To Be a First Reader is to Be Picky

Submissions time is back. The two magazines I read for, FIYAH! and Podcastle, will both be accepting stories, so I'll be busy reading for the next month or two.

I too am a writer. I've also sent in short stories more often than I can count. My work has been turned down more often than not.

When I was younger, less experienced, and still recovering from bad influences, it was a lot easier to feel rejections of my work as a rejection of me. I believed in my work enough to send it for publication, so why didn't this press like it?

I still feel the sting of rejection from time to time, but much less often now that I'm a reader. For example, a publication's submission page will explain what genre and word count they're looking for, whether they're a limited demographic publisher, what story elements they won't accept, etc. Despite such explanations, I'll occasionally receive work that's too long, too short, nonfiction, or otherwise ignores the guidelines. The submission may be a masterpiece, but if it doesn't suit the publication, it won't get accepted.

There may also be less obvious reasons your story wasn't accepted. Perhaps your story was the sixth Cinderella remake out of twelve we got this reading period. Accepting too many stories of the same flavor will make the publication unbalanced. Or maybe the budget is slim at the moment, impacting how many authors we can take on. Other times, story selection boils down to preference, like a slice of life story assigned to someone who adores explosions and battles.

It's not personal. Turning down a work is not me being mean to the author.

However, there are ways you're more likely to get selected.

As always, know where you're submitting. This means reading the submission guidelines, and making sure your work is compatible. It also helps to read stories from the publication to get a feel for the stories the editors prefer.

It also helps to reread your story, edit as needed, and get outside perspectives on your work. Make sure your story is comprehensible and maintains its internal logic.

Most importantly, don't self reject! An unsubmitted piece will never get accepted. Don't be afraid to put yourself yourself out there. You got this.

Reading periods get intense