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Short stories - What is a good 'hit' rate?
I currently have eighteen short stories 'out there' mainly submissions to competitions. How would you measure success - i.e. if none of these are placed should I: a) give up
b) try Plan B (I would have to come up with Plan B)
c) try harder (I have been published here and there)
d) overdose on chocolate
Comments
If you're enjoying writing, then don't give up. If you're struggling to motivate yourself, take a break. You don't have to 'give up' permenantly, do you?
Maybe if those stories don't make it you could get them on Mutley's site and earn some dosh?
Why only think of a placing as a success? A long or shortlisting is also pretty good (as is the fact that you wrote and entered the stories in the first place!) And it does depend on the competitions too - a longlisting in the Bridport may be more prestigious and harder to achieve than a win in some of the smaller comps. Also, in ALL of these comps it can come down to the judge's personal taste - I've been placed in well-thought of comps with stories that have previously disappeared without trace in other comps.
So I would go for (f) - for each comp you've entered wait for the results to come out then, if the winners are published, read them, compare them with your own entries and see if you can see why they did better than you (if they did!!). Use this info to improve your next set of entries and keep going. If you really can't see why, then maybe next time enter a comp with the option of a critique to point you in the right direction. OR if you are confident that yours was as good and you think it was just taste, then keep sending them out till they find a judge with the same tastes as you.
But I always say this:
With another judge or editor you might get a different result- you just don't know whether your story will hit the winning/acceptance note, and if it doesn't, it won't be because you can't write well.
I've just blogged about entering a club competition, and setting one for later this year: http://carol-bevitt.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/trying-for-repeat-win.html
In 2009 I entered our writers' club annual drama competition and I won it, despite one of the other entrants who had won it a few times before and was much better and technically qualified than I, but the judge (an outside scriptwriter) picked mine.
And I agree completely with BB, if they are good enough I'm sure Mutley's short story download site will welcome them.
Use Duotrope to find somewhere for them.
There are LOTS of markets out there.
Stephen King, On Writing.
Submit to magazines and every story they like will be bought - it's not a race to be the top one, just meeting their requirements and catching their interest is enough. A good editor may also give you some comment, especially if it's a near miss. I know not everyone is able to adapt their style to a mag's guidelines, but if you really want to get published and paid, you have to!
Viv's been there and done that very-very-much-a-lot! And her advice is good - magazines are not 'a race' they are a market - if the editor likes your work, he/she will buy it.
Persistence is the key. The more you have out there, the more chance you have of acceptances. Keep writing, taking note of any criticism an editor gives you because, as Viv says, if you want to publish and be paid, you must give the editor what is wanted/needed.
Eighteen out is very good - twenty-eight is better (ask Phot'sMoll about her output, she scares me!) thirty-eight better still. Persistence pays.
Strike rate for competitions (personally) about five per cent (and that includes shortlistings)
Strike rate for magazine sales (personally) about fifty per cent. I suspect Viv is higher, but then she works harder than I do and has many more irons in her fires!
If I worked harder I could probably 'up' my rate
PS one of my short stories is coming out in My Weekly on 14th July and is a revamp of one first written for that weekly torture-session WriteInvite from about 3 years ago. My title was 'Family Snapshots' (you'll see why if you read it!) but they've changed that and called it 'Where's Jack?' I wish they'd leave my titles alone, they're part of the writing - but they're paying so I just have to accept what they do.
PERSISTENCE PAYS ... eventually. You've been successful in the past, you know you can do it and will succeed again.
Ditto
Ditto
Ad infinitum
Ceka - thank you for your thoughtful, wise and constructive comments. You are right. Persistence. I will persist. And, Therefore Succeed. Eventually...
There's also the question we're always asking each other. How long to wait before contacting an editor about submitted work. In the old days when you sent an SAE you'd get the script back if not suitable. But in these days of email submissions? You're reliant on the courtesy of the editor to send back an answer. And they're so swamped that it rarely happens. I tend to send a polite follow up email 3-4 weeks later forwarding the orginal with it at the same time. Or I pluck up courage to phone. Risky as can catch an editor at a bad time ( once did so as they were just going to press - editor was rather annoyed) Sometimes works. Had a completely new experience yesterday. Three weeks before I'd done a pitch to a magazine editor. I was told to send something in. I did this by email. Nothing heard back. Took a deep breath yesterday and phoned. The editor came on, asked the date when I 'd sent the stuff through, checked my email name and looked it up while I was on the phone to him. There was silence. I hung on for several minutes. I could hear his breathing. Then suddenly he said, 'Yep, I'll use this and pencil it in for September.' He'd actually been skim reading it while I waited. So you never know what to expect.
There are lots of online crime magazines, plus the likes of Every Day Fiction who take a wide range of stuff. Three years ago, after a few stabs at the OWC to test the water, I started submitting to ezines and got enough positive feedback to spur me on. It really improved my writing. Now I edit one with Matt Hilton and 'our Lil' (LilyC). ;-)
Worth considering, as it's a straight yes or no (with feedback usually), rather than everyone going for the same slot/prize.
Note: I know at least two agents who scour the ezines!
Whatever you do, keep going and honing your talent.
Regards,
Col