Simultaneous Submissions??

[argonut]

When a publisher says that they accept simultaneous submissions, does that mean that you can send a manuscript to them at the same time you send it to another publisher? How exactly does that work? Do the publication rights go to the first publisher who responds?

thanks in advance,
J

[kurt_messick]

Some publications allow you to publish simultaneously. Some want you, if they choose your piece, to agree to withdraw submission to other places. That can vary depending upon the kind of publication as well as the breadth of audience.

Publication needn't necessarily go to the first one who responds, but there is often a time element involved that will solve your problem. If Obscure magazine wants it for their March publication, and you've also submitted it to the New Yorker, you might have to decide to say yes to Obscure even because the New Yorker won't respond in time to match the deadline.

[satan]

Simsubs

Subtle stigma againt simsubs.

[Grouch]

I used to avoid simultaneous submissions--mistakenly thinking that if I submitted the same story to two or more magazines at the same time, that meant I was a "bad boy." But then, as I got more and more involved in sending my fiction to places like The New Yorker and The Cattleman's Association Newsletter, I started to realize that those stories of mine were ending up at the bottom (at best, the middle) of slush piles, where they'd linger for months (occasionally, years) on end.

And so, I made the decision to put my stories out there with a better circulation plan. This meant sending something like "Beefhearts: a Love Story" to both the New Yorker and the Cattleman's Association Newsletter (CAN) at the same time. *sigh* unfortunately, "Beefhearts" wasn't meaty enough for the New Yorker, whereas CAN said it was too juicy.

So, Simsubs are not a bad thing, as far as I'm concerned. They're often very necessary--from a writer's business perspective. HOWEVER, you should always, Always, ALWAYS let the editors of all the publications you're submitting to know that they're looking at a simultaneous submission. Play fair with the editors and they'll (most of them, anyway) respect you for it in the morning.

[AuntieEmma[$]]

Originally posted by Grouch
HOWEVER, you should always, Always, ALWAYS let the editors of all the publications you're submitting to know that they're looking at a simultaneous submission.

How do you do that? Do you send a letter saying, "Oh, by the way, I thought you might like to know that I've also sent this story out to Cattleman's Quarterly and The Journal of Cardiology, but I really hope that you take it instead, because your magazine is my favorite?" Or do you just type "Simultaneous Submission" across the top of the manuscript, without any further explanation?

[Grouch]

Originally posted by AuntieEmma


How do you do that? Do you send a letter saying, "Oh, by the way, I thought you might like to know that I've also sent this story out to Cattleman's Quarterly and The Journal of Cardiology, but I really hope that you take it instead, because your magazine is my favorite?" Or do you just type "Simultaneous Submission" across the top of the manuscript, without any further explanation?

No, don't write anything across the top of the actual ms (apart from name/title/page #).
In the cover letter, I usually close with something like: "As a courtesy, you should know I am also simultaneously submitting 'War and Peace' to other publishers."
That's it--nothing long and drawn-out. I don't even necessarily say who I'm simultaneously submitting it to (keep 'em guessing). Really, for some publishers (if not most), Simsubs aren't that big of a deal. They just want to know if they've got an exclusive or not. Your material should be judged on its own merits, not based on the fact that Lapidary Journal is also having a look-see.

At least, this is the cavalier attitude I've adopted over a couple decades of submitting (simultaneous and otherwise).

[AuntieEmma[$]]

Thanks. That's good to know. One of the reasons I gave up trying to get short stories published umpteen years ago was that I had thought that doing simultaneous submissions was violating some iron-clad taboo. So I would send a story out. Six months or a year later, it would come back, rejected. I would send it out again. Six months or a year later, it would come back, rejected. And so on (and on and on and on). The whole process drove me nuts, and I eventually just threw in the towel. Now I think I'm going to reconsider. It's not the rejections, per se, that got to me (not that I was crazy about them), but just how long the whole process took -- I mean it could take decades to get a story published by sending it to one magazine at a time.