Karen M. Rider writes, “I know the ‘rules’ and proper etiquette for submissions indicate that simultaneous submissions are a no-no, especially when that is stated in the guidelines. But does this apply to simultaneous submission to an international publication and a US publication? I submitted a short story to the premier journal for fantasy, science fiction, and speculative fiction in Ireland. I want to submit to the top of my U.S. journal list, too.

Given the pennies writers earn for their wares and the competition to get published, simultaneous submission rules are a real pain in an already aching ‘seat.’”

Our sentiments echo yours. It’s hard enough for writers to get published without having to wait the long weeks—and sometimes months—to get a response. It’s our feeling that as long as you don’t lie about multiple submissions, you’re on solid ground.

But we’re not journal editors, agents, or lawyers, nor have we played them on television. However, we have read an article by Moira Allen that outlines the pros and cons of multiple submissions. Rather than trying to change it just enough to pretend we wrote this ourselves (a practice known in the business as “plagiarism”), here’s the link the piece in Writing-World.com.