How to Submit Your Fiction and Poetry to Literary Magazines
Do read a sample copy of the journal . This basic research is the most important step in figuring out whether the type of writing you do might get accepted. Don’t want to shell out $5-15 for a copy? Well then, why do you want to write for literary magazines, if you aren’t willing to support them? (Lecture over. Truly starving writers, take note: back issues are often available at a lower price; many journals feature sample poems and stories on their web sites; and some may be found at the library.) If you can’t be guilt tripped into buying a sample, consider this: you may get published in something you’ve never read, only to find out it’s a terrible magazine later. Make the investment.
Do follow guidelines exactly. The Internet age has its advantages, but has also made it difficult to understand what proper manuscript format is anymore. Right now, the answer is: whatever the magazine says it is. Many journals still want snail-mail submissions, complete with cover letter, biographical statement, double-spaced manuscript in Courier font, and SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.) Others are open to electronic submissions. You may be required to cut-and-paste your work into an online form, or e-mail the editor with an attached document in a specific format. Many, fearful of viruses, prefer your submission in the body of the e-mail, single-spaced with double spaces between paragraphs. It can be a headache to reformat your work every time you send it out, but as you fiddle with your word processor, be grateful you don’t have to use a typewriter!
Do provide a cover letter. If the magazine’s guidelines specifically tell you not to include a cover letter, then don’t. Otherwise, a cover letter is a nice touch. The lack of one can make you seem impersonal, like someone who just fires off submissions to any old magazine. What to put in your cover letter? Name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. Simply inform the editor (addressed by name, of course) that you are submitting your story/poems, and give the title(s). Provide a word or line count, if required. Mention any journals you’ve previously been published in. It has become standard to brag shamelessly about your degrees, awards, and credentials, if you have any. (Provide personal details and clever notes about yourself only if the journal regularly uses this type of bio.) Your cover letter doesn’t have to be creative, only informative.
Do provide a clean copy of your work. Anyone who has sent work off to magazines can tell you stories about the condition the manuscript returned in: stamped, scribbled, stained–yuck! Fortunately, it’s never been cheaper or easier to print off a fresh copy, so recycle the old ones. (You may wish to save postage by advising editors that they don’t have to return manuscripts to you, only a reply. Don’t forget the SASE!)
Do not send out second-rate work. Be absolutely sure your work measures up before you put it in the mail. You may have been told that editors will happily provide feedback on your rough draft; this is rarely true. Unfortunately, editors have to contend with huge piles of first drafts and bad writing; they have little time to give any personal feedback at all! Run your manuscript by a writing group, class, or writers’ forum online to get the help you need. If more writers did this, editor’s offices would be much less cluttered with unusable writing, and maybe we would all get fewer of those disappointing form rejections.
Do not act cute. Forget the pink stationery, the frilly font, and the word “Writer” after your name, unless you live in Amateur City. If you’re submitting electronically, do not use e-speak (i.e. “2 B” for “to be” or “U R” for “you are.”) An easy test: if your 13-year-old niece would text it on a cell phone, it’s inappropriate for a magazine submission.
Do not hassle the editor. Literary magazines, under-staffed and under-funded, are notorious for their slow response times. So what to do when the magazine promised a reply in five months but six have gone by without a word? Write a letter–a polite letter–to the editor. Indicate the day you sent the manuscript, and the title. Enclose an SASE. If you get a response, you may find that the work is still under review, or was never received. No reply at all? Consider sending another letter to retract the submission so that you can send it elsewhere. (Sometimes this action gets a pretty quick response!) Many writers have stories of hearing nothing from a magazine until a year or two have passed. Try to take it in stride–and keep writing, rather than brooding.
Simultaneous submissions: do or do not? Response times being what they are (see the paragraph above), it’s not unusual for writers to simultaneously submit, i.e. send the same work to two or more magazines at the same time. Is this ethical? I would say it’s no more or less ethical than sending a resume to several employers. Does waiting eight months for a reply on an exclusive submission seem unreasonable? Some editors think not. The best thing to do is respect the magazines’ policies on this. If they forbid “sim subs,” then don’t do it. If sim subs are okay, feel free, keep good records, and always let the other magazines know immediately if the work is accepted somewhere else. Having the same work appear in two different magazines when each expects first rights will get you branded as an unprofessional writer.
