Out of fairness to the people who might be paying you, you should not do multiple submissions, unless they specifically say you can. After all, they might be your main customer, and they might be paying you anywhere from $10 to $5,000. And, for those who have managed to sell a piece, you know that it's one of the greatest feelings to see that cheque for something you have created.

There's also the chance that the reader at the place will refer you to one of their sister places, which means that you get more than one chance to have your piece accepted. Either way, you get that high, and there's nothing like it.

Print publishers, even with on-line submissions, can take anywhere between two and 12 months to respond. That's not counting how long it takes for the mail to get to them, and for their response to get to you (usually up to five days). So, when you submit a piece to a single source, you finish up waiting and waiting'�. And waiting!

Can we, as freelance writers depending on making an income from our writing, afford to 'waste'� two to twelve months waiting for a rejection?

Granted, most publishers/editors will have invested a certain amount of time in our piece (one has to look at the process to understand how much, and that's beyond the scope of this article) and deserve the chance to accept or reject our material, but we, as writers, deserve the chance to submit what they reject to other places. Rejection is NOT always because we have a bad piece: if we're careful in our writing and presentation, it can be for many other reasons, from not fitting into their current project to being similar to an article they have already picked ' they all tell you, partly out of politeness, that their rejection has more to do with their publication than your lack of skill.

If the acceptance/rejection came within a couple of days, we could live with the process. We'd know soon enough to keep sending out the piece to potential publishers, until either we concluded that the piece was not ready for the public or found a home for the material.

But, if we have to wait MONTHS, not knowing whether our masterpiece had been put on the slush pile or if it was going through the final sets of processes'�

The only answer at the moment (until the publishers/editors can tell us quickly enough to make a difference) is to go the simultaneous submission route.

However, there is a danger that our masterpieces can be chosen by more than one publisher. So, when we use the SS route, we have to be prepared, when one publishing place accepts the piece, to tell all the others that we are withdrawing the piece from their consideration.

Should we tell the publisher/editor that the piece is out in other places?

NO! Even if they accept simultaneous submissions!.

Why not? For the same reason that it's not a good policy to tell your employer that you have a better job offer from another place! Except, you don't know what you will be offered from other publishers/editors.

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