Finding markets for my writing takes time. I spend hours, looking through lists of recommended markets. I go about it the difficult way browsing through all combinations of search results – Thirty best markets for short fiction, Publications that pay, Short Fiction markets.
I check the lists then I begin to scrutinise some of the suggestions. I look at the submission guidelines and the deadlines for sending submissions. I definitely look at whether or not they are paying markets. I omit those that ask for manuscripts of 30,000 words or more. I am not writing a novel yet. That creates a shortlist of sorts for me to look at . This is when I begin to read the online offerings of the journals or magazines to study the type of writing they usually publish. Of course this means reading at least one short story for each selected market. I write short stories so that is my interest. I fall down some rabbit holes going through the writing, but I consider myself lucky to be able to read and discover what I would call the attitude of a publication. It would be such a waste of more time and foolish too, to submit writing that is at odds with the interest of a publication.
The question I ask myself is whether I wouldn’t be better off spending all that time on writing my own stories. Maybe, but I would still have to find a suitable market for whatever I write. So which should come first? Someone please tell me. Of course I still write. I have come to the conclusion that I have to write and I have to write towards or for some sort of market. I have four completed short stories on hand and I continue my research in order to find markets for them. So I have to find a way to divide my time between searching for opportunities for publication and building an inventory of stories or other writing so I can have creations to send out into the world.
Writing the story or researching the writing market?
One writer I found on YouTube thinks that it is best to have an inventory of work ready to be sent out. I agree for I was in the situation where I found a journal that had out a call for submissions. The deadline for the call was the very day I found the information. I did not have any story or other writing in my stock that I could submit. My inventory was not large enough. More than that my stock of writing was not varied enough either, to find a piece fit for purpose.
New ideas from the writing market research
The research actually helps my writing. When I look at the content of the journals and magazines, I see writing that I find interesting and unusual. I discover new themes for writing and new approaches to telling a story, or writing a poem or writing non-fiction. I find writers exploring gender issues of all types. I see poems with abbreviations and ampersands as part of the language. I find encouragement to be bolder and explore new topics.
I find other good leads for writing markets by taking note of what published writers and competition winners reveal about where they first got a story published. I often follow the links they give showing where they have their short work published. This is really helpful and more hopeful than a blind search.
Researching writing markets is time-consuming but it is necessary. It gives more than promised financial rewards for it is a treasure of information and free writing education.