Solving the Sim Sub Problem

Which pieces do you simultaneously submit, to which magazines, and to how many competing markets? This has always been a difficult problem for me to solve, and it always boiled down to two things:

1. Choosing one magazine was draining enough, let alone five; and
2. I wanted to submit in an ethical fashion.

Today I think I’ve found the solution to this dilemma:

1. When you submit a piece, note on your record whether the first market you chose allows simultaneous submissions.
2. The next time you get into a dead period and can’t get a fresh piece out for whatever reason, go back to your record and see which submission has aged the most.
3. If it happened to be sent to a market that allows sim subs, then choose another market that also accepts sim subs, and send it there too.
4. Repeat as needed.
5. Alternatively, repeat once or twice a week, depending how many you have out in the first place.

This removes the implied pressure to choose, say, half a dozen markets all at once, by spreading the choices out over a period of several weeks. And it’s ethical for two reasons: 1) this way I’m only sending sim subs to the magazines that explicitly state they accept them, and 2) it allows me to take enough time to choose appropriate publications.

posted: 06 October 17
under: Open Folio