Magazine Submission Statistics

There’s something about statistics that I find intriguing. They can reveal good information in some circumstances, and sometimes they’re simply entertaining. I’ve discovered over the years that there are quite a few statistics available for submissions to magazines, and I’ll share how I analyze some of the data that I find.

One statistic I often consider is the number of submissions reported to a magazine over a given time period. Sometimes, you can find this information out directly from the magazine editor; if not, you’re limited to what was reported through your favorite market search tool, such as duotrope (which is always a subset of total submissions). This number tells me how many authors are targeting the magazine for publication and is usually a good gauge for popularity among writers; this usually ties to pay scale and circulation along with a general buzz factor among the writing community. What it does not tell me is my actual statistical chance for acceptance, a subtle point that writers may overlook. For example, suppose Magazine X has received 100 submissions in the past year and published 20. I could think to myself, “Given that they published 20 stories of 100 last year and that they’ll likely do the same this year, my odds of getting published are 1 in 5 or 20%.” That would be true if getting published was based on a lottery system where stories are picked at random. Never think in those terms, or you will be quickly overwhelmed. Instead, consider that some markets have a lot more submissions than others, so if you submit to a more popular market, your story will need to stand out that much more.

Another statistic I find helpful is the average response time. This obviously helps in understanding how long the wait will be (on average) before a response is sent. When I find markets that seem extremely unresponsive, I avoid them so as to avoid throwing my story into the same black hole with everyone else.

Once I’ve submitted, I start tracking pending responses, that is authors who reported submitting to the market and are now waiting for a response (like me). I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but this kind of statistic is extraordinarily helpful in determining if I’m waiting for a response well past when others received theirs. On several occasions, this has revealed to me that my submission fell through the cracks, giving me the chance to query the editor about the submission without looking impatient (since I know about many others who already had responses to submissions sent after mine).

There are many other statistics available as well, but the three I’ve mentioned are what I primarily focus on. At least, they help me 85% of the time.

Changing Jobs

I’m not the sort of person who changes jobs frequently. In software development, however, change is inevitable, and that often means employment changes as well in order to work with different technologies or to explore new opportunities that can’t be found within the walls of one’s current employer.

In 2009, the software development company I worked for was acquired. I was fortunate to remain with the new parent company, but the technology path for the parent company was one that I didn’t want to go down because I felt like I was too invested in other technologies and had little desire to make the switch. I waited and waited (not very patiently at times) for a new opportunity, and earlier this year, I was offered a senior position with another software development company that’s taking the technology path I want to pursue.

Today, I’ve been with the new company for a week, and so far, it seems to be a wise decision. God led me to a lot of possibilities, and for a while, I wasn’t sure if I would be moving on at all. Doors closed for strange reasons with other companies, but then I would find out later that such companies wouldn’t have been good for me (for example, two were acquired and a third turned over a significant number of staff). It was quite a ride, and I’m glad to be through that transition.

Change is never easy, but I think it’s easier to accept when it’s a change for the better.

Stephen King On Writing

Of the many gifts I received on Christmas, one of the ones I enjoyed the most was "On Writing" by Stephen King. This is actually the tenth anniversary issue of the book. Part memoir, part writing advice, King shares everything succinctly (he describes the explanation for brevity in one of the forewords).

I enjoyed this book for several reasons, but what I liked the most was his candor. I felt like he had brought me next to his writing desk to tell me about the craft and his life with amusing and somewhat surprising detail.

The majority of his writing advice served as reminders for things I had learned from other sources, primarily that writing should be concise. He makes some good points against adverbs, especially dialogue attribution (such as he said vehemently). I try to avoid passive voice as much as possible, but I do admit a fondness for adverbs and adjectives; nothing excessive, certainly, but as I’ve pointed out in a past article, I can only be so brief before my thoughts are no longer conveyed. That said, I understand much more about the give and take between author and reader after reading this book, so perhaps that knowledge will keep my adverbs at bay.

I don’t read a lot of writing advice books, so I can’t really stand behind any single book and proclaim it as crucial for good writing. I do think that King’s book makes a lot of great points for consideration for new authors or authors (like me) with some credentials to our names. This probably isn’t something that an author of multiple published novels would need because he/she has likely already figured things out, but I would guess that it would still be an entertaining read, one that would give a sense of comradery with a prolific author.

I recommend picking this up if you have the chance. More than likely, you’ll learn something or be reminded of something. If nothing else, I think you’ll find it a great read. Go ahead and pull up a chair next to Mr. King. He’s ready to share his thoughts with you.