Submitting Stories: What Do Literary Magazines Mean To Short Story Writers?
As a short story writer, you already know the importance of literary journals - you know that publishing your stories within lit magazines can definitely be one of the most successful methods of marketing your writing and your collection. But while this idea is well understood and widely accepted, a blanketed statement about their significance doesn't make it any easier submitting your material beforehand.
That's the reason Wordclay has provided some helpful advice for emerging writers, detailing successful methods of targeting, submitting and publishing within literary journals. Not only will publishing your stories increase the overall awareness of your writing, it will also pave the way for a significant marketing push when you decide to publish your collection.
Before you begin submitting stories to various journals, you must first understand the benefits of publishing within select journals and the importance of selecting specific magazines to target. While publishing within the right magazine can maximize your marketing efforts, securing a place in the wrong magazine can actually hurt your marketing plan. Hence, the necessity of rigorous research and a clear definition of the motives behind your research. Ask yourself: What are you looking for in a magazine? Neither you, nor the magazine, want to suffer any undue embarrassment or criticism - you can count on that.
Approaching journals with the Appropriate Attitude
The benefits of submitting can be divided primarily into two categories: (1) validation and (2) marketing. While these categories are related and perhaps dependant on each other, how you approach them when submitting to journals can affect your chances of being accepted for publication within their pages.
(1) Validation:
As a writer submitting your stories, of course you want to be read. You want to reach an audience that appreciates your insights and language; that's the reason you're submitting after all. If it was a simple point of marketing, as in "getting recognized and being remembered," then you wouldn't be so emotionally rewarded when and if your story was accepted. Validation as a writer is a perfectly legitimate reason to publish, for both your individual stories and your collection.
Publishing for validation does have its dangers though. Once published, be sure to stick to your writing schedule. A little literary recognition and you may lose the urge to keep writing, doubtful you could ever write another story like the one that was recently published.
Make sure you're publishing for the right reasons, too. Submitting stories for writing validation can often slip into vanity or a minor desire to be worshipped by editors, readers and other writers who aren't going to fall over themselves with praise. Securing a few pages in a literary journal will not earn you a claim to fame, but don't be disappointed. Just being published is an honor. Remember, your story among hundreds was selected by educated and experienced editors - that should say something of your work. And this publication may start you down the road to earning the respect you and your writing deserve within the literary community.
(2) Marketing:
Whenever you publish a story within a magazine and irrevocably attach your name, biographical information and style to the journal's pages, you are also creating ripples in your current and future marketing efforts.
Consider what a reader sees when they open a journal. Not only is your name listed in the table of contents, but with your story and biographical information at the back. That's three instances where your name is ingrained into your readers' minds. If they enjoyed your story, they'll undoubtedly turn to your biographical blurb, where they can read about your writing experience, previous magazine publications, literary awards, past books, forthcoming collection and publication date, all of which will build your literary authority. By the end of your story and credentials, your readers will be marking their calendars, anticipating your soon-to-be-printed book.
Listing your literary credentials and mentioning your forthcoming publications are also perfect ways of attracting the eyes of agents. Obviously, agents and other editors read literary periodicals to discover fresh new voices - that's how they make money after all. And once you've reached a point of literary saturation (say you've been published within a few journals and even won a contest or two), agents will most likely contact you, inquiring if you've been signed yet and if you have any additional material they can sell for you.
It can be helpful to list what you are currently working on in your biographical information, i.e. "Peter is currently working on a novel about . " Agents are more prone to contact you if you're actively writing a marketable book they believe that they can likely sell, turning a commission for both you and them.
Submitting and winning contests (though extremely validating) will also draw the attention of readers and agents. Of course, a mere publication within a journal is an amazing experience, but being placed as a finalist (if not the winner) of a story contest, judged by an established and respected writer, will earn you the attention that will drive readers to purchase your collection as well.
Researching Where to Submit Your Story:
Location. Location. Location. As the saying goes, and submitting your stories to magazines is no different. The trick is discovering the most appropriate journals for your work. Be sure to research the journals where you submit your stories and examine toward what audience(s) their editors are marketing. Publishing in a journal that fits your story and your marketing plan will not only satisfy you as a writer, but as a selling author as well.
