How To Get Your Short Story Published | Little Moose

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Right, so first of all, I want to say that I am not an experienced writer who has been published lots. I have been published twice, once in a short story anthology and once on the Short Story Sunday website. 

But I have learned a few things over the last couple of years and some of you might be in the position I was and this stuff might help you. So I'm writing it: 

1) Don't rely on writing competitions. I did this for far too long, thinking that writing competitions were the only way to get recognised or published. This isn't true. You end up spending quite a lot of money on comps because they start at around £5 per entry and I ended up feeling depressed at the lack of response and lighter purse...

There are plenty of online publications, zines and paper magazines who are looking for short stories and they don't charge you. In fact some offer payment, albeit it very low. Go in search of publications looking for submissions and especially new and upcoming ones who are needing content. Don't be precious. You want to get it out there, get noticed and be encouraged to write your next piece. 

2) Suit your genre to the publication. Don't send a light-hearted romance story to a publication asking for dark fantasy. Sometimes it may not even be that obvious. Have a nosey around the site or paper you are submitting to and get a feel for what they are looking for

3) Edit, edit, edit. The two stories I have had published were the ones that got the most re-edits and the ones I worked the hardest on. Send your stories out to people, friends, preferably ones who will be honest and get feedback before you start sending out.

4) Cover letters are needed for short stories too. I have only just caught onto this idea. The person receiving your submission is a human being who needs love like you do. Just being addressed by name really helps and like introducing yourself it is important to introduce your story in the right way. Just a short letter will suffice. You can find examples on the internet. The editors name is usually on the about page of their website. 

5) Try and focus your stories onto one aspect. I have always had a problem in that I jump around lots of ideas and stories in my works (films as well) The two that made it were different works for me. They focused on one them and really moved in tight to that subject, instead of trying to explain a million themes in 2000 words. Short stories especially are best when they reflect moments as opposed to journeys or entire plots. If that makes sense.

6) Read short stories. Yes. It's very important. Short stories are different to novels. They read differently and the more you read the more you will learn the flow and ebb of how they are put together. I treated myself to a few short story compilations and slowly went through them. Be warned: most short stories especially the ones that end up in anthologies are WIERD! Go with it. I would suggest Daphne du Maurier's shorts as a great place to start. "The Doll" is an excellent example of a great short. Creepy too. 

These are just a few things I have learned along the way and I will be sure to share more as I go.

lots of love
xx
Little Moose

I've recently released two short stories on Kindle for download. One of them was published on www.shortstorysunday.com
If you want to check them out please do download them and let me know what you think. I would especially like to hear any thoughts on "The Olive Branch" as that one is about Greek and Turkish Cypriots and I'm interested to see how it reads to people who don't know the history of the island. 




The Olive Branch



Edward's First Love 


2 comments :

  1. I feel like I've been looking for this blog post my whole life. I've been writing short stories and novels for a few years and I would love to get published one day. Nevertheless, I have no clue how I could make it. Now, I think I know what to do. I'll save that post and try to make the most of it. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. That is great to hear! I'm just glad some of the things I learned can help others. I wish I'd been told this when I started. Let me know if there's ever anything you want feedback on. All the best

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