The Road to Short Story Publication

Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize in the short fiction category, Deborah J. Ledford’s publishing credits include two short stories featured in Red Coyote Press mystery anthologies, one of which won the Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards for short fiction. “For Katie” is published in the Arizona Literary Magazine and is also available at AnthologyBuilder. “Graves of Echo Canyon” will be presented via podcast through Sniplets later this year. “The Troublesome Drawer” was recently acquired by Twisted Dreams Magazine for their June 2008 issue.

Deborah’s literary short story “For Katie” won first place in the Arizona Authors Association 2005 National Literary Contest. “Graves of Echo Canyon” won third place in the Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine (FMAM) International Flash Fiction Contest. Deborah is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime (AZ), moderator for the Scottsdale Writers Critique Group.

The Road to Short Story Publication

by Deborah J. Ledford

Are you having trouble receiving the respect you deserve as an as-of-yet unpublished novelist? Agents and editors appreciate writers who are dedicated to the craft, but how do you prove your worth while finishing your work in progress? My advice: Take the time to create short stories and submit them for publication. Published credits add professionalism to your resume and look great in a query letter when it comes time to approach agents with your novel.

Novel excerpts are acceptable for many markets. As long as a chapter from your novel works as a standalone, a chapter will qualify for submission to a number of publications. And if the piece is acquired, you will receive invaluable advance publicity for that novel.

Perhaps you’ve written a compelling passage or fascinating character that doesn’t quite fit in the novel you’re writing. Can you flesh out the details in order to create a short story? We all have little jewels crying to be polished.

There are many markets out there looking for flash fiction pieces (short stories under 500 words) to fill their white space. Although flash fiction can be quite the challenge, to me, they are the most fun to write.

Best foot forward: As with long fiction, short stories adhere to proper formatting. A good template has been created by William Shunn. The piece is written as a short story using Industry Standard Formatting, with one exception: most publications now accept 12 pt Times New Roman Font rather than Courier. And some pubs have varying guidelines, so be sure to check their websites for the most updated submission guidelines for each market you plan to hit. Their sites will also state reading periods as to whether or not they are currently accepting submissions.

Most markets want pieces in the 1,000 to 7,000 word count length, but I advise not to go over 5,000 words. Most print magazines only feature 3-4 fiction pieces per issue and they need recognized writers to provide one of these stories for sales purposes, so don’t thwart your chances with a story too long in length.

Okay, so now you have a polished short story ready to submit--where do you start? The best resource I have found is Duotrope which touts over 2,100 markets to choose from. By accessing their homepage you can target your search for ideal markets by genre, length, payscale, media (print or electronic) and submission type (postal, electronic). Duotrope also features a website function that will take you directly to the publications site in order to check out their submission guidelines.

Print publications are of course the most prestigious credit, however many E-zines are being recognized as legitimate markets, and with print costs on the rise publications are going electronic more and more.

Keep in mind that most markets pay only nominal fees (if anything at all), but the gold here is adding a publishing credit to your professional experience.

Contests are another route to take in building your status. There is a great list of legitimate and recognized contests on the Poets & Writers website. You will however be required to pay an entry fee to most contests (generally $15.00), but your odds of being singled out are much better with a couple hundred entrants vs. thousands of submissions made to print publications. Money is awarded to the winners and if the contest is sponsored by a magazine, the first place winner will oftentimes be printed in this publication. End result: 2 professional credits.

Once you have published a story or two (and after your contract has expired with the publisher) you may then load them onto your personal website. To add legitimacy, be sure to note the publication where the piece first appeared. I also suggest you mention within your query letters that your published pieces are available to be viewed via your site.

A bit of caution: Many writers don’t know that if their short story is loaded on the Web and available to be viewed by anybody, the piece is considered “published”. So, if you want advice or critiques from readers before you submit the short story to legitimate markets, be sure to delete them from any sites where they appear. This goes for your personal websites as well. Instead, request that critiques be carried out via a private source, such as personal e-mail. And unless your work has been previously published, don’t feature stories on your website.

There you have it--one route to successful publication you may take.

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Deborah’s suspense thriller novel STACCATO was one of 25 semi-finalists in the truTV (formerly Court TV) Crime Writers contest, featured on gather.com. You may view two of these chapters at: STACCATO – Chapter 1 STACCATO – Chapter 2

To read three of Deborah's previously published short stories, please visit her website.