For a starter list of online databases where you can read information about specific journals and magazines, visit Wordclay's Additional Resources page. Some databases you may want to explore include: NewPages.com, LitLine.com and Write Habit. You may also want to keep an ongoing spreadsheet of periodicals that you discover or perhaps others you follow regularly that you're considering for submission.
Dealing with hundreds of submission each publishing quarter, editors are extremely sensitive when it comes to their journals. After the first two or three pages of your story, a good editor will already know whether your story fits their mission. Many writers blindly submit their stories to any old journal, and editors usually pass these over with little remorse, scanning the first few sentences and tossing it onto a mounting rejection pile. The more you know about a journal and its thematic elements, i.e. consistent elements from issue to issue, the better your chances of sending them a story that the editor will notice right off the bat.
But in order to select the best journals for your stories, you first need to establish some criteria for measuring a journal's appropriateness. When looking over your list of literary magazines and upcoming contests, consider both (a) the style of your story and (b) the genre or the genre your story most resembles, as well as any others you deem necessary.
As you research, consider these topics before you submit:
(a) Style:
What is the style of your story, and how does it compare to the journal's previous publications? If you have a Southwestern tone or voice, you may consider targeting journals like Sonora Review or Callaloo. If your characters and style are naturally more urban, consider the Open City contest or Divide. Look into periodicals such as The Missouri Review and determine if your story would be a good fit in one of their upcoming theme issues.
In order to determine a magazine's tone and message, you may want to purchase subscriptions to the journals that seem most appropriate for your purposes, or at least check out a few issues from the local library.
Another style consideration you want to bear in mind is the form of your story. With the recent rage in flash fiction (or short shorts), journals are becoming more and more specialized in the length of story they accept. When reading their guidelines always be sure to note the page and/or word count of the stories they will read. Editors will know right away if your story exceeds the prescribed limit and automatically reject your story.
Don't worry - there's a journal out there for you, with shorter or lengthier parameters, waiting for your submission, and it's your job to seek them out.
Furthermore, style can also refer to the most effective delivery method of your story, namely print or online journals. Each delivery method has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. For example, while print journals are classic and easy to access visually, they are often infrequent and delayed by printing. Online journals, though rarely delayed, can be difficult to read directly from a computer screen and lack the traditional merit of a printed, bound book.
But there may be instances when one method of delivering your story may better suit your marketing goals. If you have a Web site with partners, you may consider an online publication better, since you'll be able to easily link to your story as a result. If your promotional plans are more oriented toward readings and other physical activities, then having printed copies of the journals on hand may offer you a means of solidifying your credibility on the spot.
Whatever turns your research into magazines take, your opinion is the one that matters the most. While reading a particular journal, envision your story next to some you've just read, and ask yourself about the transition: Was it smooth or rough? If the editor picked these other stories, would he or she pick yours? Essentially, what are the tastes of the editor and what does this literary magazine in particular accomplish?
(b) Genre:
While modern writers have blurred many of the boundaries between genres, you still need to consider yours and what genres the journals you'll target accept.
Simply targeting well-read journals may not be the best approach for your collection. Perhaps your stories have erotic elements that significantly develop your characters - then you may want to submit to Nerve.com instead of The New Yorker. Or maybe your stories are slightly macabre mystery gems - then consider magazines such as Strand or Alibi.
By publishing within magazines that specialize in your genre, you'll actually be engaging more interested readers, unlike publishing within another, widely-distributed literary magazine, whose readers may not express any interest in your story and may, in fact, turn to the next one as a result.
Remember, once published within a journal, your story cannot be republished within another. To avoid legal issues, since literary journals rarely have a legal staff on call, editors shy away from republishing stories. In fact, listed in their submission guidelines, you'll immediately notice the boldfaced "previously unpublished stories only." So make your submissions count the first time around and target those editors that will be interested in your work.
Submitting Correctly: Following Editorial Directions
Say you've done the research and you've even selected the most appropriate journals to which you want to send your work, now what? Obviously you then have to submit. Anytime you're going to submit though, you first need to carefully read over the submission guidelines of the specific journal. It doesn't matter the caliber of your writing, nor the depth of your story, submitting in an inappropriate way will automatically doom your submission.
The editor, a.k.a. the person in charge who ultimately decides the future of your story, will hardly tolerate deviation from the outlined guidelines. In fact, the editors are accustomed to receiving stories in a certain way and prefer their own guidelines - they drafted them after all. Why would they make an exception for you then, someone they don't know, nor recognize even remotely?
