Submitting Your Writing To Magazines

Getting your work out there and published (whether in print or online) is a hugely important step for a writer. It’s daunting and competitive, but the validation and knowing people are reading your work is hugely rewarding. It’s also an essential step in building a track record as a writer.

Where To Start

Here are some websites which collate places to send your work:

Submittable and Duotrope are growing resources for submitting work–they’re portals for submissions but also maintain a list of searchable opportunities.

Have a look at the magazines you’re interested in which are open to submissions, and see if your work is in the vein of what they publish. Are there writers you love whose work they’ve published, or of the editors? Other things to consider are:

  • Do you want to see your work in print or is just online sufficient?
  • Does the magazine pay a fee or honorarium, or in copies, or not at all? Is this important to you, or do you just want to get your work out there and build a track record towards bigger/longer publications?
  • Do they have any open calls for particular themes or demographics you or your work might fit?

It’s also worth noting that most magazines need to charge a submission fee to offset their costs…choose carefully by seeing what they publish and set yourself a realistic budget.

Formatting Your Work

  • Always read the magazine’s guidelines and follow them in terms of length, format, topic and so on
  • Put the title at the top of the first page, and your name (unless stated in the guidelines not to)
  • Always use a standard serif font (like Times or Garamond) rather than a sans-serif font (like Calibri or Arial)
  • Double space and use 11 or 12 point type
  • Include page numbers
  • Always proofread and get someone else to proofread–to find the small errors software doesn’t catch
  • Never use colours or strange fonts, or include photos/illustrations unless indicated otherwise in the guidelines that these are accepted
  • Don’t add ‘© your name’–it’s automatically copyrighted

Cover Letters

Always include a short cover letter or e-mail with your submission (if it’s an online submission, there will usually be a place to add this).

  • Don’t start ‘Dear Editor’ unless you absolutely have to–every magazine or publication will have a masthead where you can find the current appropriate person’s name (e.g. Poetry Editor, Fiction Editor).
  • Try and take the time to read some of the work they’ve published, to see if yours is a good fit. Mention what you read and loved.
  • It’s not necessary, but for prose especially give a very brief summary of what your piece is about, where/when it takes place, or similar.
  • If you have any previous awards or publications, briefly summarise these.
  • Don’t forget to close with something like “thanks for taking the time to consider my work.”

Keeping Track & Keeping Going

  • Set up a simple list or chart to keep track of what work you sent where and when.
  • Magazines will almost always state their usual reading times, so you’ll have some idea when you’re likely to hear–do BE PATIENT and don’t query them until it’s beyond twice that. Expect to wait a few months at least; six months is not unusual.
  • It is almost always OK to submit the same work simultaneously to a couple of different places, but always check the guidelines.
  • That being said, don’t blitz everywhere…try and send different work to different places, and swap them around as you hear back.
  • If your work is accepted, do immediately withdraw it from anywhere it’s been simultaneously submitted. (They will not be mad about this! It’s not only one less thing to read, it’s courteous and professional, and shows they missed out on something good.)
  • Getting published is highly competitive! Don’t give up after sending your work to a handful of places, and send new work to magazines you like and admire more than once–you’ll need to be persistent.

Good luck on getting your work out there–it’s an essential first step!

Page 8 of writers guide
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