simultaneous submission

[Guest]

How does one handle simultaneous submissions? If the magazine doesn't nix it in their writer's guidelines, can one assume that it's OK? Some mags take as long as 6 months to get back to you -- and then it may be a rejection. Why tie up a story that someone else may want?

[RoadWriter]

In today's market, its hard enough to survive on the ever decreasing rates offered to us, let alone be expected to sit back for months waiting for some editor to let us know if they want our articles!

For years editors have expected us to be exclusive with our queries, however that also was back when they were paying $1.00 and up per word!

[Guest]

I'm a struggling writer and I have just received word that a story I wrote will be printed in a relatively small magazine. Since I am not being paid for this one (I need the clip sorry) would it be ethical to send the same story off to say, a travel website? There is no contract involved.

[Vera Marie]

Usually the needs of the various publications are different enough that you'll want to change it a bit anyway. If you are sending the identical article, I'd tell them it is a reprint, and what your rates are for a reprint.

Vera Marie

[W. Ruth]

Usually if you are not cross-marketing (i.e. sending the story to two or three publications in the same publishing area) it's OK, but once someone accepts it, then should one of the other places where you submitted it also want the story you are ethically bound to tell them that it has already been accepted by so-and-so. Sometimes a second serial rights won't matter. I've found these days that a lot of places absolutely won't publish your story if it has already been published in print or on-line. Others don't mind that it's a second printing. One way you can get around this, is to rework the story, write it from a new angle or put in a new lead and update info. This freshens it up and with a new title and focus it's a 'new' unpublished story.

PS for my TRAVEL THRU HISTORY I have no objected to previously published work.