If a publication does not accept electronic submissions, don't email your story and explain that it's too close to the deadline to mail your story now. Deviating from their standard methods of accepting submissions will only annoy editors. An editor doesn't have time to listen and will simply tell you (if you're lucky) to submit next quarter. Period. End of story.
If they require a reading fee, be sure to include a check with your submission. If they ask for a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelop), then provide one as well. Each editor is different, and therefore, each journal's guidelines will be unique. Some will ask for your contact information separate from the story, while others will ask for it as a header. Following the submission instructions to the letter will only ease an editor's transition into your story and, as a result, help you as a writer in the long run.
Don't forget to mind your deadlines. Keep a calendar with approaching cutoff dates for submissions. Timing can make a considerable difference. If you submit your story too early, it may get lost during the months before reading actually begins. But submit your story too late or too close to the deadline, editors might not get around to your submission. On a similar note, never wait to submit until the day before a deadline. More than likely, editors will already have strong picks for the next issue by then, and though your story may be strong and insightful, a last minute entry might be too late.
Always make sure you include a cover letter with each submission. Address the fiction editor directly in your salutation, and list the nature of your submission in the subject line. Be sure to clearly indicate the title of your story and area of the magazine to which you're submitting. An example of a good introduction is listed below:
February 4, 2008
John Q. Author
576 Monroe Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90001
323.877.5664
jauthor@hotmail.com
SUBJECT: FICTION SUBMISSION - SPRING ISSUE #33
Greetings Quarterly West Fiction Editor,
Please find my short story submission "Crossing Guard" enclosed for your spring review.
Editors are also interested in your previous and forthcoming publications, just as agents are. If you already have a good number of readers and a book coming out, think of all the subscribers you'll draw to their publications - it's just smart marketing for their journal.
Never embellish your cover letter. Always list your current contact information (i.e. mailing address, phone number and e-mail) and provide an accurate listing of your most relevant publications. If your story is chosen by the editors for a second round of decisions, they will definitely check into your publication history. Even a small lie can disqualify you from a publication that might have otherwise happened had you not lied about your publication history.
Dealing with Rejection: No Doesn't Mean Never: Not Right Now Doesn't Mean Give Up
Editors literally receive hundreds of submissions every quarter, ranging from poetry to fiction to essays, and their journal only has a limited number of pages. When it comes time to send their final selections off to the designer, they may have 10 stories they're considering, but they can maybe only pick three. It's a difficult choice, but a choice the editors have to make if the journal is to be published at all.
Keep in mind that their choice usually depends on a variety of factors that you have no control over, including what they published in their previous issue, the diversity of material in the current issue and what might be more appropriate for their next issue.
Don't take rejection personally. If the editors are encouraging you to resubmit in the future, it may be one of those instances where they just couldn't fit your story into the current issue. And if you receive a flat out no, consider it an opportunity to revise. After you've made some critical modifications, resubmit or submit elsewhere. More often than not, journals understand that your story is a simultaneous submission, meaning you're submitting the same story to a few select magazines as well.
The number one key to publishing within magazines is persistence. On average, one of every 10 of your quality submissions will be seriously considered for publication, which means that as you continue to submit, the odds of your story being accepted increase. Refine your writing, challenge yourself to work on new stories and revise old ones. Resubmit better-crafted, more powerful versions and you're bound to see success with some of your target journals.
Added Bonuses: What Journals Offer Your Collection?
When it comes to publishing your collections, some of your stories may already have places within a few magazines. Of course you can still publish these stories within your collection, and you can even make reference to the journals in which they were originally published, increasing the overall credibility of your writing. Readers want to be assured that your stories are worth reading, and listing the journals each story appeared within may be just the ticket to convince them.
The editors who selected your stories for publication might even be willing to print an advertisement for your book in their next issue or provide a short review to feature on the cover of your collection. As your book gains popularity, they may even ask you for another story or invite you to a benefit reading for their literary magazine.
Whether editors, agents or interested readers approach you after a publication, you're bound to notice some success as you submit (and publish) within journals, both online and printed. Remember to research the best journals for your stories and follow the guidelines the editors have posted. With the right attitude and a handful of good stories, you'll lay a superb groundwork for the future marketing and sales of your collection.
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