Getting better at submitting work to journals
August 16, 2019 7:06 AM Subscribe
I write poetry and fiction and have been lucky enough to have a few things accepted by literary journals. But I'm terrible about sending things out. How can I get better?
What it says. I'm working a full-time job, dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and trying to get a minimum amount of cleaning and food preparation done, so I get pretty tired. In fact, I haven't submitted anything since I was diagnosed. I'm not particularly looking for the deep, psychological reason behind my not getting this done, but things you tell yourself could be helpful. I'm especially looking for practical tips that will help. Anything that gamifies the process would be excellent. Trying to work with submitting buddies hasn't helped in the past, so if you're suggesting that, please be explicit about what might make it work better. Please no military-style "Just do it" advice.
OK, one psychological issue. It's hard for me to feel like a work is done. I always feel like I should just do a few more drafts before sending something out - that it's not quite there yet. And then I don't do the drafts. I know the "a poem is never finished, merely abandoned" quote. But I'm abandoning work in folders on my computer - I'd like to abandon it and still try to get it published.
What it says. I'm working a full-time job, dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and trying to get a minimum amount of cleaning and food preparation done, so I get pretty tired. In fact, I haven't submitted anything since I was diagnosed. I'm not particularly looking for the deep, psychological reason behind my not getting this done, but things you tell yourself could be helpful. I'm especially looking for practical tips that will help. Anything that gamifies the process would be excellent. Trying to work with submitting buddies hasn't helped in the past, so if you're suggesting that, please be explicit about what might make it work better. Please no military-style "Just do it" advice.
OK, one psychological issue. It's hard for me to feel like a work is done. I always feel like I should just do a few more drafts before sending something out - that it's not quite there yet. And then I don't do the drafts. I know the "a poem is never finished, merely abandoned" quote. But I'm abandoning work in folders on my computer - I'd like to abandon it and still try to get it published.
I submit short stories and have been published. What I find motivating and helpful is having a spreadsheet where I keep track of my submissions and having had a brilliant (and incredibly successful) writer/mentor recommend to always submit to at least ten places.
I send my stuff out in batches of five to ten places at a time and keep a list of where I will submit them once I have a pile of rejections so that I can just easily do that rather than thinking about it too much because for me thought is the enemy of action when it comes to submissions.
I do not tailor my cover letter other than swapping in the right journal name and editor name (if I don’t just keep that generic). I make one cover letter for each piece (this is for short stories) with blanks to insert those two pieces of info. I went to AWP this year and listened to a panel of journal editors talk about how none of them read cover letters until after they have read the work and then only if they already like the piece so I feel free like a bird to not tailor my cover letters (it is a lovely idea but, again, for me thought is the enemy of action).
In my spreadsheet, I have tabs for each work, where I sent it, where I plan to submit it, and info about reading periods. I also do not submit to places that do not allow for simultaneous submissions because I don’t like that—I need to be able to do it in batches so my brain does not start giving me reasons why I should not. I also sometimes give myself little rewards for submitting, which works particularly well when I have put it in a list that I can cross off. I reward myself usually with food, sometimes small ceramic items like a nice mug.
I usually try to get 1-3 people to read my stuff, make some edits, and then put it out.
posted by pie_seven at 3:45 PM on August 16, 2019
I send my stuff out in batches of five to ten places at a time and keep a list of where I will submit them once I have a pile of rejections so that I can just easily do that rather than thinking about it too much because for me thought is the enemy of action when it comes to submissions.
I do not tailor my cover letter other than swapping in the right journal name and editor name (if I don’t just keep that generic). I make one cover letter for each piece (this is for short stories) with blanks to insert those two pieces of info. I went to AWP this year and listened to a panel of journal editors talk about how none of them read cover letters until after they have read the work and then only if they already like the piece so I feel free like a bird to not tailor my cover letters (it is a lovely idea but, again, for me thought is the enemy of action).
