Simsubs: Yes or No?

   

NOTE: The topic of this post will probably be of interest only to writers of short stories--I doubt other people would even know what we mean by "simsubs." Even writers and those who DO know what we mean might be tired of the subject by now. But, because of the many recent discussions about it in some writer's groups I belong to . . .

Let's talk about simultaneous submissions. It's an issue that seems to pop up every year or two, with strong opinions being voiced from both sides, and--as always--most juries are still out on whether simsubs are good or bad. The simple question remains: Should I submit my story to more than one market at the same time?

I think this most recent rekindling of interest is because response times seem to be growing longer and longer for the few publications still left out there that publish short mystery stories--which is mostly what I. and friends of mine, write. One market in particular--Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine--is known to take around a year to respond to most submissions. (Some time ago it seemed to have dwindled to around 11 months, and now it's back to 13 or 14 months between submission and response.) A year, plus or minus, is a long time for a story to sit around in a queue, completely out of circulation, and when you consider the fact that your story can end up rejected after all that time, you might be sorely tempted to send that story someplace else while you're waiting. A hedging, shall we say, of bets.

So . . . should you do it?

Definitions and rules

First, for those who don't know, a simultaneous submission is the act of sending of the same short-story manuscript to more than one market at the same time--and not to be confused with "multiple submission," which means sending more than one story to the same market. The simsub practice can obviously be a good thing because it improves your odds of a timely acceptance. But it's also risky. If more than one place decides to accept your story, presto!--you've got two dates to the prom, which is never a good situation.

Even if only one of the two markets accepts your story, you must still notify the other market to tell them your story's no longer available for consideration, and that withdrawal can in itself be irritating to an editor. More on that later.

The upside

Let's break all this down a bit. On the plus side of the ledger, if you simultaneously submit a story, (1) you'll almost certainly sell it sooner, and (2) the risk is small because the chances are small that you'll receive two acceptances for the same story at around the same time. And hey, if you wind up with an acceptance from the first market and you have to withdraw an as-yet-unaccepted story from consideration at the second market, it's certainly possible that the second editor won't mind a bit. Maybe she hasn't even gotten around to considering your story yet.

Still thinking positively, and being realistic, simsubs usually result in one of two things happening: Either you get a rejection from both markets or you get an acceptance from one and a rejection from the other. Obviously, neither of those situations presents a problem. All is well with the world.

The downside

On the other hand, the possibilities are: (1) the worst could happen, and both markets could send you an acceptance letter--and one of them will have to be told OOPS--Sorry, that story's already sold. And (2) you might get an acceptance from Market #1 and when you notify #2 that it's no longer available, they might've already spent time considering your story, in which case they won't be pleased that you've wasted their time. They probably won't tell you that--you might never find it out--but you also might've unintentionally made an enemy. So, either of those situations could mean your name is now on a  particular editor's sh*t list, and the * doesn't stand for or.

Another point. Some places will say, in their guidelines, that simultaneous submissions are permitted. That means you'll NEVER get in trouble with simsubs, right?

Wrong. Even if they do say it, they won't like it. No editor likes simultaneous submissions. If you withdraw a story from them in midstream--and believe me, they'll probably know why you're withdrawing it--there's a fair chance they won't be happy hikers.

Conclusions

As I have said before at this blog, I think the risks of simultaneous submissions outweigh the advantages. That's my opinion only, but I do believe that. Since we know that withdrawals can be annoying to editors, and the last thing I want to to do is annoy an editor, I just don't do it. I'm annoying enough as it is.

My personal "bad" experience with simultaneous submissions is a bit unusual. What happened to me is that I once submitted a story to a place (Strand Magazine, in my case) that is known to never respond at all unless it's an acceptance, and after waiting many months without getting a response, I assumed that story must've been rejected, and I sent it elsewhere (AHMM, in my case). Then I was told by the first publication that they in fact did want to buy my story, so I dutifully notified (confessed to) the second market that I had sent them a story that I thought had been rejected elsewhere but had not. Actually, this kind of misfire happened to me twice, with these same two publications. Both times, the editor of the second market--Linda Landrigan--told me there was no problem, and allowed me to easily withdraw my story so it could be published at the first market--but it still gave me a terrible feeling, and the second time it happened I resolved never to do it again. Since that point, I have never submitted a story to two different places at the same time, and I have never submitted a story anywhere unless I know for certain that that story is no longer under consideration elsewhere. Better safe than sorry.

Questions

How do you feel about this whole issue? Do you submit simultaneously, or not? Is it an always thing? A sometimes thing? Only with certain markets? If you haven't done it already, would you or wouldn't you, in the future? Is it really worth the risk? Any war stories, about this kind of thing? Please let me know, in the comments section below. I'd also love to hear the opinions of editors, if any of you decision-makers are reading this.

I assure you, by the way, that SleuthSayers is the only place to which I submitted this post.