You can SCSM on a bolt. . .for the sake of this discussion, assume you are overcasting your lightning bolt.
It does make what I'm trying to point out cleaner and easier.
First you cast a spell, any spell, it either fails or succeeds. . if it fails it goes to the spell failure table per spell resolution.
With a lightning bolt, you can fail, and eat a spell failure result. . .but if it succeeds, you exit spell mechanics and resolve it how you would a missile attack.
i.e. it misses or hits for X hits Y critical result. . . .
If the GM is using fire into melee rules it might hit someone other than the intended target.
What I'm saying is that the range for a lightning bolt is essentially the range of a longbow, not the range of a Sleep V spell.