How to Find Science Fiction Markets

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The "Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market Guide," published by Writer’s Digest Books, is a great place to begin your search for science fiction markets for your short story or novel. Unfortunately, by the time the guide is published, many markets are no longer accepting submissions or have gone out of business. By using the Internet, it’s possible to find the current needs of the marketplace and find new markets--both online and print.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

"Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market Guide"

Step1

Highlight the markets in the guide that publish the type of story you have written. If they have a website listed, highlight that in a different color.

Step2

Go online and visit each website you have highlighted. Look for submission guidelines and print (or save to your computer) those pages.

Step3

Type "science fiction publishers" into a search engine and view the results. Visit the sites that seem to publish what you write and look at (and save) their guidelines.

Step4

Visit Ralan's Webstravaganza and Duotrope's Digest for more markets in the science fiction and speculative fiction marketplace (see Resources below). Both of the websites are updated often with current information.

Step5

Make a list of the markets available for your work. Begin submitting to the highest-paying market first and work your way down the list if your story is rejected.

Tips & Warnings

Visit various writing discussion boards for new leads and warnings about some publishers. Not all publishers follow through on their promises.
Remember that if you get rejected, it is your story and not you that isn’t wanted. Develop a thick skin when it comes to rejection and just send the story to the next publisher on your list.
Some sites, like SpecFicWorld, charge an annual fee to access their databases. These sites are generally the most up-to-date and can be worth the price if you are attempting to market many stories.
You should never have to pay, either a fee or a subscription price, to have your story published. If the writing and the story are good, it will find a publisher who will pay you for the story.

Who Can Help:

Resources

Comments

MidniteWriter said

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on 1/28/2008 I like the tip about the entry fee. I can get rejected for free, so why not go that route, lol :). But seriously, it is good advice. There are a lot of sharks out there that promise you the world and just take your money.

Good resources, great article, thanks!