The Whys and Hows of Submitting Stories to Anthologies

Many of us cut our teeth writing short stories. But how do you find markets for your work? Consider submitting to anthologies. This book will help you tailor your stories for the best chances for acceptance and publication. Why anthologies? The odds are in your favor with anthologies because the acceptance rate at many magazines and journals, despite their proliferation now online, is discouragingly low. Anthologies, on the other hand, typically have narrower themes—and the narrower the theme, the better your odds of acceptance. Assuming, of course, that your story meets that theme. Stories that squarely hit an anthology's target will likely go to the top of an editor's pile of submissions. Another thing to consider is that an anthology can provide a market for your previously published work. Although many anthologies accept only unpublished work, many are also open to reprints. Some anthologies accept only previously published work. If one of your stories meets an anthology theme and the anthology welcomes reprints, polish it a bit and send it along. As I wrote this book, I also asked other editors and writers (many of them contributors to Smart Rhino anthologies) for their observations, suggestions, and advice. I've quoted them throughout the book and hope you find their opinions and recommendations helpful. One last note about this book. This is not a how-to on writing techniques—plenty of other books and magazines help you with that. The focus here is on how to submit your work to anthologies. If that's your goal, read on! REVIEWS: "There is a wealth of information I wish I'd had when I'd started out submitting to anthologies. Most of it might be common sense, but you'd be surprised how much of it is ignored by new authors. The short interviews with established authors spread throughout are also great, and it hammers home the do's and don'ts of submitting to an anthology. " "Weldon Burge, an editor and publisher, and author, offers his advice simply and cordially. In addition, he enlists the suggestions of other writers and editors who draw on their own experiences of working with anthologies. I particularly was struck by the emphasis on following publisher guidelines. Such a simple thing, you'd think. And yet..."