What I've Learned As a First Reader

What does it take to get a story published by a top speculative fiction magazine?

That’s a question I’ve been trying to answer for a couple of years. I’ve tried several times, and after having stories included in a variety of free or token-paying markets, I’ve wondered on how to take the next step and get published in a pro-paying market.

Last summer, I started a volunteer position with Uncharted Magazine—an online speculative fiction magazine—as a First Reader, i.e. someone who helps read through the incoming submissions (the “slush pile”) and identify those stories worthy of further consideration. I thought seeing how the process worked from the publishing side might shed some light on what I need to for my own stories.

Here’s what I’ve learned about short stories that work.

The Market

A little background first.

Getting published in a pro-paying market is an enormous milestone for authors, where earning eight cents a word can provide a solid $400 return on a 5,000-word short story. Some pay more, and Clarkesworld pays a market-setting fourteen cents per word. Though still a long way from providing financial independence, it is much more financially rewarding than publishing in free or token-paying markets.

There is also significant prestige for landing a story in pro-paying markets. It helps an author’s credibility. Many of the magazines are icons in popular culture, including Analog, Asimov’s, and the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF) and add weight to any bibliography. More recently founded magazines have also become just as prestigious, including Clarkesworld, Apex, Strange Horizons, and Uncanny Magazine. Hugo and Nebula award winners come from these magazines.

But with prestige comes competition. Pro-paying markets receive thousands of submissions—often for a handful of slots—during each open period. Per the Submission Grinder (a site dedicated to helping authors find and track submission opportunities), top markets only accept 1-2% of all submissions.

How It Works at Uncharted

When I first started at Uncharted, the editor provided a simple, basic rule in identifying stories to advance: “the good submissions stand out.” There are no hard-and-fast rules of what to look for, but the guidelines state that Uncharted is “looking for all kinds of genre stories” and reiterates the same information about stories as on Uncharted’s website’s About page. The guidelines state, “Don’t be afraid to be selective. The truth is we publish very few of the stories submitted to us (less than one-half percent.)”

There is no checklist. No rubric that specifies what makes up a good story. It is up to us First Readers to use our experience—we did have to apply and provide a resume to land the position—to identify those stories that move us.

And, after having read hundreds of submissions, I agree with the guidelines that good stories stand out. And that they are relatively rare.

Having said that, here’s what I look for in a story.

My First Reader Approach

First and foremost, I try to be as fair to each submission as possible. I want the work to stand on its own, so I skip reading any cover letter. I don’t really care who the author is—unless it is someone I know personally and will then recuse myself, passing the story to another reader—and I don’t care what accolades they’ve accumulated.

Very simply, if the story is good—and I mean really good—it will move on.

Once reading, I consider the following factors:

• Writing Craft – The quality of writing is known within the first few paragraphs. Sentence structures, rhythm, vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation are all pretty well established within the first half-page and well before I know the plot or characters. I note whether any aspect of craft needs work and distracts me from the story.

• Plot – By the end of the first page and into the second, I should have some idea of what the story is about. I note what is included and what is left out and see if it’s a common story trope or something new.

• Character – Also by the second page, I should start to understand who the character is and what journey they are on, i.e. what are they going to learn by the end of the story. What stands out is if there is a lack of internal thought, decision-making, and emotion. If everything is just action and dialogue, the characters are under-developed and less relatable. If I find myself asking, “why did they do that?” or “why did they make that assumption?”, there’s not enough internal thought.

• Theme – I like to understand why the story was written. What is the message behind it? Did the author have a neat plot idea, or are they exploring something about humanity? Is it something that is fresh and new, or does it repeat a common trope? Poignant stories that touch on deep feelings or social commentary carry more weight.

• Flow and Pacing – As I read the full story, I ask myself many questions: Is the story a page-turner or does it slog along? Do the scenes naturally progress or does it jump from scene to scene? Does the plot naturally progress, and does it rely on tropes or provide something new and interesting?

• Ending – When I get to the end, I want to see how everything wraps up. Is the ending satisfying and unexpected or obvious from the get-go? Is there a twist, and did I see it coming? Is the character arc complete by the end, or was the story more about the plot? Did everything tie together from the beginning?

If I have a series of notes from the above categories, they provide the foundation for my reasoning for rejecting a story. This is what happens most of the time.

However, if I get sucked in and read the story from beginning to end without taking notes, that’s usually a good sign. I will sit back and ask myself why I enjoyed it, examining the same list of elements and identifying why they worked. That becomes the basis for my recommendation of moving the story on.

Obviously, in the absence of a core approach from Uncharted, each First Reader is left to their own opinions of what makes a story great. So there is definitely an element of luck in getting published as the same story may resonate with different readers differently. Some may decline a story while others will forward that same story on.

Process to Publication

For the stories the First Reader approves, they generally go to a second reader who can also decline or approve a story. If approved, it may go to an Associate Editor for review before landing with Tommy Dean, the Editor and Co-Founder of Uncharted. He also gives it a read and makes any final decisions. At any of those steps the story may be declined or approved to move forward. It is a difficult process for stories to advance to publication.

Additionally, stories must fit within the story-types the magazine is known for. Really good stories have been rejected for being too literary, too horror-like, or simply not a fit for Uncharted. As a result, stories that may be worthy of publication often get rejected.

Of the hundreds of short stories that I have read, I have forwarded on roughly 13% to the next reader. Only about 3% made it to the senior editors, and less than 1% have been published.

Conclusion

As much as I wanted to discover a formula for getting a story published in a top market, there simply isn’t one--at least not at Uncharted. Instead, the answer is much simpler and more obvious: write an outstanding story.

Stemming from all of this is my own personal checklist for writing a story that has a chance with a pro-paying magazine:

• Nail the writing craft

  • No errors

  • Only deliberate repetition

  • Condense language

  • Sentence variation

  • Rhythm and flow

  • Clear settings and descriptions

  • Integrate interiority and backstory

• Create interesting characters

  • Put them in fantastic settings and unique situations

  • Make it clear what they think and why they do what they do

  • Make them relatable

• Balance action, dialogue, exposition, and internal thought

• Avoid tropes

• Say something new

Basically, follow the advice every writing coach has espoused for years. It’s not magic, it’s work. But even then, it’s not guaranteed, so keep writing, keep creating, keep improving, and keep submitting.