If there are any authors here here at SDope, especially freelance writers of magazine articles, how do I handle simultaneous submissions to various publishes? Is it proper to disclose this fact in my cover letter? My dad says this is understood by the publishers (or syndicates) as the norm, so there is no need to declare you are doing this. But, he has minimal experience here… So, what do the SDopers say?
Ideally, I’d like to get the perspective from BOTH the freelance magazine writer AND the novelist. If you can, please think back to when all this was brand new to you… - Jinx
I’ve submitted poetry, non fiction, fiction, and a novel excerpt to magazines for many years. I would check out each market first to make sure they’re okay with simul subs before doing it. Of course, you’d need to keep careful track of it so in case one says yes, you can withdraw immediately from any others.
I tend not to submit simultaneously because of all the extra postage and envelopes. Also, I haven’t found a lot of markets lately that are willing to consider simul’s.
So, you wouldn’t even simul-submit to a couple? Do you wait for a reply/rejection before moving on? (Isn’t it hard to wait for a reply so that you can move on to the next publisher, if need be?)
Ideally, I’d need the “Editor and Publisher Syndicate Directory”, but no major library from Balt to Philly has it listed in their catalog! Any similar resources you could recommend?
If a magazine says “no simultaneous submissions,” they mean it. If they find out you did it anyway, you can kiss that market goodbye.
Any editor will tell you about someone who sent them a story that the accepted and scheduled, and then were told it had sold to another market and they were withdrawing it. Sometimes this happens several months after the acceptance was sent. So the editor has to reschedule, find a new story to fit the slot. There have been cases of this happening when the magazine was at the printer.
BTW, allowing sim subs would not decrease selling time, as many assume. The numbers show it: assume a magazine gets 800 submissions a month without simsubs, and there are, say 10 similar magazines in the field. If simsubs are allowed, everyone would simsub, which means the magazine would get 8000 submissions a month.
If a magazine allows it, then go ahead – but be sure to mention the fact in a cover letter. And for a nonfiction article, I believe you can send simultaneous queries (if you decline, it isn’t a problem for the editor, since she hasn’t scheduled the article).
OK, now how do I find out? a) Suppose I am considering a variety of local papers covering maybe a 60 mile radius. I was considering some sim subs to some local towns’ newpapers…will these editors care as much as a national magazine, for example?
b) What about King Features Syndicate? The website with submission information does not specify. And, I am still attempting to obtain the “Syndicate Directory”…which should day for sure.
What resources do you use, besides “The Writer’s Market” which is lacking in these specific areas?
There’s also a difference between submitting a proposal and submitting a finished piece. You can usually submit proposals to more than one place, because there is no downside for the editor.
But the newspaper world is different from the short story world which is different from the children’s books world which is different from… You have to know your field.
I have a tough time believing that no library near you has Writers Market. I thought every library in the country did.
But what I would do is go to the information or reference desk at the central library near you and tell the librarian exactly what info you are looking for. They will come up with something, guaranteed.
I might consider simul-subbing to a couple, yes. No more than that. And all the mags I submit stuff to seem to take a long time anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference for me. Mostly I have sci fi short stories to send out, which sounds a bit different from your situation.
First, Exapno Mapcase, thank you for suggesting one submit simultaneous proposals rather simultaneous finished pieces. This distinction makes me feel a little better. Nonetheless, if you have a finished piece for which you are trying to find a market…wouldn’t the editors realize you’re not just going to sit by the phone and wait for ONE to call? Wouldn’t they realize that freelance writers NEED to simultaneously submit to survive…especially as a novice writer???
Also, Exapno, I think you misunderstood my other statement… I didn’t mean that I couldn’t locate the “Writer’s Market” book, heavens no! I meant that the “Writer’s Market” book did not offer enough information about syndicates and newspapers. In fact, the “Writer’s Market” refers readers to “Editor and Publisher Syndicate Directory” It is this Directory which is so very hard to find!
Sorry if my question is making Posters repeat themselves, but it is hard for me to understand how a writer can survive without simultaneous submissions???
