What to Look for in Submitting Works to Short Story Markets

Submitting stories suck. I’ve talked about that already in the past. But one thing I have also noticed in newer calls for stories are full of red flags.

Wanting to be published is a powerful pull for any writer, regardless of background. And some do want to be publishers for a litany of reasons. Problem is, publishing is a business and not many seem to understand that – or they do and they want to exploit it.

Aside from reading Writer’s Beware, a long running blog about scams and screw-ups in the publishing world for both indie and traditional writers alike, here’s some things I have noticed that are good to look for:

Wix Site/Free Site
A publication that claims to be a paying market should have their own website. I’ve spotted quite a few who have “Wix” or something similar that means all the same thing: The site is a free site. If they can’t buy a domain, then how can they pay you?

AI Art
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. So many publications calls seem to feature AI art. Here’s a guide on how to identify AI art by sight (It’s Reddit but the Broken Clock Theory* applies here). If you see it, know for fact that place has no respect for you. Or money to pay you, end of story. If they can’t afford an artist, they certainly can’t afford to pay a writer, especially several. It shows they don’t care about copyright (or knowing it properly) so that means whatever contract they have to offer is most likely trash, poorly made and/or full of problems the publication will swear up and down does not exist. Also, who is to say they won’t let AI mine your works?

Fees
I don’t submit to anything that asks me to pay a red cent for anything to submit. Not only is it an accessiblity barrier for those who cost is a concern, it also is a bit of a dupe. If you’re not accepted, you’re basically paying to lose, might as well be a donation. However, some markets are fee markets. If you want to pony up money, sure, but make sure the publication is worth the scratch they’re asking for: Awards, sterling editors, no mentions on Writer’s Beware, ALLi Watchdog and sensible price-tag of a fee. Don’t pay more than $20 for an entry fee if you really feel like it will be a good market to join in. Money should flow to the author, not away. The more noteworthy publications such as Nightlight, Fiyah and Strange Horizons do not ask for an entry fee. Also, look at what they’re offering the author in terms of payment. How come they are not selling copies to readers? How come you’re paying? Ask yourself questions like that, they will help.

Very New
Everyone starts somewhere, that’s true. Buuuuuuuuut you have no idea if this is a one time thing or a forever publication. And, usually, neither do the publishers. More often than not, they’re one time things. If they have been around for a couple years and have their own site (you don’t see .wix or .wordpress in the name), it’s probably not a swirling digital vortex of dazzling, promising nothingness.

Doesn’t Publish Diversely
This is primarily for writers of color, White authors don’t really have to worry if their story is too White for Asimov or Fantasy and Science Fiction** (“too White” is exactly what those markets prefer, if anything) but authors of color regularly worry if the fact they’re not White will show up too much in their stories and thus wreck their chances. Those markets aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on so don’t bother to submit if you just want to have some semblance of a fair chance at being published. The folks who run or read these markets like to complain in the comment sections of File 770 that they’re dying out or struggling to make ends meet – that’s their problem. Here’s how to not waste your time:

Before starting, yes, this does sound like self-rejecting. Almost every place will say “don’t self reject” but given how frustrating it can be to get published as a writer of color, it’s better to just direct your work at places that actually publishes writers of color and stories of color – and not once in a blue moon or when some random Black person is brutally murdered in 4k and that’s splashed all over the internet. If it takes a murder and a riot of someone you most likely do not know to convince someone to publish you, do you really want people like that to review your work? White writers don’t have to have videos of White people be killed in 4k to get their works accepted, they just have to submit them. It should be the same for writers of color. But it isn’t.

