How can I submit more stories?

Is it okay to submit more than one story at a time when I send stories out for publication, or should I wait to hear from the publisher about the first one before I send a second.

ANSWER

Sending more than one story to a publisher is known as a "multiple submission." Don't confuse this with the "simultaneous submission," which means you have sent the same story to more than one publisher at a time.

While it is common for poets to submit four or five poems at one time, it's generally best with short stories to send only one story at a time because of their length.

It takes more time to read a stories than poetry, and publishers receive hundreds of stories a month. If everyone sent more than one story, that would double their work load.

But check the submission guidelines, as some publishers don't mind multiple submissions and will say so in the guidelines.

I usually don't mind if an author submits two stories, but beyond that I tend to delete them, or skim them at best, particularly if the first one didn't interest me.