Submission & Rejection

1. Write something amazing.
2. Put the work aside for a week or more. Read it later and see if you still like it.
3. Have someone else read the work. Revise.
4. Save your work under its current title and date. For example, “the_raven0609”.
5. Locate at least 10 target publications for your work: see New Pages.com.
6. Look for local publications (peruse the magazine rack of your local bookstore)
7. Look in the Contributors sections of literary journals to see where writers you like are being published.
8. Look in the acknowledgments pages of first books of writers you admire to see where they were first published.
9. Examine the publication. Make sure you like what they publish and how they publish it.
10. Review the submission guidelines of the publication. They should be selective but respectful and clearly state how they want to receive your work.
11. Bookmark the submission guidelines or print them off and save them in a folder.
12. Write a cover letter (if required by the submission guidelines). Keep it short and professional. Do not apologize for not having prior publication credits. Instead say: “I am a writer who lives in Dallas, Texas, and am seeking publication for my work.”
13. Create a document to record your submissions that contains the following:
    
    Publication / Title of Work (include document name) / Date Sent / Response Received
    
    This may also be a good place to include the following information:
    
    Accepts simultaneous submissions? / Response time / Publication contact information
    
14. Prepare your manuscript according to the submission guidelines:
    If online: either submit by an electronic form or send an email. If they ask for no attachments, don’t send attachments.
    If by mail: enclose an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). Make sure you provide contact information in the appropriate place on your submission.
15. While you wait, keep writing, keep reading, and make a list of new places you’d like to submit.
16. When you receive a response, record it in your tracking document right away.
17. Resist the urge to write a nasty letter to the editor.
18. Read your work again, and see if there are any places to improve.
19. If you received a personal note from the editor, send a new work immediately.
20. Even if you receive a form rejection from a publication, do not give up on the publication if you would like to see your work published there. Keep trying.
21. Advice: most writers take about three years to learn the art of submitting and to find publications that fit their style. Start now!
    

“I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, ‘To hell with you.’” – Writer Saul Bellow