Good lord, I just checked out my list of short stories out in the world as well as those queued up for launch and one thing is for certain: I don’t need to be working on any more short stories this summer. This is actually a blessing (or a curse) since that means I ought to focus entirely on novel writing.

School busyness created a bit of a backup in my submissions and now I have a whole lot queued up. I run all of my stories past the big three print mags first—F&SF, Asimov’s, and Realms of Fantasy—generally starting with Gordon since he turns stories around anywhere between two weeks and two months. Asimov’s is usually around 90 days, Realms around 120. If I think a story fits, I’ll send it Analog—but it almost never fits and I’ve never gotten anything but form rejections from Mr. Schmidt.

Next I’ll usually try Strange Horizons and, depending on the type of story it is, usually on to Weird Tales and/or Fantasy magazine, as well as Interzone and/or Black Static. That’s my normal grouping, ordered in terms of distribution and general prestige. After the top four markets, I think places get more selective in what they want. And if the wait is too long at one, I’ll often skip down to an open market unless I really, really think it needs to wait for a certain market to open.

However, if you do the math you’ll note that it takes a single story about nine months just to clear those top four markets; and I’ve got three or four stories heading out on their maiden voyages this month. The timing should work okay to keep my work in front three of the top four for the summer and well beyond (F&SF excluded for their fast response times) without writing another story.

Of course sales happily throw a wrench in my ordering system, but that’s the kind of problem you like to have.

Current Mood: Medio Medio Aún |