How to Submit Your Work to Publishing Companies

So, you've finished that manuscript, article, poem, or short story and you're now ready to submit it to the publishing company of your choice. For many new inexperienced writers this is a great challenge. They struggle with the right words to include in their cover letter and are very unsure of themselves. If you've made it to where you are struggling with words on your cover letter, you're half way there.

There are other writers who are too scared to send out their work to an editor in fear of rejection. A writer must learn to feed on rejection. That is one lesson you can't learn in a book or on the internet. You must experience it first hand and thrive from that little letter that says, "I'm sorry, but your work doesn't fit with our magazine. Sincerely, The Editor". I've gotten a few of these in the mail and I've never quit writing and trying.

Before submitting your work to any publication, you should always, always, check their submission guidelines. So many authors have been rejected, not because their writing was necessarily bad, but because they didn't read the guidelines and sent the publisher something that would not fit within their magazine. I think we're all a little bit guilty of this one.

Many writers complete their articles, manuscripts, poetry, etc before they start trying to market them to publishers. This sometimes works and is somewhat effective for fiction pieces, but for nonfiction it doesn't balance out too well. Most publishers seeking nonfiction pieces have a certain angle or subject that they are looking for, so it is best to query them before proceeding to write the article so that you will know exactly where you should begin.