Is it bad form to have two submissions out to the same magazine at the same time? (That is, one nearing the top of the slush pile, and one sent 5 months later which will come in at the bottom of the aforementioned pile, and not a batch of subs, which I know is a no-no). I ask because the magazine in question seems to have awfully long response times.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Almost always, yes. In fact, if you read the submission guidelines carefully, they often specifically say they want one at a time or they say no multiple submissions. Very few accept more than one. Some even have rules about how many you can send in the space of a month or a reading period.
It's a safe assumption to only send one at a time and I find there are enough markets that this isn't usually a problem. I have an excel spreadsheet laid out with every story I've finished and have tried to sell, every market I've sent it to, and the active market in bold. If I started sending out hundreds I suppose I'd need a database insetad but so far my make was just over 20 so I've been able to keep track of it all. :-)
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :
I'll disagree with Christine here, to some extent. If a market's guidelines specifically say they only want one at a time or no multiple submissions, then of course you should follow that advice. But if the guidelines do not say that, then "pipelining" is probably acceptable.
I specifically asked the editor of a major market this question, and he said it was fine -- in fact, he had done it when he was a new writer. He did say that it was a good idea not to submit more frequently than the magazine published, so my stories would not compete against each other directly.
Since rejections usually come more quickly than acceptances, if authors are supposed to wait for a response before sending a new story that means rejected authors get to submit to a market more frequently than accepted authors. From an editor's perspective, that doesn't really make sense.
What it really boils down to is that if an editor likes your writing, he probably won't mind seeing a story a month from you, and if the editor doesn't like your writing, you probably won't sell to him even if you don't "pipeline."
So I think you're OK with a five-month spacing.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
That may be true once you have a relationship with a magazine, but I learned the hard way that just because they don't say it doesn't mean they don't assume you know you shouldn't send more than once. I submitted two to F&SF and was rejected out of hand because of the multiple submissions...that was about a year and a half ago. Since then, they ahve added the "no multiple submissions" to their guidelines.
If, for some reason, you really want to send more than one story to a market that does not specifically warn against it then I suggest querrying first. Never assume you can send multiples.
For that matter, even if they do specify in their guidelines that they don't accept multiples but you want to send another you might try querrying. I know Realms of Fantasy is often ok with a second submission once your first has been passed out of the slush pile and is on Shawna's desk.
[This message has been edited by Christine (edited July 08, 2005).]
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :
Christine, how far apart did you send those two submissions to F&SF?
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Very close...F&SF doesn't exactly have long response times, do they? But I remember this was when I was just starting to submit stories with a fervor (right after boot camp) and I got a story I thought they'd like back from another market within a day or two of sending the first. SO I went to their web page and read their guidelines very carefully to make sure it was ok to send -- at the time there was no mention that it wasn't ok so I assumed it was. Anyway, not a week later I got both rejections in the same SASE (even though I'd sent them separately) with a comment that they don't accept multiple submissions.
Listen, I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. I've definitely become more sophisticated and professional since I made that blunder and I don't believe F&SF even remembers that I did it let alone holds it against me. But the truth is that most submissions don't come from authors that editors want to see in their slush pile again and again. Bluntly, I expect that most of the people on this forum are still trying to break into these markets -- rather than being authors they are eager to see. (I count myself among those, even if I have begun to receive some comments.)
There are a lot of things than an established writer can do that an unestablished writer cannot do. That first pro sale is the hardest.
But in either case, there is always the polite query. Editors really don't seem to mind these (and the ones that do aren't the ones I want to do business with ).
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
Hum Thanks, Eric and Christine. The mag is Realms of Fantasy, but I don't know what happened to my sub (the editor resigned just before she was due to pick the batch of stories in which mine was supposed to be). I had the misfortune to send it out at precisely that time. The new slush reader is catching up, but he said not to query before August (I know subs sent at the same time as mine were processed a while ago, but for all I know the postmark got smudged, and it is at the bottom of the slush pile--it's either that or it got lost in the mail, and I'm not overly keen on the last option). I guess I'll wait, query to see where my sub is if necessary, and then sub them again. :-D
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :
> within a day or two of sending the first.
If figured that might have been the case, considering F&SF's response times.
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :
With regard to RoF, since the previous slush reader publicly said she would accept multiple submissions, you didn't do anything wrong.
Posted by electricgrandmother (Member # 2713) on :
Here's a little different approach to this question:
Is it okay to sim sub, say, a poem and a short story if the market has different editors for poetry and fiction and they don't accept sim subs normally?
I say it's probably best to wait and send them separately, but what do you all think?
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
Silver, Personally, after 5 months of waiting, I would consider pipelining as Eric suggested. I know that Asimov's states in their guidelines that if you haven't heard from them in three months since you submitted, re-send the story or send something else. If you are worried, send a general e-mail to RoF and ask if the new editor is accepting multiple submissions at this time. I don't see anything wrong or unprofessional about asking for information. Good Luck.
Electricgrandmother, If a publication specifically says no multiple subs, I don't think it would matter whether you were sending to two different editors. Again, querying for clarification is always an easy route and completely professional, imo.
While the issue of multiple subs isn't something I've asked about, I have e-mailed publications to find out what their policy is on re-prints. Somethings just don't seem to make it into submission guidelines. Most print markets, while not accepting e-mailed subs, will post an e-mail address for the editorial department if you have questions.
[This message has been edited by Robyn_Hood (edited July 09, 2005).]
Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :
I was just reading this and thinking that you may not have heard because your story has been read and not rejected. Not the same as being accepted, it just means you have to wait longer for them to choose which stories they want to publish this time around.
Saying that I never ever heard from Black Gate when I submitted there, nor did they reply to my query. After looking at their new submission guidlines and how long their waiting time is I've realised I'm too old to get published there. I'd rather be published while I'm still breathing. Slush pile backlogs are never pretty.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
I've got one story out for over 14 months with no response. Fortunately, it's out of genre for me, so I don't think about that story very often.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
Actually, I got the story back in the mail this morning. Rejection. Nice, with personal comments, but still a rejection <grin>. I'm hesitating over sending things to them, because this answering time was really long, and I wonder if that's the norm for the market.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Silver3, I have not sent anything to RoF since my nice rejection from them for much the same reason. If I recall, it took almost 8 months. Granted, they are not alone in this lengthy response time, but with most markets, even professional markets, now managing to get stories back much faster than that I feel that I should at least explore other options. Even Assimov's will get back to you in a month or two now.
This helps you to know what the response times of the various markets are. Personally, I give pro markets a little more slack (which is why I probably will send something else to ROF) but even they don't get infinite slack.
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