Month: May 2016

Categories
Craft

Playing the Submission Game

As of this writing, I’ve submitted Ghost of a Friend to three markets and received three rejections, each one quicker than the last.

After I received a rejection from Fireside, I looked for other places to submit, prioritizing markets that paid a pro rate (more than 5 cents a word) and had a quick average response time.

I definitely don’t want to submit somewhere that would keep it for months without responding. I also refuse to do any submissions by mail. The idea of mailing out a story feels like abandoning it to the mercies of a black hole.

Continue reading “Playing the Submission Game”
Categories
Craft

April by the Numbers

April was a good month for writing. I finally managed to buckle down and finish a third draft of Ghost of a Friend, and I did it with enough time left to submit to Fireside during their open period. I worked on the newest draft in small chunks throughout April, writing 100 or 200 words here and there until I finished it in a rush of more than 1200 words at the end of the month.

I’ve wanted to submit to Fireside ever since the magazine first launched a few years ago, so I’m glad the timing worked out. My submission was one of 2,393 stories they received during the month of April, so the probability of my story getting accepted is pretty low (Duotrope says they currently have a .51% acceptance rate!), but at least I made the effort.

If my story is rejected, my plan is to submit it to all of the pro-level markets on Duotrope one by one starting with the quickest to respond. I’ve resolved to keep submitting Ghost of a Friend until it finds a home.

Continue reading “April by the Numbers”