Thread: Short Story Accepted! Now What?

So I just had a short story accepted by a new print literary magazine for their inaugural issue. They accepted it so quickly that I'm sure that the big magazines won't even look at the story by the time I need to accept or decline the publishing offer from the new magazine. Now I know this is a "good problem to have", but I am torn: should I gamble and wait for one of the big boys, or should I take a chance on the piece (which I have very high hopes for) languishing in obscurity?

I know, bird in the hand and all that.

You have an offer, take it! Get your writing out there. That's the only way you can start building your literary resume. Flip the coin: How many stories do you think the new mag rejected before deciding on yours & the other lucky few? Start building the foundation, walk before you crawl, yada yada.

You have an offer, there's no guarantee the big ones will make an offer, i.e., gagoots, if you don't accept this offer, you're oobatz.



P.S.- Congratulations on the offer & best wishes.

I don't know what you mean by the BIG BOYS, but if you mean the top of the line periodicals, it may be easilly 6 months before you receive an answer. Your post sounds like your work has not appeared in publication before; if this is the case and you are like the rest of us, you probably think your story is better than it really is. That's pretty normal for writers. Congratulations and I suggest only this: let your personal ethics guide you on this.

First off, congrats!!!

Secondly, I'm with CFFTB--if the new mag is a decent publication (or seems like it will be), I think you should take their offer. It will give you a foundation to build on, something to put on your resume. That will look much better when you submit other things for publication. If you wait for the big boys and they reject you, you'll be right back where you started.

Good luck.

Take the offer.

Even if the story is as good as you hope, it's only one story - write more.

And, if the story is as good as you hope, it will be picked up again down the track -
think "best of"; think "anthology".

Thanks guys. I didn't mean to come across as cocky. I believe in the story, while being 110% cognizant that my opinion is biased. I think that fact that there hasn't even been one issue yet is what's troubling me. I'll probably try and get some more details from the publisher first before I decide. I'll check back in here when I do.

Words.

Hurrah! And: You double posted. And: I would take the offer, like the others are also saying, and let the chips fall where they may.

Originally Posted by gagoots

So I just had a short story accepted by a new print literary magazine for their inaugural issue. They accepted it so quickly that I'm sure that the big magazines won't even look at the story by the time I need to accept or decline the publishing offer from the new magazine. Now I know this is a "good problem to have", but I am torn: should I gamble and wait for one of the big boys, or should I take a chance on the piece (which I have very high hopes for) languishing in obscurity?

What was the point in submitting to this new magazine if you weren't serious about letting them have it if they accepted?

If you really think the 'big magazines' might want it, hold on to it and let them have a sniff. If they reject it, you can probably find a home for it somewhere else later.

I had a story "Accepted" by one of the biggies (400,000 a week worldwide), they asked me to rewrite a part of it, which I did within 24 hours, they then took 8 months to change their minds and say no - that's about 9 months lost, 9 when I couldn't use its publication in a CV - If someone wants to publish your first ever, take it, it's advertising for you.

Originally Posted by Bloggsworth

I had a story "Accepted" by one of the biggies (400,000 a week worldwide), they asked me to rewrite a part of it, which I did within 24 hours, they then took 8 months to change their minds and say no - that's about 9 months lost, 9 when I couldn't use its publication in a CV - If someone wants to publish your first ever, take it, it's advertising for you.

This certainly was an eye-opening response. Thank you, and sorry to hear about that negative experience.

Originally Posted by Rob

What was the point in submitting to this new magazine if you weren't serious about letting them have it if they accepted?

If you really think the 'big magazines' might want it, hold on to it and let them have a sniff. If they reject it, you can probably find a home for it somewhere else later.

I'm surprised that my post gave you the impression that I wasn't serious about this magazine. I am. I had just planned on shopping it around a little.

Originally Posted by gagoots

I'm surprised that my post gave you the impression that I wasn't serious about this magazine. I am. I had just planned on shopping it around a little.

Shopping it around? I'm not sure what you mean. You're looking for publication for your short story, so presumably you're submitting it to places you've identified where you'd like to have it published. A good way to go about it is to start at the top and work your way down, going for what you called the 'big' magazines, or better publications (based on whatever suits you, pay, reputation etc.) first. That way you place it at the highest level you can, and you don't end up in the situation you're in. It can take a little time to find a home, but during that time you're writing your next story, and the ones after that, and at some point you'll have a bunch of stories out there while you're working on your current one. Of course, you need to keep track of your submissions (and a plain old spreadsheet is pretty effective).

Originally Posted by gagoots

This certainly was an eye-opening response. Thank you, and sorry to hear about that negative experience.

Having ideas rejected was not the problem, it was the sheer waste of time - I worked in an industry where I was often expected to come up with designs within 24 hours, prototyped in a couple of days, tooled up and delivered in 2 to 3 weeks; a touch more complex and involved than reading a poem or short story, so why does it take months to reply to authors or poets? "Send 6 of your best poems and we'll get back to you in 4 to 6 months" - Is it a power thing, or are they procrastinators by nature? If I received an email or letter I would usually deal with it in minutes, if a client phoned me with an enquiry I would be doodling while we spoke.

One more thing you might want to consider - first issues have a habit of becoming collector's items; even the bad ones.

Just an update. I decided to take everyone's advice and go for it. I just found out today that it should be out in early 2012. Thank you, everyone.

And more good news. I met a literary agent, one who works for a big agency, while commuting. She gave me her email address and had me send her the story. And she liked it. Like really liked it. She told me she'd love to see what I can do, novel wise, and to send her something along those lines whenever I am ready. I am beginning to feel that I may be able to make a run at this thing.