Thread: First Short Story - Contest, or General Submission?

Hello, all you beautiful people!

I'm in the final stages of a short story I've been working on for quite some time now. I've poured my heart and soul and a little bit of ketchup into this one, and my aim is for this to be my first ever submission for publication in a literary magazine.

At the moment I'm toggling between two options: entering it in a short story contest, or submitting it as a general submission.

On the one hand the contest avenue would give a heftier pay-out, both monetarily and credentially-speaking (and yes, I'm aware credentially is not a word. I used it anyway, because I'm a rebel like that). Who wouldn't love to have a "Winner of the So-And-So Short Story Contest" listing on their resume?

However, I also would be happy just being published. And there's less of a challenge (in my opinion) with a general submission--in which multiple submissions from different authors may be accepted--as opposed to a contest in which there can only be one winner.

I'm not worried about rejection, I'm okay with it. I'm actually looking forward to my first "Dear Writer, thanks, but you suck! Get lost!" form letter. I'll staple it to my wall and throw live gerbels at it.

But I do want to make sure my first submission saunters off on a promising route. I'd hate to make some sort of amateur mistake by throwing my first publishing rights in the wrong direction.

If anyone has any advice, suggestions, or funny knock-knock jokes, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers!

Check out Poets & Writers website for legitimate contests (ones that don't charge huge fees and pay out little or nothing, for example). Remember that most contests do charge entry fees (which help pay for the prizes and judges, etc), so you want to consider if you really want to spend money for that. Personally, I look at the prestige of the publication as well as the prize money offered; I don't enter often, but some do come up that I can't resist.

Don't forget that many (most?) contests/publications will accept simultaneous submissions - ie, you don't have to sent it to just one place or another. You just have to let them know if you win/are accepted somewhere else.

I actually find competitions easier to win than being accepted by normal methods. But the problem I have with entering competitions is coming third or second place. I enter to win, I'm scared to death that I might be the runner up and they just publish my story on their website instead of in a publication. This would mean that story is no longer eligable for submission elses where as it's been published already. I'm not interested in being published on a website, so by entering competitions I run the risk of wasting a story by coming second or third.

I would much rather be published through normal means as I can guarantee that the story will reach hardcopy publication as I intended. But I just can't get anyone to accept my stories. Yes the money is less, but at the moment I'm looking for recognition, I will earn my money from my novel when it's completed.

Edit: As above, I tend to enter comps with huge prize money and that offer proper publication for the runner ups.

If you're serious about getting a novel published, then a contest is the way to go. Check the link below for deadlines arranged by month, and don't forget to check the entry fee, reward and publication of winning posts.

Good luck.

Short Story Contest Deadlines by Month -- Short Story Contest, Fellowship, and Residency Deadlines

Originally Posted by bo_7md

If you're serious about getting a novel published, then a contest is the way to go. Check the link below for deadlines arranged by month, and don't forget to check the entry fee, reward and publication of winning posts.

Good luck.

Short Story Contest Deadlines by Month -- Short Story Contest, Fellowship, and Residency Deadlines

I notice a lot of those listed are American. Is eligibility restricted to those across the pond, or can us limeys enter?

Originally Posted by philistine

I notice a lot of those listed are American. Is eligibility restricted to those across the pond, or can us limeys enter?

Check the guidelines as each contest has its own rules.

Robert and Adele Schiff Prizes in Poetry and Prose « The Cincinnati Review (International writers allowed. See responses down the page.)

The Bard Fiction Prize (Only U.S)

Check the guidelines for each contest. I've seen some that are restricted to residents of the state the university is located in, for example; other than those, most contests I've seen are open to citizens of any country.

Thanks for the great advice shadow, potty, and bo!

Here's another one I'm considering: Spring 2012 Story Contest | Narrative Magazine

First prize is $2,500. Whew!

I'm also deliberating simply entering Glimmer Train's general submissions. Though it's a bit dismaying that I would have to wait three months before hearing back from them.

I might enter the Narrative contest simply because the response time is said to be one month. I'm clearly an impatient person, lol.

Many other magazines and contests look appealing, too... *ponders*

Originally Posted by KyleColorado

Thanks for the great advice shadow, potty, and bo!

Here's another one I'm considering: Spring 2012 Story Contest | Narrative Magazine

First prize is $2,500. Whew!

I'm also deliberating simply entering Glimmer Train's general submissions. Though it's a bit dismaying that I would have to wait three months before hearing back from them.

I might enter the Narrative contest simply because the response time is said to be one month. I'm clearly an impatient person, lol.

Many other magazines and contests look appealing, too... *ponders*

I submitted ten stories to various anthologies in early February. After several dozen rejections, I got a hit. Almost five months to hear back from them! Who knows how long the others are planning to let me wait. It's nuts.

The best thing to do is make your submissions, whichever you choose to participate in, and then just write, write, write- go about it how you would, and eventually, the kudos will roll in (hopefully).

Five months! Good lord.

Congrats on your publication, by the way!

I'll try just as you said. Submit, then work on new stories in the meantime. I suppose once you get a rhythm going it's all good.

Patience is not a virtue for writers - it's a requirement.

What genre, Kyle? Cause magazines are a good way to begin and there are plenty of genre-specific mags that you should consider before submitting to a general mag. If you're a science fiction/fantasy writer, you've got so many choices it's unreal (used in the traditional sense, not the modern haha).

Competitions would be good, though, in my opinion. At least, that'd be where I start when I finally get the nerve to submit to places... a bit sheepish at the minute, you see.

Care to fill me in on the scfi scene cefor? struggling to find placement.

Interzone - British TTA Press - Interzone: Science Fiction & Fantasy - Latest News

Analog - US Analog Science Fiction & Fact

Asimov's - US Asimov's Science Fiction

Just a few for you, but there are definitely others. Check the submissions criteria, though, as I am not sure if the US mags accept us lot into their ranks.

Originally Posted by Cefor

What genre, Kyle? Cause magazines are a good way to begin and there are plenty of genre-specific mags that you should consider before submitting to a general mag.

Ah, literary fiction.

I'm mostly setting my sights on the big ones: The New Yorker, Glimmer Train, Tin House, Ploughshares, The Atlantic, etc...

It's high risk but the reward is big, too. If you get your story published in the New Yorker, for instance, your career is pretty much set. *gasp*