“I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged… I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.”

Erica Jong

Starting to submit your work to literary journals is a hard task.  Before you start, it can seem overwhelming. It is easy to delay submitting your first poem or prose piece to a journal indefinitely. The first submission I made took over an hour. However, now I can easily submit work in five to ten minutes, because it is a habit and I have a system established around it.

If you are one of those writers who has not yet submitted your work, or perhaps you just took a long break from submitting over the summer and need motivation to start submitting again, this article is for you. It lists all the reasons why you should start (or re-start) submitting this September.

1. Why Not?

Everyone I know is capable of procrastination. We even published an article on the benefits of procrastination. However while procrastinating might help a writer write, procrastinating does not help your writing become published.

2. Most Journals Reopen to Submissions in September

The hardest time of the year to start submitting is the summer, when most journals are closed. Many literary journals are run by academic institutions, which means that the bulk of literary journals reopen during the month of September. Also many editors of smaller journals take the summer off, which means they reopen to submissions in September as well. Not only does this mean that there are hundreds of journals that are now open to submissions, it also means that the editors have had a break or the staff has turned over. This means that your work is more likely to be read by fresh eyes.

3. Some of the Most Prestigious Journals Have Just Reopened to Submissions

So many journals have just started accepting new submissions again, that it can be hard to sort the smaller journals from the more established one. If you really have your heart set on publishing your work in a prestigious journal AGNI, Jubilat, The Iowa Review, Tin House, and the Nashville Review have just started accepting submissions again. So have a large number of other respected journals.

Just remember that you can procrastinate forever, but that is not the road to publication. September is one of the best months to start submitting, so start now.

The list is in no particular order. If we have previously reviewed the journal their name will contain a link to that review.

1. Ninth Letter

Ninth Letter publishes poetry and prose. They are a highly respected print publication that pays their authors. To learn more visit their website here.

2. Tin House

One of the most respected print journals is open to submissions of poetry and prose. To learn more visit their website here.

3. Eleven Eleven

Submit as soon as possible. This respected print and electronic literary journal closes its reading period on the 30th of September or after they have received 200 submissions, whichever happens first. They publish poetry, fiction, and essays. To learn more visit their website here.

4. The Nashville Review

A respected and established electronic journal that pays its contributors. They are open to submissions of flash fiction, short stories, poems, narrative non-fiction, and novelettes. To learn more visit their website here.

5. Jubilat

Jubilat is an excellent print journal that only publishes poetry. They are very respected and they accept only a small amount of the work submitted to them each year. Jubilat pays its contributors. To learn more visit their website here.

6. The Antioch Review

The Antioch Review is an established journal that pays their writers. They publish non-fiction, short stories, and poems. To learn move visit their website here.

7. Gulf Stream

A respected journal that has been around since 1989, Gulf Stream is now an electronic publication. They publish essays, short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. To learn more, visit their website here.

8. The Southern Review

A respected literary journal that is open to prose and poetry submissions. Please note that they charge for electronic submissions. Postal submissions are free. To learn more, visit their website here.

AGNI

AGNI is a very respected publication, having previously published the works of Foster Wallace, Seamus Heaney, Jhumpa Lahiri, and many other authors. To learn more, visit their website here.

Osprey publishes non-fiction books, focusing on military history. They also produce historical themed military adventure games.

They are currently only accepting unsolicited proposals for manuscripts that fit into one of their already established series of books. Thankfully, their existing series of books cover a wide variety of topics. Also, many of the series are very broad and unfocused. For example one of the series is called General Military.  Others are much more specific, such as Aircraft of the Aces.

All the series names can be seen on a drop down menu on the left hand side of the homepage. You can then click on the title of the series in order see what books they have already published within that series.

Like many non-fiction publishers, they offer contracts based on proposals, not on completed manuscripts. You do not need to write a book in order to submit it to them. If they are interested in your proposal they will request additional information before proceeding to a contract.

They accept proposal submissions via post and email. To submit please write a short synopsis of not more than 2,000 words. They request that your synopsis include “a brief overview of the nature of your proposal and outline of chapter headings and content; a list of available source material on which the research will be based; sample copies of illustrations that will accompany the title or article, together with details of where others will be obtained from.”

To learn more about submissions visit their contact page here. Then make sure to click on the subheading Proposals/Writing for Osprey. To learn more about what they have previously published, visit their main page here.

That has started to change. Poets & Writers, the most established magazine for writers, regularly features self published authors. Many self published books have gone on to become best sellers and big news.

The current hype surrounding self publishing is a bit of a double edged sword. Just because anyone can do it, doesn’t mean everyone should. Just because so many are doing it now doesn’t mean that the odds of being successful have gone up.

There are many self published books that never sell a copy, the vast majority sell far under 100 copies. Even in terms of self published authors, most books that end up being successful are picked up and promoted by traditional publishers.

The following collection of articles should help you orientate yourself in the world of self publishing, they cover a range of topics, from what not to do, to how to study the success of others.

Below is a collection of our most helpful articles for those who are considering self publishing, or who have already self published but want to do so with more successful results.
1. The Hidden Dangers of Self Publishing
An essential read if you are just starting your self publishing journey.  Gives good advice on what not to do.

2. The Indie Publishing Revolution
An introduction and overview of how self publishing works today from the perspective of a self published author.

3. Self Publishing Versus Traditional Publishing: 5 Important Considerations
Five questions every writer should think about before self publishing. An essential read if you are on the fence about self publishing.

4. Five Things I Wish I knew Before I Published My Novel
An article every writer should read, before self publishing.

5. What to Consider before Self Publishing an E-book
Not sure if you want to self publish in print or just electronically? This article examines the pros and cons of the situation.

6. Under The Covers
Advice about cover art for self published authors.

7. The Misery and The Joy of Self Publishing
An experienced self published authors realistic evaluation of her self publishing experience.