{"id":2657,"date":"2016-08-25T14:58:59","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T14:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=2657"},"modified":"2017-05-18T16:18:35","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T16:18:35","slug":"so-you-want-to-submit-a-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/","title":{"rendered":"So You Want to Submit a Story?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m going to astonish everyone today by posting a few serious notes on how <strong>not<\/strong> to submit a story to a magazine or anthology. There will be a distinctly low level of the usual sarcasm, irony or outright lies. Nor will I suggest that anyone should give up hope and consider a career in plastering. Besides, high quality plastering is quite difficult.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2660\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2660\" style=\"width: 427px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2660\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2660\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/writer-605764_960_720\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C583&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,583\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"writer-605764_960_720\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;always remind yourself of what you are doing, in case you get distracted&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?fit=300%2C182&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?fit=474%2C288&amp;ssl=1\" class=\" wp-image-2660\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?resize=427%2C259\" alt=\"always remind yourself of what you are doing, in case you get distracted\" width=\"427\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?resize=300%2C182&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?resize=768%2C466&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-605764_960_720.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2660\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">always remind yourself of what you are doing, in case you get distracted<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Do I have any justification for my comments? The answer is a resounding Possibly. I sell the majority of my own story submissions (a statement which will inevitably result in a string of dismissive outright rejections) \u2013 and then there&#8217;s the process of long-listing for a magazine, which has highlighted a lot of simple problems that others face. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sam Gafford<\/strong> and I, with two or three experienced readers backing us, are currently long-listing for <em>Occult Detective Quarterly<\/em>. I come from a professional background in medical\/social research, and I&#8217;m used to technical submissions, report-writing, journals and that sort of thing. I also edit anthologies. But selecting and editing such large amounts of pure fiction as a magazine receives has been a different experience (though I also have a background in specialist society magazines and fanzines, so have had some exposure).<\/p>\n<p>What I offer today is meant to be helpful. No-one gets it right the first time. And this piece isn&#8217;t aimed at the old experienced hacks who drink a bottle of bourbon, write a story and despatch it the same evening \u2013 unless they post the bourbon bottle by accident. But you <strong>might<\/strong> want to think about the following points if you&#8217;re just getting into the Dreadful Game and have other submission calls coming up. Most things can be learned \u2013 if you&#8217;re willing to learn, and don&#8217;t merely set your teeth stubbornly on the principle that others don&#8217;t understand you. Which they don&#8217;t, of course&#8230;<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">1) The Covering Letter<\/h1>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2661\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2661\" style=\"width: 413px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2661\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2661\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/writer-1421099_960_720\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C642&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,642\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D200&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"writer-1421099_960_720\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&#8216;dear editor, my friends say i am a genius, so here is my tale&#8230;&#8217;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?fit=300%2C201&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?fit=474%2C317&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-2661\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?resize=413%2C277\" alt=\"'dear editor, my friends say i am a genius, so here is my tale...'\" width=\"413\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?resize=300%2C201&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?resize=768%2C514&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/writer-1421099_960_720.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2661\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8216;dear editor, my friends say i am a genius, so here is an explanation of why you will love my submission&#8230;&#8217;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Succinct and professional. That&#8217;s what most editors want, unless they&#8217;ve expressly asked for something else. The following are <strong>NOT<\/strong> terribly appropriate, even if they seemed like a good idea at the time:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Detailed listings of all the publications in which you&#8217;ve appeared for the last five years, and all the awards, minor or otherwise, that you&#8217;ve garnered. A letter where the editors have lost the will to live before they even get to your submission is a <strong>Bad Idea<\/strong>. Keep your publication history, if you are going to include it, down to a single line or two giving the highlights or general feel of what you&#8217;ve done in the past &#8211; if it&#8217;s relevant.<\/li>\n<li>E-mail cover letters that are peppered with inserted signatures, blurbs, images and tag-lines proclaiming your experience or talent. They risk being annoying as the editors try to find the actual cover text, and they distract from your story. A single tag-line is better. Or nothing.<\/li>\n<li>Jocular cover letters that try to draw the editors in. They almost always come over as naff, rather than the friendly, trying-to-establish-a-relationship thing that you intended. Only do this if you are well-acquainted with the editors, and even then, probably Don&#8217;t Do It. Not in the first covering letter.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t sound desperate or doubtful about your work. I have on one or two occasions fired off a letter which said that my submission might not be up their alley, but I have never questioned the quality of what I sent. That&#8217;s up to others to decide if you&#8217;re expecting them to pay money for your story. If you express self-doubt straight away, you&#8217;re not inspiring confidence.<\/li>\n<li>On the same theme, don&#8217;t write anything which points out how good your story is, or how much the editors will value it. The knee-jerk reaction is to bin it, on the grounds that it&#8217;s the editors&#8217; job to find out if your story works for them.