SUBMITTING WORK - WHERE TO START
Last night at the Columbia
II Writers Workshop, I promised to send a list of web sites that may be helpful
in finding magazines likely to publish our work. I’ve bookmarked the sites
given here, and when I have time to make a submission, I go to them for guidance
in selecting journals.
Most magazines today use an
online submission service. You will see this option on the page where you make submissions.
I have accounts at several (sign-in and password), but the one I see most often
is Submittable (http://www.submittable.com).
Sometimes you may have to pay $2 to make a submission, but most of the time it’s
free to the writer (the journals have to pay an annual fee).
At Submittable, I can go to
my account and see how many submissions I’ve made through their app, to what magazines,
and the responses. I’m probably the world’s worst for keeping track of what I’ve
submitted, and this helps, except in cases when I’ve made submissions not using
Submittable. There are many journals that require email submissions, or have their
own online service, or use an alternative service such as Green Submissions or Tell
It Slant. Rarely do I see a request for a mailed hard copy.
When making submissions, I
return to the New Pages site most often. It allows you to refine by print/online
as well as by genre.
New Pages also lists writing
contests:
CLMP was created after a website (Foetry - no longer
exists) listed literary magazines and contests that published the work of associates
and fellow editors. Supposedly CLMP members promise to make objective choices about
what to publish.
If you’re shooting for the stars, Every Writer rates
literary magazines and publishes its choice of the top 50. It also has a long list,
as well as a downloadable list of 2000 literary magazines.
And then there’s the list put together by the magazine
Poets&Writers.
I mentioned Duotrope last night, but on going to
their site, I discovered it no longer provides submission information unless you
sign up and pay. Several months ago, I didn’t realize my subscription had lapsed
and been renewed until I got a notice that I had been charged for it. There’s no
pro-rata return if you forget and want to end the subscription. I’ve cancelled it
for next year.
Hope Clark is a favorite with some of you. Here’s
her list of contests.
I haven’t used the site below in a long time — I’m
no longer looking for an agent — and so I assume it’s still a good place to go for
information.
It’s hard to get published, but as we say in
workshop, it’s even harder if you don’t make submissions.
The road is weedy and hard to find, but we keep trying.
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