I want to write a nice interesting story and then have elves whisk it off my computer to submit it to the exact proper publication instantly. It would be nice if the story was automatically accepted and published for the world and galaxies to see within nine days.
Sadly, and for me, regretfully, there is no such service. To be published as a new writer, one has to first discover publications that might be willing to consider your particular type of fiction. I stayed up all night once with a bottle of Dewar’s and counted every possible fiction publication and I lost count at 37 million, three hundred and seven glasses of amber liquid. What? Oh hell, there are more places to publish fiction than I can count, even sans Dewar’s. Pretty much anyone with an internet connection and three functioning brain cells can put up a website and call it a “magazine” or “review” or whatever. There are way too many of those, as well as the “pay to be published” magazines. Not counting them, there are still thousands of legitimate markets out there. A website that helps writers find markets, Duotrope, currently lists over 7,600 publications! Thankfully, they have a search screen so writers can sort out the type of publication that might, maybe, perhaps, you never know, match your style of writing.
The task of identifying a legitimate market that might publish my little gem of fiction is extremely challenging and can we say more tedious than I am capable of managing. Since I live in 2021 I naturally demand instant gratification, so those publications that will respond in six months I eliminate. Who wants to wait a half of a year to get rejected?
This is more me whining than an actual article about the process. The process is what the process is, so I need to stop being lazy. I’m thinking of finding writers who are similar to me, and seeing where they were published. Or just dedicating an hour a day looking for markets, reading their stories, checking their submission guidelines and so forth.
Tedious.
Wish me luck.