<\/li>\n<li>Multiple hyperlinks or attachments which risk confusing the editors as to where the actually submission is &#8211; not useful. Ideally there should be no links except perhaps one to your author website\/blog, which is usually OK to include (if you have such a thing),\u00a0 and one attachment &#8211; your story.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">2) The Submission<\/h1>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2662\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2662\" style=\"width: 271px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2662\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2662\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg?fit=433%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"433,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;oscar, wondering if he sent the right story off&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg?fit=180%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg?fit=433%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" class=\" wp-image-2662\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg?resize=271%2C452\" alt=\"oscar, wondering if he sent the right story off\" width=\"271\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg?resize=180%2C300&amp;ssl=1 180w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/oscar-wilde-1165561_960_720.jpg?w=433&amp;ssl=1 433w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 271px) 100vw, 271px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2662\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">oscar, wondering if he sent the right story off<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are so many ways to go wrong here. Some points need highlighting.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The editors&#8217; preference on document type means something. If they say they want a particular type of attachment &#8211; .doc, .docx, .rtf and so on \u2013 that&#8217;s what they want. Don&#8217;t<strong> ever<\/strong> send your story in another format \u2013 it may be thrown away unread.<\/li>\n<li>Stated story length, as in a range (e.g. 2500 to 4000 words) means what it says. Some editors will take queries, and may even say \u201cAsk if outside this range\u201d, but never randomly fire off a submission with the wrong word count without checking first. This may also mean &#8216;straight in the bin&#8217;.<\/li>\n<li>Weird or &#8216;stylish&#8217; fonts \u2013 Don&#8217;t. A simple, readable serif or sans-serif font, preferably from the pool of commonly used fonts, is what the editors will want. Serif usually works best for continuous flow at this stage. Downloading font-packs or peering at artistic squiggles are not high on the editors&#8217; list.<\/li>\n<li>Over-formatting the text to produce effects isn&#8217;t always helpful at the reading stage. Strange blocks of words and unusual indents don&#8217;t make reading any easier \u2013 unless you have a Very Good Reason for having them.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t make simultaneous submissions, unless the guidelines specifically say this is allowed. I love the theory of simultaneous submissions as a writer, because it speeds things up. I dislike it as an editor, because there are so many stories to be read. For the editors, a story that they read, consider seriously and is then withdrawn is a wasted time-slot in an exacting process.<\/li>\n<li>If there is a specific theme for the magazine or anthology, <strong>read the theme notes three times<\/strong>. Even write them out on a piece of paper, until you have them embedded in your subconscious. Then take that story you already have which might sort of fit, if the editors don&#8217;t notice, and have a quiet chat with yourself. Is this actually what the editors asked for? Or is this you trying to shift a tale you already had that was meant for a quite different theme? You might get away with it, but often such tales stick out like sore thumbs with the hands and arms still attached.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>And by the way, don&#8217;t query excitedly about your submission a few days after a deadline. Most publications will suggest an appropriate point at which to ask. That may be after a month, or after three months. All that early queries do is add to the editors&#8217; workload and slow the whole decision-making process down.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2663\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2663\" style=\"width: 380px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2663\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2663\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/girl-993544_960_720\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,640\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"girl-993544_960_720\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&#8216;you will be surprised to find that my hero is an elf-princess&#8230;&#8217;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?fit=474%2C316&amp;ssl=1\" class=\" wp-image-2663\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?resize=380%2C253\" alt=\"'you will be surprised to find that my hero is an elf-princess...'\" width=\"380\" height=\"253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/girl-993544_960_720.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2663\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8216;you will be surprised to find that my hero is an elf-princess&#8230;&#8217;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You can disagree violently with the above. You can ignore it all if you want. There will always be one writer who sent a joky letter with a quickly rewritten story that was the wrong length, and still had the editors captivated. There will rarely be two.<\/p>\n<p>And if you want a more robust and peculiar guide to writing, then go to our usual style of post, our occasional series <em>How to be a Best-selling Author (as in July&#8217;s\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=2469\">how to be a best-selling author part two<\/a>)<\/em>. But don&#8217;t take those too seriously, for goodness sake.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><strong>Back in a couple of days with a super interview with <span style=\"color: #800000;\">Jeffrey Shanks<\/span> of the new Skelos Magazine, and then more folk-lore, longdogs and weird fiction features. The pain, the pain it never ends, aieee&#8230;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m going to astonish everyone today by posting a few serious notes on how not to submit a story to a magazine or anthology. There will be a distinctly low level of the usual sarcasm, irony or outright lies. Nor will I suggest that anyone should give up hope and consider a career in plastering. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">So You Want to Submit a Story?<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":2,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>So You Want to Submit a Story? - greydogtales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/so-you-want-to-submit-a-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"So You Want to Submit a Story? - greydogtales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I&#8217;m going to astonish everyone today by posting a few serious notes on how not to submit a story to a magazine or anthology. There will be a distinctly low level of the usual sarcasm, irony or outright lies. 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