Research is an integral part of achieving publication in any fiction market. You should be aware of the genres handled by the market you wish to submit to and the nuances of each particular publication. The best way to accomplish this is through a very simple task. Buy the magazine. I know it may seem controversial in this world of free information available 24/7, but there is truly no better way to grasp the essence of a magazine than by reading it cover to cover. Studying it’s layout, the way stories are displayed, the breakdown of types of story (which will give you a better idea of what will be accepted more frequently). This dive into the page will reap benefits in numerous ways. If you pick up back issues and scan them, you might even begin to discern what the editor’s preferences are as well. Blindly firing words at submission emails just because they fit the basic genre of the publication will only lead to disappointment. There are many more just like you, vying to see their works in print. Taking a more targeted and focused approach will have you head and shoulders above the rest.
Now the burning passion for writing, like any fire, needs fuel to keep going. You will run out of life experience to sustain it, people around you can only be tapped into so many times before your characters become cookie cutter and eventually the bitter cold of creative stagnation will settle into your bones. If you’ve ever flipped through a book about writing, one of the constant axioms you’ll find is “Read, read, read!” One cannot become an author if one is not already a reader. Being a voracious reader is beneficial to being a writer in many ways. One, you learn the flow of narrative, pacing and general story structure. Two, when reading of the genre you wish to write in, you begin to notice what works and doesn’t work in other people’s stories. Three, you’re supporting the very industry you wish to join, keeping them solvent and maintaining the financial incentives for your own future membership.
Whenever I find the embers of my fire dying out, I pour gasoline all over the damn thing by going on reading benders. By consuming everything and anything I can get my hands on, I’m able to stoke it back to a roaring flame. Sometimes its enough to re-read certain favorites of mine like Lawrence Block’s “Telling Lies for Fun & Profit”. Other times I absorb completely new material, like Jim Butcher’s “The Dresden Files” series. Either way my rusted gears start turning again which is essential in staving off creative malaise. Once you swirl down that particular drain, it’s very difficult to climb back out.
Writing, unless in the throes of the muse, can be a grinding task so being able to leverage all the tricks in your collection is necessary to keep things moving forward. Using research and consumption as tools of the trade and not excuses for avoiding work, is invaluable. At the end of the day, production is what counts and letting the machinery atrophy only makes it that much harder to reach the endgame.
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Awesome. I’ve learned something. Thank you. I look forward to reading more!