You have written and written, edited and revised. You want to share your work with a larger audience. You want to send your work OUT! But where? Exactly how does this process work? When you begin to look at the possibilities the choices seem infinite. With online journals proliferating at light speed, the options can flatten any hopeful writer. Don’t be daunted, don’t despair. Here are a couple of strategies that will help you on your way.
To scale back the vast and random universe, look for calls for submissions to anthologies dedicated to a particular subject. Some examples: anthologies can be collections of writings about mountain climbing, surviving cancer, adoption, gardening, or climate awareness. Poets & Writers, a monthly publication, has a classified section that lists contests and calls for submissions that often include anthologies. It’s an excellent source of reputable publications that will treat your work with respect
Another great source for where to publish your work is Submittable, which is not a journal but a newsletter and a service. The monthly newsletter offers listings of journals open for contests and regular submissions. The service allows you to send your work to many journals through Submittable, which then keeps track of work as it goes through the editorial process.
Duotrope is another excellent option. Like Submittable, it has up-to-date listings of publications, publishers, and agents, and tracks the journey your writing makes. Almost every journal asks for a small fee to accompany a submission. These fees keep small presses alive and are tax deductible if you earn your living through writing.
Spend some time looking at the journals you find through these listings. If you like what you find, then this is likely a good match. If you don’t, it’s not because the journal isn’t worthwhile, it simply has a different aesthetic than you. Move on. Once you’ve sent off your work, let it go; the editors are probably volunteers and it will take time before they focus on your writing and make a decision. Send your work to two or three journals at the same time. If one of them decides to publish something of yours, be polite and let the other journals know that you are withdrawing your work from their consideration.
Finally, if your work does not receive the desired, much anticipated Yes, take heart. Now you know the array of possibilities waiting for you. Send yourself out. Again. Again. Yes will arrive.
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