My First Short Story Sale

About a week ago, I got an email that started:

“Thank you for the opportunity to read and consider your story …”

Groan! So many rejection letters and emails started that way. The next phrases, though, included words like “publish” and “pay.” I had to re-read the email several times before the truth got through. I made a sale!

After bouncing around the house a bit, I got down to replying to the sender, printing out and signing the contract and telling everyone.

The story is New Kid. I wrote this for entry into the Pacific Northwest Writers Association competition in 2011. While it didn’t win any awards, it scored well. I took the comments and suggestions from the contest reviewers and rewrote the story, then started submitting it around. I knew this one would find a home and, finally, it did. While the magazine isn’t a full pro paying market, it is a paid market and is an award-winning magazine.

When I selected the magazine for submission, I bought a few copies and read them. That was difficult to do. The quality of the stories in the magazine was pretty high and I thought New Kid wouldn’t stand a chance. After rejections from the larger markets, I just didn’t have a lot of hope.

Anyway, a win is a win. For those of you still struggling to get a story out there, don’t give up hope. While the market is tough, good writing will find a way through to readers. That gives me hope for The Deadliest of Games. I did a bit of a rewrite on that one, recently, and am looking for a novelette market. I’m encouraged because the number of magazines accepting stories in that length (7,500 to 14,000 words) seems to have increased and more of those are pro markets.

When I get details on when New Kid will appear, I will share that information here, with links to the magazine site.

Keep writing!