You’ve written, revised, and edited your lesbian erotic short story and are ready to send it off into the world—hopefully, to be published. You’ve got a copy of the current calls for submissions in front of you. Now what? Don’t take a deep breath or get distracted, your work with this story is not done until you’ve made sure it confirms to the guidelines.

Nothing will get a poorly written story published. However, not following instructions will ensure your well-written story doesn’t even get read. The “call for submissions” is a clear set of instructions from the editor about what he or she wants from you, the author. Ignoring it, or not paying enough attention to what it is asking of you, is fool’s play. After all of the time you have put into writing and revising your story, invest the time and attention into this last critical step. I’ll walk you through the process.

The Call for Submissions Guidelines

These guidelines are the editor’s want ad. A well written call will clearly tell you what the editor wants and exactly how they want to receive it. In that sense, the call is a blue print for how you should construct your submission and deliver it to the editor. Read them carefully. Everything you need to know is there and if it isn’t, there is an industry standard you should already know about that should be used. There is nothing mystical about calls once you know what to look for when reading one.

Reading a Call
This is an old expired call for an anthology I edited:

Drag Kings: Short Erotica Edited by Amie M. Evans and Rakelle Valencia

We want to create an anthology of realistic-like stories involving drag kings on or off stage…in a dressing room…a parked car…a hotel room… All the glamour, or lack there of, that dressing up like a man, performing for a screaming (or lame) crowd, traveling in intimate circumstances with other performers, or meeting all those fine women and bois who yell to you to take it off, that leads to sex, sex, sex. Or tell us tales of the hooking up that happens at these gigs between co-performers or lusty fans looking to bed their favorite kings. And make your story HOT. 2,000 to 6,000 words. No reprints or poetry. Literary Fiction only. Mail two hard copies and a bio to me at my address by this date. $50/story. Suspect Thoughts Press. 2009.

What Information Does the Call Provide?
Let’s deconstruct the guidelines. They will usually tell you (1) the theme or topic of the anthology, (2) maximum and minimum word count of submissions, (3) the type of work being solicited (fiction, memoir, essay, etc…), (4) how to send your work (email, hard copy, multiple copies), (5) the deadline, (6) if reprints are accepted, and (7) any specific requirements such as only southern, female, left handed authors may submit. Additionally, information about publication date, publisher, and payment are normally also listed in the call. Identify each element in the above call. Go ahead, do it now. I’ll wait.

Sometimes the editors will spell out specific details such as send two copies or put your email in the footer of every page or blind submissions with no name on the story and the title in the cover letter. Sometimes editors are kind enough to remind you of how to format the manuscript (double spaced, etc…).

What Information Is Missing from the Call?
In the above call there is no reference to how your manuscript should be formatted. This doesn’t mean you can do what you want; instead it assumes you will know enough to format your manuscript in industry standard format.

Formatting Correctly
Basic standard manuscript format is 81/2×11 page white paper with a 1 inch margin on all sides. Use 11 point font, Times New Roman or similar, black ink, and double space. Author’s name, email address, phone, story title, and page number in footer. Title, author’s name, full contact information (this means phone, email, and snail mail), and word count centered, single spaced on the first page. Short stories are stapled or paper clipped. Novels normally have a rubber band around them.

If the call doesn’t state how the manuscript is to be formatted than use the formatting above. Do not bind your manuscript. And just to be clear, if the call states that your manuscript should be on pink paper in 20 point font, than do it. Do whatever the call request. The above is to be used only if no specific request is stated in the call.

Tracking Your Submissions
It is critical that you keep track of who you have sent your stories or manuscript to for consideration. This will allow you to know which stories are accepted and which stories you can still shop. It will also allow you to know which editors like your work and just as importantly which do not. It will allow you to determine your submission/publication success rate and adjust your submissions accordingly. It will also allow you to track the notification dates and know who has yet to get back to you.

There are any number of ways to keep track of submissions. I use an excel chart with Story, anthology title, editor contact, date sent, accept/reject, and date published columns. Excel allows me to sort data, add other columns and rows and manipulate date easily. A page in a notebook with hand drawn columns will work too. The key is to find a system that works for you. You need to know what you’ve sent to who and what they thought of it.

To Follow Up or Not, That Is the Question
In most cases I say not. It is highly unlikely that the editor has forgotten to reply to your submission. It is possible, but not very likely. It is possible they miss-entered your email address and you didn’t get their email reply. However, if this is the case and they wanted your story they would call or send you a snail mail.

For an anthology submission: If you do not hear back by one week after the notification date stated in the call, it is acceptable to send an email request to find out what the status of your submission is. Make the email clear, concise, and polite. State your name, the name of your story, and ask whether or not it was accepted. Use the title of the anthology as the subject line of the email. (For example, Re: Submission to BLE 2005). Do not be chatty or explain why you want to know.

For a manuscript submission: If you do not hear back by the date stated (normally 3-6 months) it is acceptable to send an email or better yet a letter inquiring about the status of your manuscript. Since many publishers do not accept simultaneous submissions, if you want to send your manuscript to someone else, say so. But be aware, that will not cause the first publisher to hurry up and read or accept your manuscript. So only say it if you mean it.

Fulfilling the Editor’s Desires
The key to getting your submission read is to fulfill the editor’s desire. What the editor wants is clearly stated in the call. Guidelines aren’t optional or suggestions; they are very simply set in stone. Don’t reinvent the wheel. It already exists and works perfectly for the editors who will be reading (or not reading if you don’t follow the guidelines) your submissions. Do exactly what the guidelines say. This isn’t the time to show how creative you are; instead it is the time to show that you are capable of following instructions and a professional—two characteristics editors want in the authors they are going to be working with. Whatever, the guidelines say to do, no matter how dumb it might seem to you, you should do it. Period. Before you seal the envelope, double check your submission against the call.

Best of luck submitting your work!

NEXT TIME: Reading as Craft

Amie M. Evans
October 2008

“Two Girls Kissing: Writing Lesbian Literary Erotica” © 2008 Amie M. Evans. All rights reserved.