The Writers' Circle

I have had quite a few congrats sent to me about my having a short story published, for which I'm very grateful. However, DeUndrae set me thinking by adding to the post: 'I'm still trying to write a short story and hoping a publisher will publish it.'

That story could be anything from three words: I came, I saw, I conquered, to 20,000 words. 

What is a story? This may sound like a crass question but it is an important one. One definition is: 'A piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events.' This is fine but leaves out one important thing. As for being published, these events must have some form of conflict in them and they must be resolved at the end of the story, otherwise the reader will feel cheated. (Novels can be left open-ended for a sequel).

Before writing a short story, one question needs to be answered. It's a simple question but many people don't ask it of themselves and wonder why they don't get published. The question is; am I going to write the story for myself or the general public. (I deliberately used 'general public' as opposed to 'public' for a reason I'll explain shortly.

By writing for yourself, you could be limiting your readership. You may be happy with this if you do not worry about being published. Your own stories might appeal to only a small market. By writing for the 'general 'public', I mean the many women's magazines that accept fiction. I know there are men's magazines but most of the stories in them are soft-core pornography so I'll leave that alone. It's a specialized subject that has to be written well to get into the 'glossies'.

Before I go any further, I would like to point out that I write for myself; no women's magazines would print the stories I write, so I was thrilled to learn of a new magazine that catered for many tastes, including my own.

So,  DeUndrae and others want to be published. I'll assume the aim is to get into a woman's magazine. The first thing to do is read as many stories as you can from one or two women's magazines. This will give you a 'feeling' for what the editor wants. Secondly, find out from the magazine what the actual guidelines are. So many good stories get rejected because they are not to the guidelines of the magazine. If a guide for word count is between 1000 and 1200 words, don't send in 900 or 1300; editors don't have the time to add or subtract just to make a piece fit. Sure, it may be edited, but that is different.

By reading a lot, you should have some idea of what will sell. Now you have to come up with an idea for your story. It can be anything at all so long as it is believable and is within the scope of the magazine and its readers. A friend of mine had a story published about a woman going to an auction at a public house. The auction was for a cottage in the village. The woman; well dressed and looking out of place, entered the pub and studied the people there. She was nervous as the bidding started and was anxious that a particularly unpleasant looking man put in a high bid. A higher bid was called and the hammer came down. The woman was thrilled that her first day as an auctioneer was over. 

I can't put the whole story here as it may infringe on copyright. But in it, there is conflict; she is nervous. (Conflict doesn't have to be major). The conflict is resolved by the relief she feels at the end of the auction. There is a twist in the tale, although some magazines frown on this type of ending unless done really well.

Don't use well-known clichés. 'It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop'. Yuck! Try to write something original, if not, just write 'It was so silent.' You can, for effect, add something to spice it up a little; to add emphasis. Imagine you are in a room below ground. 'It was so silent. Not a sound came from the footfalls of the people walking above. No distant droning of vehicles; nothing.'

Try not to use words that many of us have to look in the dictionary to understand what they mean. When you have finished your story, read it aloud. You'll find it so different from reading it in your head. Check you spellings and punctuation. Punctuation is not so important if there are only a few mistakes but too many spelling mistakes show that little care has been taken in the final preparation. American English and English English can be a nightmare and is often difficult to sort out. I use English English when I am aware of it.

Try not to use ambiguous statements. For example: For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers. 
Ok, it's overstating it, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

I can't stress too much how important it is to get the guidelines right. If they only want romance, they won't want horror. If a magazine wants your manuscript on white A4 paper, double spaced, printed one side only, Times New Roman font and with one inch spacing on the sides, head and gutter, then that is what they expect. Don't lose a deal for the want of not adhering to or not even reading the guidelines.

Finally, when you have written your masterpiece, checked it and checked it again, print it on clean paper. It sounds obvious but it's so easy to think that the small 'print head check' on the reverse of one sheet won't get noticed; it will, so will grubby sheets. Don't staple papers together unless told otherwise. Send your manuscript to someone with a known name if possible. A telephone call to the magazine will give you the present editor's name. Do this frequently as editors come and go and Mrs Jones won't be happy to get your story if it is addressed to her predecessor.

I hope this hasn't proved to be utter garbage and if you have read this far then it's just possible I haven't bored you.

Good luck to all who want to write and be published.

Reiner.