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Short stories - What is a good 'hit' rate?

doodledoodle
edited June 2012 in - Writing Problems
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

  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    e) just keep truckin'
  • NefertariNefertari
    d) followed by c)
  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books
    Sorry, my mind was drawn to d).

    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?
  • heatherheather
    I don't think you can be quite so 'mathematical' about it.

    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.
  • CarolCarol
    I'd go for the chocolate first. :)

    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.
  • doodledoodle
    thanks all, I'm feeling better already. Found out at lunchtime that an article I subbed will be published shortly in a local mag. Was feeling a bit down, it sometimes feels like I'm churning out stories into a big black hole, my files get fatter and no-one reads them cept me. As always, good advice given on here, your comments are appreciated.
  • CarolCarol
    Congratulations on the article.
  • Phots MollPhots Moll
    You should definitely go with plan B.
  • doradora
    [quote=doodleysquit] if none of these are placed .... [/quote]

    Use Duotrope to find somewhere for them.

    There are LOTS of markets out there.
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    "...the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and kept on writing."

    Stephen King, On Writing.
  • doodledoodle
    How much are harpoons?
  • pbwpbw
    Great thread, fellas. I plan to market two of my short stories soon.
  • VivViv
    The trouble with competitions is that they can only pick one winner (and maybe a runner up or two). Your story could be good, publishable, etc but get pipped by one just slightly better. You are also unlikely to get feedback - unless you pay for it. 18 comp entries = most likely outcome no wins!
    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!
  • cekaceka
    Dear Doodleysquit,
    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
  • doodledoodle
    Viv, what you say makes a lot of sense, I have subbed to mags and had five short stories accepted and published by one - then the editor changed and I've not cracked the code for the new Ed - yet. To keep myself writing new stories I've since targetted more competitions as they often give a theme and always a deadline so this helps me when writing feels like I'm trying to plough a field.
    Ceka - thank you for your thoughtful, wise and constructive comments. You are right. Persistence. I will persist. And, Therefore Succeed. Eventually...
  • VivViv
    And if they don't win in the competitions, they are not wasted. Revamp them and try magazines. No story should ever go back in the darkness of the drawer. As ceka did, rewrite and send elsewhere. One failed comp entry then equals one sold story.
  • M. WelshmanM. Welshman
    You certainly do have to persist and keep sending stuff out - but carefully targeted to the right magazines. And rehashing a good story or feature does no harm. A feature about my parrot has been redone many times over the years - from my point of view, my mum's, my dad's. Recently I redid it and started it off, not in Africa where Polly was acquired, but having her waddle up the road in my home town of Bournemouth. I kept referring to the local connection though flash-backed to Nigeria.The Bournemouth Echo accepted it because of the local element. Which makes it 20 years since I first had a story about Polly published. It's still flying.

    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.
  • Col BCol B
    Hey, DS. Have you tried the ezines...?

    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
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