This woman wants to be a published writer. She works hard on her stories and essays, even writes a poem or two occasionally. She revises and edits until she thinks her piece is ready to submit. Then comes trouble!
Finding places to send our writing in hopes of publication is a major.....hmmm, what is the best word here...chore, task, pain in the rear, headache. Take your choice. Maybe it's a bit of all those words. I think we all agree that it is as hard to find the proper place to send your writing to as it is to write in the first place. No editor is going to call you and ask you to send your latest piece of writing. He is not going to steal through your window at night and slip that piece from your computer desk. No. It's up to you to send your work and up to you to find the best fit for your work.
Finding places to submit to isn't really difficult if you're alert and pay attention to what other writers say, what you see on social media, or hear at a writer's conference.
One of the groups I found and joined on Facebook is Calls for Submissions. They add new content regularly. It's a wonderful place to visit on a frequent basis. If you're already on Facebook, go to the search box at the top of your home page and type in Calls for Submissions. It should take you to that page where you can then click on Join. Their new calls for submissions will then pop up on your own page off and on, or you can make a check every few days on their page. If you're not on Facebook, do consider joining. Yes, you hear all kinds of negative comments about this place, but if you use it to your advantage, to help you in your writing journey, it's going to be nothing but beneficial. All the people who do so will be miles ahead of you. This is not the only page for writing submissions. Again, just type in those three little words and you'll get a list of all the Facebook pages that have to do with the subject.
As an example, here's a link to a website that has a list of 41 places where you can submit personal essays. It's a real treasure trove. Even when scanning the list, I found quite a few I want to go back when I have more time and read thoroughly.
Use Twitter to your advantage, too. Many writers and editors and publishers tweet regularly. Follow some of them and watch for announcements about writing needed.
I also received news of a call for submissions for a brand new Chicken Soup for the Soul book. The book title will be You Go, Girl. You'll find the details at the bottom of this page.
When I went to google and typed in Calls for Submissions, this page is what popped up. You could spend hours going through the lengthy list. I find the best method is to scan that first page, click on the ones that interest me, then move on the next page and do the same. You'll find that, as you move farther along, the calls might be outdated. The early pages will have the most current needs.
When you do a search, putting in a few more words will result in a narrower list that might be helpful if you're looking for a home for something specific. Maybe you wrote a personal essay about a medical issue in your family, so instead of putting just Call for Submissions, you should add something like 'personal medical issues' or whatever it happens to be.
The more you search for places where you can send your writing, the easier ti will become. I'm always on the lookout for new places to find markets. You should be, too. Find them on Social Media, in writing newsletters, wrting websites, conversations with other writers. Keey your eyes and ears open.
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