In my spreadsheet, I have tabs for each work, where I sent it, where I plan to submit it, and info about reading periods. I also do not submit to places that do not allow for simultaneous submissions because I don’t like that—I need to be able to do it in batches so my brain does not start giving me reasons why I should not. I also sometimes give myself little rewards for submitting, which works particularly well when I have put it in a list that I can cross off. I reward myself usually with food, sometimes small ceramic items like a nice mug.
I usually try to get 1-3 people to read my stuff, make some edits, and then put it out.
posted by pie_seven at 3:45 PM on August 16, 2019
About a dozen years ago, before I'd ever published a story, a good friend of mine very generously offered to send out some stories for me. This was BEFORE electronic submissions were the norm, and it was even HARDER to do the whole manilla envelope, SASE routine. I took five stories, made five copies each, bought envelopes and stamps and I handed it all over to her, along with the Best American Short Stories, which listed a bunch of lit journals with their addresses. She did the whole thing randomly, not trying to match stories to journals or anything. She just went down the list. Of the five, three were published in that submission flurry. Thank you, Liza!
Is there a good friend who might do something similar for you? You could take them out for a nice dinner, or reciprocate in some other way?
posted by swheatie at 12:51 PM on August 18, 2019
Is there a good friend who might do something similar for you? You could take them out for a nice dinner, or reciprocate in some other way?
posted by swheatie at 12:51 PM on August 18, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
- I have a Duotrope account ($5/mo) which helps me to find markets for my work and track submissions. Their interface is a little wonky but the information they gather is valuable - acceptance rates, response times, open submission periods, etc. It helps me a lot to have all of this in one place as not every market uses Submittable.
- I use Clifford Garstang's Literary Magazine Rankings to choose markets (working up the list from the bottom). This helps me to know the "level" of magazine I'm submitting to. I check his list against the Duotrope entry for the journal to make sure it's still active, submissions are open, and its acceptance rate is relatively reasonable. Trish Hopkinson also has a lot of practical and useful submitting advice on her blog.
- I read at least a few publicly available pieces from the journals I submit to and I include a line about one of them in my cover letter, i.e. "I especially enjoyed Jane Doe's poem 'The Moon' in the most recent issue of the journal. Her sharp and elegant imagery encouraged me to send my own work." For bonus points I always point to women and people of color in this line.
- I have a folder in my computer of work I feel is roughly "finished" and when I put together submission packets I pull from there. Choosing poems to send is very hard. I start reading them through what I imagine are the editor's eyes and I go through waves of self doubt. I don't think there's an easy solution for this; I just hold my breath and choose a few poems and hit send. I've thought about having pre-made packets of 3-5 poems so I don't have to choose every time, but haven't done that - I try to choose work that speaks to the particular style of the journal at least a little.
- Often I revisit work that I've previously submitted and had rejected. Just because you've submitted something (or even published it) doesn't mean you can never touch it again. Editor's don't usually give feedback but the process of submitting can still be instructive - a piece that you've submitted a lot and haven't placed might need more work, or you may be surprised when a "rough" piece is accepted.
- Once I submit something I completely erase it from my memory until I hear back. I try to submit enough that I'm not keeping mental track. For this reason I only submit to markets that allow simultaneous submissions. I chuck things into the void and then turn back to the task of writing.
- I'm a member of a private Facebook group for women and non-binary poets. I don't participate much, but having a steady reminder that a lot of other people are writing, submitting, getting rejected, getting accepted, publishing books, feeling self doubt, etc. is helpful for me. Writing can feel like an insane activity sometimes - it's isolating and emotionally intense. Seeing other people go through the process helps normalize it for me and breaks down some of the psychological barriers against submitting. It's also a nice place to brag when you get published. If you identify as a woman or non-binary person and are interested, feel free to MeMail me and I can add you to the group.
I hope this helps! Good luck out there.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 8:19 AM on August 16, 2019 [3 favorites]