[mkrfox]

There are many excellent, paying science fiction/fantasy collections out there. You need to set yourself apart in a way that convinces people to trust their stories to you (who we know nothing about) instead of someone else.

Especially since the established collections prefer/require first publication. Why should we risk that you'll publish and fail to pay?

[dotsamuelswan]

If you're writing a lot, it's not a risk. You've got something sitting in a folder that you haven't touched in five years. Blow the dust off, polish the edges, and maybe you make a couple bucks.

Lining up those SFWA ducks will be important. At that point, even as a new publication, if they're easy to work with, they'll quickly become a great second or third stop for fresh stories. They won't get first submissions for awhile, because you can't compete with Terraform's (and others') 25c/word rate. But that's okay. Gems fall through the cracks. Loads of great fiction out there looking for a home.

[SolaceQuantum]

A pro-rate story (over 5 cents a word) worth of writing can take weeks or months to polish to an acceptable level. If this person plans to be affiliated with SWFA and get a reputation as having good taste in stories to publish, it's not just a "sure, I can take your trunk story" deal. Trunk stories are trunk stories for a reason.

[dotsamuelswan]

If you write every day, and you've been published at a pro-rate previously, you most likely have something near-publishable in your trunk.

Obviously, the publisher needs to be discerning in what he actually buys. But if you're a writer trying to build a relationship with a new publication, I don't see any problem recycling work that didn't quite hit with some of the established markets.

If you're unpublished, or you've only been paid lower rates, you probably shouldn't be asking the question "Why should I submit here when I can submit to XYZ?" You should just tack the new publisher onto the end of the list, and when you've worked your story through the others, drop it here before it hits the trunk.

[mojoe]

It is a risk to trust stories to someone who doesn't have a public track record. I'm guessing that the majority of my initial submissions will come from authors who know me in person, and know that I'll pay them and publicize their work. Hopefully after the first few issues it will be clear that I'm serious about supporting this genre!

[krapp]

Back in the day I was trying (and failing) to be a published sf and horror author, ralan.com was the go-to resource for the market and going rates[0]. It may still provide a good benchmark of what such publications offer and what their sites generally have in common and what information they offer potential authors. It certainly wouldn't hurt your credibility to be listed there.

[0]http://ralan.com/