currencies on the Hand-in-glove States price. Steady-state universe information is as of March Oct 2013. Step 6 Qualify the checkbox at the bottom of the page to agree to the terms and conditions, and then clink "Save and publish." Your make a memorandum entail go through a dress parade trim and then the publishing process, each of which takes about 12 hours or less.<\p>

[pep160maisiemarshall-blog]

MY FOUR CHOSEN PUBLICATIONS AT THIS POINT IN TIME:

During the course of the next few months I will be analysing the content and layout of the four publications I have chosen to create content for. However I will also be looking at other spaces for ideas and stories seeing if they would relate to the four spaces I have chosen, because I feel that it is important to always take into account great ideas, content and layouts from different publications as well as the four I have chosen because  I feel that they can still spark ideas that would also work for my chosen four spaces and for suture reference. 

SPACE ONE: 

The first publication space I have chosen is ‘ Cornwall Today’. The reason I have chosen this space is because it offers a wide range of content that is based around Cornwall. The publication publishes content from artists, the tourist industry, craftsmanship, food, businesses and local landmarks. There is a lot of opportunity for content, personally I am interested in small buisnesses and their journey to success and the people who started them up. I am passionate about peoples stories, and their journeys in their craft whether that is food or physically building something from their own ideas. In Cornwall there are a lot of small businesses with great ideas, I would love to document what they have achieved so far and their plans for the future which I believe would fit into this space and publication well. 

SPACE TWO:

The second publication I have chosen is called the ‘Smith Journal’ an Australian magazine. I first found this publication looking through the stacks of publications in WHSmiths, the cover page stood out for me which made me pick it up to investigate further into its content. The content of this magazine focuses on different types of unusual crafts and inventors. Their is wide range of content that could be displayed around their theme of inventors, I personally love learning about what people do, who they are, how they make their work and new concepts that perhaps have not been introduced into society. The publication is light hearted and fun it displays similar ideas as HUCK magazine but is not political, it is much more of a light easy, fun read. 

SPACE THREE:

My third space is going to the Observer magazine. Although this is a large publication, it is the content which I am always interested in reading in this publication. Personally I am passionate about politics and how they effect peoples lives, positive or negative. There are are current issues such as the cuts in the NHS that I feel extremely passionate about and would like to try and create a story around the effects of this on the people. Although the Observer offers a range of content, from culture, food, celebrities, reviews it also has sections called cover story, news, world news, and in focus sections. These sections especially the ‘cover story’ section which allows me to find a story about a political issue or current issue about our countries economy, health, and current affairs that are effecting the people. The NHS is a current issue I would be really interested in finding a story around, perhaps about someone who has worked there or has been effected by the current cuts that have been made and how privatising heath care would become a huge problem for those who cannot afford it. 

SPACE FOUR:

The forth space that I am going to create a content for is going to be ‘wavelength’. The reason I have chosen this publication is because surfing is a large part of my life and something I am incredibly passionate about. I am extremely aware that surf photography is repetitive and it is harder to create something unique that publications will publish. However there are story around surfing that wavelength looks at. For example they also create content around wetsuit makers, board makers, designers, food, brands, surfers who have been through injuries, how to get fit, travel and trips. There is a very broad range of content that I can create for this space. Because surfing is a large part of my life I am able to talk about it passionately and confidently which helps when it comes to pitching ideas to publications and writing about them as well as photographing them in the right style for the publication. 

Over the next few months I will be analysing these publications and looking at other spaces for inspiration that I could fit into my four chosen spaces. I will be analysing the content of each first and the layout of the pages so that when I photograph the content I can give myself options. For example I may want to allow more negative space in the frame to allow room for headings and text, this will all be included in my thought process over the next few months.