Short Story Publishing?

[breezeshadow]

Hello everyone. So I've been a writer for ages, and today, after showing one of my friends my writing and having her like it, I started to consider whether I may actually be good enough to get into publishing. There's just a few concerns about this.

First off, I don't know if I'm actually good enough. I have stuff posted on my DW (here, here, and here are the recent ones), and on my dA are edited/more complete versions of those three stories, along with other things (dA here.). But I know my friends saying I'm good enough to publish does not necessarily mean I am, and I don't want to get ahead of myself. You don't need to read every one, or any, or give any extensive critique if you don't want to; I just want to make sure I'm not jumping the gun.

Second, I am a fantasy writer. As far as I could tell, there are very few publishing venues that are interested in short stories of the fantasy variety. Does anyone here have any experience with magazines, online and off, that accept fantasy submissions? Or know of any? I could write realistic stories, but they aren't my preference.

Also any advice about this would be fantastic. I've never tried submitting anything before, so I don't really know how it goes. Thus, any comments at all would be fantastic.

Thank you! Sorry for not replying much here; don't have much time to think about DW this semester.

Comments

[analect]

Yup - what they said! There are lots of good avenues for finding markets - Duotrope is definitely a very useful site, and books that give listings for authors are great, but you always want to check websites etc. for the most up-to-date submission guidelines.

The only other thing I would add to what's been said is not to be nervous. It does take some nerve to start throwing things out there but, until you do, you won't know. ;) It's only through dipping a toe into different avenues that you learn what works where and for whom, so just take a few days to do the necessary research, then grab your most polished pieces and do it!

As holyschist says, short fiction doesn't pay much (though digital publishing has gone some way to redressing that balance, as short stories can be sold singly for Kindle etc., so you're no longer restricted solely to magazines and anthologies), but it is a great way to familiarise yourself with different places and markets.

Also, thanks for the links to those stories. I shall attempt to snatch some time to have a proper read this evening.

[breezeshadow]

I saw you subscribe to my journal; thanks! I hope you enjoy the writing.

Money doesn't concern me, really; I'm currently in graduate school for an engineering degree, so I'm hoping that that will help cover the bills and let me pursue writing as a side hobby. That's my dream life anyway; we'll see what actually happens. *chuckle*

A lot of my stuff I've already published online, but I do have one piece in mind to write out, and one piece I may remove from dA, or rewrite, to send out. We'll see, and it is true; I won't actually know what is wanted or what to improve or anything until I try. Thanks!

[analect]

I think that's a good way to be - you can concentrate on the writing itself, without stressing about cash. ;)

Yes, first publication rights. Anything you intend to submit somewhere, it's usually a good rule of thumb to rewrite completely if it's already been online, or to only publish online selectively... which is why I like Dreamwidth. It's the difference between putting something on your blog, and putting it there only available to your access list or a specific filter.

Still trying to snatch time to read... *rolleyes*