Submitting to magazines can be nerve-wracking! If you\u2019ve never done it before, it\u2019s hard to know where to start. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve put together this list of must-know tips for sending your work out on submission\u2014give them a try, and maybe we\u2019ll be hosting you at a future Word On The Street Festival!<\/p>\n
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First things first: you need to find somewhere to submit to. Each literary magazine will have their own submission periods. Some magazines do take submissions year round, but a lot of magazines will have specific calls for issues they have coming up. You can usually find calls for submissions on Twitter or in writers\u2019 groups on Facebook. Make sure you\u2019re following literary magazines on social, and sign up for their newsletters so you never miss a call.<\/p>\n
It can definitely be hard to keep track of all these literary magazines and when they\u2019re actually accepting submissions, but don\u2019t worry! We\u2019ve got you covered for the immediate future. We compiled this list<\/a> of magazines that are accepting submissions from August to October!<\/p>\n But if you\u2019re not ready to submit just yet, you can find more submission opportunities through free trackers like the Submission Grinder<\/a> or paid services like Duotrope<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve found the magazine(s) you want to submit to, you shouldn\u2019t just send off your manuscript without doing some digging. You want to make sure that you\u2019re submitting to a magazine that will fit your story or poem or creative nonfiction.<\/p>\n Start by reading the submission guidelines for the magazine. Make sure that they accept the type of submission you\u2019re sending in. If you have access, read some of their past issues. Find out what style of writing they typically purchase for publication.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also good to check if there are fees for submitting, and think about whether it\u2019s something you want to do\u2014there are many magazines out there that don\u2019t require them. You also definitely don\u2019t want to pay a submission fee if the magazine you\u2019re submitting to doesn\u2019t even print work in your genre!<\/p>\n And check to see how they accept submissions. Do they take email submissions? Are they still only accepting hard copies? Or do they have a submissions manager set up? Make sure you\u2019re sending your manuscript to the right place, or you might never get a response at all!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Where to send? Check. How to send? Double check. Now you\u2019ve got to put together your final touches on your manuscript before you send it off!<\/p>\n The first rule of sending out submissions is always copy edit<\/i>. Always, always do another round of editing for typos, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes before submitting your manuscript! Not all magazines are stickler for perfection, but you also want to make sure your piece isn\u2019t riddled with errors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another tip: set your submission up in standard manuscript format<\/a>. This makes it easier for the editors to read the piece, and it also helps make sure the reader is paying attention to your story\u2014and not your font choice!<\/p>\n It also helps to have fresh eyes take a look. Before sending a piece out, send it to some beta readers for feedback!. Maybe there\u2019s an awkward sentence or you left out some background information\u2014how did the character exit through a closed door?! Having someone else look over your submission will give you a little more insight into how it reads outside your brain.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also want to find out if your manuscript is going through a blind reading process. This means that there shouldn\u2019t be any identifying information on your manuscript, including your name, email, or business. This is very important! Forgetting to remove your information from a blind submission could automatically disqualify you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There\u2019s one last step before you\u2019re ready to send off your submission: your cover letter. Don\u2019t be alarmed! Most magazines prefer a short, sweet cover letter that gives them a snippet of who you are as a writer\u2014and it\u2019s totally fine if who you are is previously unpublished. Your work should speak for itself!<\/p>\n But let\u2019s break down the anatomy of a cover letter.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with your greeting. Unless specified, it\u2019s best to start your cover letter with \u201cDear editors,\u201d and a quick greeting. You don\u2019t want to make wrong assumptions about the submission reader\u2014many magazines have first readers who sort through the submissions pile, and you want to include them, too! Plus, there\u2019s no better way to frustrate an editor than by misgendering them with a not-so-catch-all \u201cDear Sirs\u201d!<\/p>\n Next, tell them about yourself. When including a biography with your cover letter, you want to keep it short. Just give a quick overview of your background and relevant professional experience. When listing off recent publications, keep it to your most recent or your most relevant credits.<\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s all about the writing\u2014a short, sweet cover letter lets editors skim to know who you are, while still giving context to your submission.<\/p>\n Now you\u2019re ready to go! We\u2019ll be keeping our fingers crossed that we\u2019ll be reading your next story or poem in a literary journal sometime soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Submitting to magazines can be nerve-wracking! If you\u2019ve never done it before, it\u2019s hard to know where to start. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve put together this list of must-know tips for sending your work out on submission\u2014give them a try, and maybe we\u2019ll be hosting you at a future Word On The Street Festival! Step […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":10715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[335,327,333,334],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10714"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10803,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10714\/revisions\/10803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewordonthestreet.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Step 2: Get to know the mag<\/h1>\n
Step 3: Polishing up your submission<\/h1>\n
Step 4: Setting up your submission<\/h1>\n
Step 5: Put your best foot forward<\/h1>\n