Dilemma
So, I have this story that I would really like to see published somewhere (of course, I’d like to see all my stories published, but I think this one is a particularly good one). The big strike against it is it’s length. I’ve cut thousands of words since my first draft and it’s where I think it needs to be to tell the story, but it’s still around 8K.
Yesterday, I actually had some time to look through open anthology markets, and I found one that seems perfect, except for one thing. The theme of my story and the theme of the anthology match. And they will look at stories up to 10K. However, the problem is the genre. They want something with a horror slant, and my story is really more urban fantasy.
Should I send it to them?
Part of me says, “Go ahead and send it. The worst they can say is no, and who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky, and they’ll love it despite the slight difference from what they wanted.” However, the other part of me says, “Don’t even bother. It’s not what they want, so they’ll reject it right away. What’s the point in sending something out for a sure rejections and tying it up so that you can’t send it elsewhere except as a simultaneous submission?”
Eh… I guess I’ll have to think on this a little longer…
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Tough call. If you think it’s going to be that hard to find a market, you might send it along to them. Luck is a big part of this business. And as they say, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn from time to time.
You know, I’d never heard that saying about the blind squirrel before, and then I heard it twice in the same day.