Check the Black in Spec Fic Report
Originally made by Fireside, until they had a racist conundrum themselves (they had a White voice actor narrate a work made by a Black writer, and the voice actor went full Blaccent – all of this was super preventable, btw), now handled by Fiyah lit magazine, an actual Black spec fic literary magazine. Read all the ones from the previous years and look at the data. Use that info to figure out who is actually publishing Black writers or writers of color, but also stories of color (meaning you don’t have to cram in a bunch of blonde hair/blue eyes just to get a second look. The characters/storyline can resemble June 19 and not January 6 without getting slapped with “not a good fit”). This doesn’t promise that you’ll actually get published by these places but at least they’re publishing works that aren’t White focused. As a writer of color, that’s the important part. Many of these publications are going to say a bunch of mealy-mouthed bullsh#t that sounds great about how anyone can submit but fewer put their money where their mouth is. If you want to try for the publications that are extremely White, go for it but understand it is most likely a very futile time. You’re not the only writer of color that’s submitting and none of them got in either, remember that. Check to See if They Actually Have Writers of Color Published
The best way is to see who has actually been published in previous issues. They should have a list of all their published writers. Some people use pennames (like me) but others have their actual names. Throw them all into your search engine or click to their sites (if there are sites linked to their names) and see if they are clearly a person of color. Not White-passing, not “maaaaaaaaaybe…?”, clear and direct. Either they’ll have a picture or say so or both. Also, if possible, read the work they have published in the magazine. If it’s loaded with White characters and/or very White/Euro-centric storylines, then it means the publication is not that diverse, they might not have even known they published a person of color. Or if they did, that’s basically how the writer of color has to write enable to get a publishing credit: to Whiteness. Double so if the characters of color are very 1 dimensional or simply sideline characters. If your work is not as bland as Kurt Vonnegut’s greatest hits, find somewhere else.

Lack o’ Contract/Wonky Contract
The market call you see seems to want to own everything? Your rights do not revert in a year or less? There’s a bunch of wishy-washy “we’ll see … you wanna get published, right?” type of nonsense? Don’t submit. A lot of small publishers actually do not know their way around a decent contract but don’t let that screw you over. If they have an odd stipulation or no stipulations at all printed somewhere accessible on their site, don’t bother with them. It’s like that for a reason: They’re looking for a sucker or it’s ran by a bunch of suckers. You need to own all your work, rights have to revert, they do not own the copyright to anything you have submitted and it should not be herculean to get your rights back. This also includes places like WattPad, Radish and more. Read their terms and conditions. Writer’s Beware have brought these places up several times on their site, read it. If there are issues in a presented contract, such as no promise your work won’t be used to train AI, bring them up. If they’re a good publisher, they will respect your concerns. If they burst into flames about it or ghost you, that should be indicator enough for you.

Crypto.
Run.

If the publisher dabbles in crypto in any way, don’t bother submitting a thing. They want to pay you in crypto? Say no. They start talking in dizzying language about something called a “blockchain”? Cut them off and say no. They publish books about crypto anything and it isn’t super sci-fi (nor the majority of their selection)? Look elsewhere. They talk up crypto as better than money? They’re trying to screw you. The internet magic beans do not work out for most, don’t take the bait. Plus, you would have to buy extra stuff to even accept crypto, such as a crypto wallet, and just because a crypto coin sounds great or looks profitable now doesn’t mean it will be a half hour later – or shorter. Many have lost their shirts (and houses. And worse.) this way. Also, fun fact: there’s no protections in crypto so if you get schemed, there’s no real way to get the money back or bring the person to justice. There’s a reason why they want to use crypto and are pitching everything they have to people who most likely don’t know what crypto is. These folks are not really that versed in actual art or literature, they’re just looking for suckers to make themselves money off of. I actually own a cold wallet and I still avoid spots like these like the plague. It’s just an elaborate scam 9 times out of 10 and you’ll never be the 1, don’t fall for it. Demand to be paid in actual money, not some coin you can’t physically touch.

This is not a comprehensive list but it’s what I use when I see calls for stories. You want to actually get published and published somewhere at least half decent. It is not a great experience to send your stories to what feels like almost any and everywhere just to feel like no one would publish you even if you were the only and last story on earth. That feeling just makes you desperate and the more desperate you get, the less cautionary you’ll become. And that is one way many has fallen for nasty scams or markets that lead you on but go nowhere. Remember that a good chunk of the markets you’re seeing won’t exist even five years from now, it’s important to stick to the ones that look like they have some staying power. You won’t always know who those markets are, especially since these markets can sometimes start off great and finish off terribly for a slew of reasons that Writer’s Beware has best explained throughout their entire website.

* Broken Clock Theory: “Even a broken clock is right twice a day”

**It took Fantasy and Science Fiction hiring a Black editor (a first one in their entire history, that’s a concern) to up the diversity of stories by a couple tics. And when things went south with the owner, who is White, being sloppy about the checks and even publishing a glowering racist, it was the editor that took all the heat, not the owner. That’s a major problem. Don’t become some random White person’s human shield for their screw-ups