How to Get a Short Story Published
Writing a short story is a great way to get your foot in the door of the writing industry; you can experiment with different narrative styles and play with characters, situations and tone. A short story can be as short as a paragraph or as long as 50 pages, so you have tons of freedom.
While assistant editors and interns at literary magazines are regularly drowned in mailbags full of submissions that are commonly referred to as a "slushpile," getting your short story published is easier than you might think.
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Instructions
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Make Sure the Story is Publishable
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Check spelling, punctuation and grammar meticulously. Having typos and mistakes is the easiest way to get your story thrown in the recycling bin. The only exception is if you want to get crazy and creative, such as writing a first-person story from the perspective of someone who has incorrect grammar. The rule of thumb is, if you have a well-thought-out idea behind those spelling mistakes or that lack of punctuation, you're fine.
Make sure the story makes sense. A good test is to hand your story to a friend, roommate or family member. If the person asks you why the gorilla was in the bathtub and you thought you wrote a story about horseback riding in Montana, you may want to do a little revising. It's important that the reader can clearly follow everything that's going on.
Determine whether it is actually a short story. Admittedly, this is rather a mushy criterion. But you don't need a Ph.D. in comparative literature; just use your best judgment.
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Resources
- Photo Credit writing book image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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like the info.
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Im interested in haveing a co-author to the book im writing. Are you interested?
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read my book.
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good
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tundranut
Jan 05, 2010
Nice article on How to Get a Short Story Published. 5*
