Dear Reader,
I can’t believe I haven’t written this post before now.
I was with writer friends recently when we talked about where to submit our work for publication. For some writers, especially for new writers, this is a confusing thing. It used to be that you look at the Writer’s Market and submit a SASE with a pitch and then cross your fingers. Or go to a bookstore, check out the lit journals and send things along.
Things have changed so drastically now. It has been such a drastic change that it’s sometimes difficult to figure out which rules are still in place. Now a lot of the heavy lifting happens online. Lots of lit mags are online only, while there are those that still publish psychical copies. Then there is social media, where some networking with writers and editors could help get your publishing credit.
Here are some places to start looking.
It’s not really a magazine, it’s a great list-serv. Sent to your mailbox at least once a week, the organizers send a list of not only lit magazines but book publishers looking for work. They also have interviews with new magazines coming into the market and articles about useful stuff like the top 5 publishers for new writers. In addition, they offer free e-books about different aspects of the writing life.
The cost for all this awesomeness? Free. Super free. Great resource.
This is the apex of submission life since almost every lit mag uses this service to organize work that comes in. Because of that, the Submittable blog usually has a LONG list of publications whose deadlines are coming due.
Here’s the thing, you’ve got to have things ready to rock and roll because you only get a couple of days to submit. Sometimes, a couple of hours. It depends on when they post in relation to the deadline.
There’s a couple of Call for Submissions groups and pages. I’ve linked to one of the open pages above. Some of them are closed but if you ask to be included they usually respond pretty quickly.
What’s so great about these groups is that editors for literary journals are usually part of the group so if you have a question, they can answer you rather quickly. It’s also one of the first places where these journals will post their calls for submissions.
There are tons of these groups on Facebook including those for poets, genre writers, and fiction/flash fiction writers. Non-fiction is a bit more difficult but can be found on Facebook.
This is the go-to site everyone goes to. Why? Because there’s not only a literary journal database but a small press database and a writing contest database. There’s also some writing articles about writing and interviews with writers. Great resource. Also free.
This one will cost you some money. Not a lot of money, though. The submissions list is extensive and goes across genres and disciplines — poetry, fiction, non-fiction. They work to constantly update their site.
The subscription also comes with a submissions tracker, a calendar of upcoming themes, and interviews with editors. Good stuff here.
My friend George’s website nearly 20 years strong, celebrates the voz of the nation by creating space for Latinx writers. Here’s snippet from their Write for Us page.
Sofrito For Your Soul invites you to become part of our cultural revolution once again. As we begin to rebuild some of the archives that have blessed these pages over the last 15 years…we once again open the doors to hear your voz!
Sofrito For Your Soul is a reality because of people like you who contribute and help us grow. We are looking for articles, columns, short stories, music, written and spoken word poetry, video as well as all kinds of artwork to document the evolution of our culture in the United States.
There are a lot of places looking for your work. Although that may not make it any easier to get work accepted to places but it does open a whole new world of possibilities.
Happy hunting,
Icess Fernandez Rojas 