How to Know When to Submit a Short Story to a High Paying Market

Knowing is your power. You can know that a fiction story is great, maybe terrible, maybe some place in between. But submitting can do things to you. Submitting a short story can bring out all the doubts you have had as a writer. “I can’t do it,” you say, and refuse to submit the short story to the dream market. Sure, you won’t make millions writing short stories—that isn’t the point. You are a storyteller; that is your power. Let this piece guide you towards submitting a short story successfully.

Things You'll Need

• A short story
• <br>An ability to submit his story either online or by mail
• <br>Good critiques of your story

Instructions

1. Start at square one. First, you obviously have to write the story. You may not want to write for publication; you may just desire to get this story out there, to see exactly what kind of talent you have. So square one would be knowing you have to write the story first to have any chance.

2. Understand chance. Understand that most magazines are actively looking for good writers. Sure, few publish fiction anymore, but rarely do you need an agent for a short story. Again, you won’t make millions, but there is always a need for good storytellers.

3. Understand story. Know your story like the back of your hand. For you, this is a chance at achieving something big. All the rest of these steps go towards writing and submitting. But knowing your story is the most important part. Read it so many times it gives you a headache. Take a break, let it go for a week, and return. That is the best strategy.

4. Write for publication. Writing for publication means understanding where to cross your Ts and when to dot your Is. Treat it as a business after you write. Who would want a bunch of typos to appear in a magazine? You will know your story is fit for publication when you get that feeling that it would look good in the opening pages of a magazine.

5. Consider the market. Look to the top markets first, knowing that your chances, though slim, are still chances. Know the market as well as you know your story. This doesn’t mean change your story to fit the market—more know if your completed short story fits the market.

6. Have a submission day. It can be a tough process to know exactly when to submit a story. You may submit one in January and the next in May. However, if you tend to write a lot of short stories, once a month, or every two weeks, consider a few of your choices for submissions. Take a Friday to double-check, print, and put them in the mail. Knowing when to submit is more about escaping doubts than anything else.

7. Be patient. When you know the story is ready to go, be patient with yourself. You don’t have to use a submission day every week. Let the stories form. Knowing when to submit is a tough thing, so be patient with yourself as you will be patient with the editors of the publication. A high paying market, for example "The Sun" or "The New Yorker," will often take months to get back to you. So patience needs to be learned.

Tips & Warnings

• Certain markets have dates for publication. For example, they will only accept submissions from January to May. Make sure you look for things like this.

• <br>Knowing your short story is good is one thing, but having someone else tell it is will speak volumes.

• <br>A high paying market means more pay, but also more competition. Sometimes starting out with small publications can lead you to more success with the big ones.

• Many friendly writers might tell you the story is good even when it isn’t, so use writing groups, online or in person, to get the real critiques of your short story.