How to Submit Your Writing to Literary Magazines: A No-Fuss Guide to Getting Published

When I say to writing students, "Your work is really strong. You should try sending it out to literary magazines," they often respond with a terrified "What? Me?" look. How do you get past the fear and get your work out there? It helps to arm yourself with some basic information about the submissions process.

Approaching literary magazines is, in my opinion, less intimidating and more straightforward than approaching large-circulation consumer magazines. There's usually no need to query before submitting your work; and you don't have to worry about including published clips. You simply send your manuscript, usually with a brief cover letter and SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). I'm not saying it's a breeze. Getting published in literary magazines takes a lot of work, especially in the beginning. But if you're willing to put in the effort, here's what you need to know:

Basics:

--Get Writer's Market if you don't have it already--and no, it's not necessary to buy a new one every year. The "For beginning writers" section has nearly everything you need to know about submissions, and it doesn't change much from year to year. They do focus on large-circulation magazines rather than literary magazines, so much of the info won't be relevant for you. However, the sections on rights and on formatting manuscripts are essential for anyone submitting to any type of magazine, literary or otherwise.

--Always check submission guidelines online before you send a manuscript: word length, reading period, etc. More and more literary magazines are accepting electronic submissions--a great development if you don't want to spend a fortune on postage, paper, printing ink, and envelopes!--but the majority still accept snail-mail submissions only. Books and other listings for magazines are just starting points: the info may be old by the time you read it, or it may have been incorrect to begin with. Use those listings to get Web addresses and take it from there.