So you've written a short story...maybe you've written several short stories...now what? First, are they for children? Are they for adults? Is this a memory of your first driving experience, or is this a Fairy Tale? You need to figure this out so that you know the market you'll be aiming for.
If you haven't done it already you need to buy the most recent edition of "Writer's Market." This will have listings for magazines (which is probably where your story will end up), book publishers who put out collections of short stories, contests you can enter your story into etc...
Children's short stories have many more outlets then, say, an adult short story. But, there are markets for both.
As with anything you send out...keep a record of where, when and who you sent it to. A detailed log! What I do personally, is I write down the name of the contact person, the address, when I sent it to them specifically, what the deadline for the contest is if I am entering it into one, and what I sent to them. Plus, any other short details I may need to know about the publisher in case they write back and I can't remember off the top of my head, who the heck they are.
Who is your market?? Here is a list of some of the genres that short stories...well, most all writing can fall into.
Childrens: Ages up to 12
Young Adult and Teen: Ages 13-19
Science Fiction
Romance
Mystery
Humor
Slice of Life: Something that may happen in your day to day life, usually a short humor piece.
New Age: Relating, but not limited to Metaphysics, Astrology, Numerology, Horoscopes, Psychics, Meditation, etc...
How To
Travel
Home and Garden: Usually these relate to articles...but some magazines take short stories on the home and garden.
Gay and Lesbian: An increasing market is opening up for these kinds of stories...mainly because there are now more publications focusing on these issues.
Sports
Women's
Camping, Hunting, etc...
This list doesn't include genres such as technical fields. You may write a short story for say a computer magazine...or public school administration, and it have a smaller market than the ones above.
Short stories often find their home in collections of short stories, magazines, some chapbooks, and of course childrens school books. They can also be adapted, like plays and books, into films. Such as the Holly Hunter/ Robert Downey Jr. movie, "Home For The Holidays."
Get the book Novel and Short Story Writer's Market by Writer's Digest books. It has a comprehensive listing of magazines, publishers, contests, etc... and can be found at almost any bookstore. It's worth the money.
Before submitting your story to a magazine, see if you can find a current copy of one of their issues. If you are familiar with the magazine this isn't as imperative, but if it is a magazine you have never read before, or have not seen in a while, it will help you to determine whether or not it is something they may be interested in. Often times Editors complain that people who are submitting their work are not familiar with their magazine and waste their time sending it in to them, because it is not something that is right for them. So, peruse the shelves at the local bookstore and look for the magazines that stand out to you as something that may fit your story. You'll spend your time better, and have a better chance of getting your story looked at.
