You may have a great short story already written, or the seed of one wriggling around somewhere, and you’d like to know where and how to publish it.

Ralan.com is a good place for speculative, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, etc. He keeps the site up-to-date, and there are hundreds of listings there, divided up by pay amount, so it’s easy to find something in the level you’re looking for. Ralan is free to use.

Duotrope is another free online market database. It includes most genres, not just speculative. It has a good search feature so you don’t have to go digging.

Writers Market is another one I use. It’s not free (about $40/year). It has searchable market listings, although the search features here aren’t as good as those on duotrope! One nice feature is the ability to input your submissions and track when you sent them out, to whom, and when you should expect to get a response. I think that’s worth the $40/year price, not including the market listings. They do offer a monthly payment plan if you don’t want to commit right away.

Which comes first, market or story?

O.K. you have an idea and a few markets, what’s next? Do you write the story and then search for a market to fit the length, genre, and other specifics? Or, do you find a market and tailor the story to fit?

If your primary goal is getting published, then tailoring to the market is easier in my experience. Some markets have very off-the-wall requirements, so you’re better off working that into the story from the beginning if possible. I know purists will turn up their noses at that, but I said if your goal is being published, writing to the market is easier. If your goal is art, then by all means, write first and market later.

I’ve done both successfully, and for me it just depends on the story. If I have something more or less fully worked out, I write that and try to find a market that it will fit. And, honestly, that can be tough. Often I’ve found a great market for it just to realize that it’s too long, too short, should have taken place in Maine or on a pirate ship, etc. Having a great story and nowhere suitable to send it is frustrating, to say the least, and one reason that I tend to make sure I have a market in mind before I put in too much work.

Submissions

You have a story, you have a market, you’re all set. Right?

Not quite. Not yet at least.

First off, put the story away for a week or two. You need time away from it to do a good job editing and proofreading. Here are a few other tips I use for editing my work before it goes out.

• Read it out loud. Nothing will help you pick up on awkward construction like hearing it.
• Get someone else to read it. This person should be someone who can help you proofread and edit.
• Make sure characters’ names are different enough that they’re not easily confused.
• Read each characters’ dialogue to make sure everyone doesn’t sound alike. No, the forty year old mom should not sound just like her seventeen year old teenage son.

Next, you need to look at the submission guidelines for the market you’ve chosen, and follow them. Follow them to the letter. You want your work to stand out because it’s good, not because you ignored what the editors asked for. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot!

If you don’t know how to format your manuscript, then this search for “manuscript submission format” will help. Sometimes markets will have their own guidelines that conflict with these, if so, do what the market says.

Last step, send it out. It’s all too easy to get carried away editing and preparing and never get anything submitted. It’s something I think most writers struggle with, so set yourself a deadline and get the story out. Even if it’s rejected, you’ll feel better about yourself for trying.