Do You Ever Think About Me? [How To Get Your Short Horror Story Published]

When I say me, I’m referring to First Reader Briar… or Slush Briar… or Drowning-in-a-Pile-of-Submissions Briar. That me. The one who’s feasting on your pages as I feed on your provocative plots.

_{you + me and your tasty, tasty, beautiful story}

But of course, I’m not the only one with the privilege of reading an author’s work before anyone else does. Many people like me, here at Horrific Scribes and out in the publishing world, consider short story submissions before an editor ever sees them (or doesn’t see them). One reason is that most publications get a lot of submissions—and I mean a lot—multiplying before our eyes like feral cats in springtime.

Now, for the question I posed in the title of this post:

Do you ever think about first readers when you’re writing your stories, reading them back to yourself, or hitting the submit button?

To be honest, I didn’t when I first started submitting my own stories. I had no idea how the process actually worked because I hadn’t considered it beyond the standard sets of submission guidelines. I didn’t know that first readers, who are sometimes called slush readers, existed. But alas, I can now say that WE DO, and a majority of the time we stand (or crouch over keyboards) between your words and an Editor’s eyes.

Therefore, if you want to get your short fiction published, think about your story, its genre, and the publication you’re submitting to from a first reader’s point of view.

General Tips for Submitting Short Fiction

When I started drafting this post, I planned on only sharing general tips. That was before I discovered plenty of articles that do just that—and I advise that you discover them too, by way of a quick Google search. Still, I’ll touch on a few, which I discussed with my fellow Editorial Assistants here at Horrific Scribes, Harrison and Jack. We think they’re worth repeating:

• Have someone else read your story: I know all too well that it can be intimidating or awkward to have someone read your draft. But trust us. They will trip over errors, get lost in plot holes, or ask questions that never even entered your brain. Your story will thank you for that, and so will we.

• Put thought into your cover letter: I’ve seen first readers claim that it doesn’t matter because a cover letter will not be a determining factor on whether or not your story is ultimately chosen. While this could be true, a good one will have us thinking “you got me, I’m in, let’s go!” And that’s a great headspace for us to be in when we open your submission.

• Submit the correct genre: I completely understand wanting to blast a submission off into space and hope it sticks to something. You worked hard on it. It can be a numbers game. However, if your story is not within the genre(s) that the publication publishes, then it will not be accepted no matter how great it is. Not only is it a waste of a reader’s time, but we might be hesitant the next time you submit something.

Tips for Submitting Dark Short Fiction

Anywho, what I really want to get into are tips for submitting short fiction to a horror (or horror-adjacent) publication. Those are what I ended up discussing with Harrison and Jack, for the most part, when I approached them about their expertise. And I mean… that’s probably why you’re here, too, right? Because you’re a writer or reader of horror, dark fantasy, dark sci-fi… And just maybe you want to get your short horror story published…

So, here we go, some guidance from first readers at a horror publication:

• We’re tired of these characters and conventions: Serial killers; vampires; werewolves; twist villain protagonists; writers with writer’s block (especially if they’re in a secluded setting attempting to finish their novel); “it was just a dream, but actually no it wasn’t.” …Unless they’re really, really good. Check out My Mother’s Way by Scribe M. Brandon Robbins and Death Is a Local Term by Scribe Jason Frederick Myers, which executed a couple of these quite well.

• We like twists, but only if they work: Twists can be hard to pull of in a short story, and it boils down to telegraphing and timing. In Harrison’s words, “If you telegraph too subtly then the twist is going to come out of left field in a bad way, but if you telegraph too overtly then you spoil the reveal before it even happens. When it comes to timing, I think it’s best if the twist strikes at the very, very end; any sooner and you give the reader time to process while reading, which numbs the shock.

• We want variety in setting: Horror remains in love with small towns, rural landscapes, and dark woods (hell, I can’t lie, I do too). But we see these things so often, that they need to be done very well to be accepted. So why not take our advice and try something new? Read “Dead or Alive,” a wild west horror story by Scribe Jim Best, for inspiration!

• We haven’t really encountered THIS, and we want to: Steampunk horror! Medieval horror! Or how about the use of non-fiction formats to tell fictional stories? Analog horror… but in written form…? Wait, can that even be done? I honestly don’t know! Try us!

Now, go get your short horror story published!

***

By the way… I’d be remiss not to mention that the majority of short fiction first readers, or slush pile readers, are volunteers. They’re people who genuinely enjoy writing and reading fiction, and they choose to take the time to read your work with the care and consideration that it deserves.

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