Submission Choices and Considerations

Have you ever heard these cliches before? Don't mess with success. If it ain't broke, don't fix it? Then, there are a couple that contradicts the first two. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Don't look back, that's not where you are going.

This is all leading up to the fact that I've decided to try a new look on this blog. What I had was alright, but it's rather nice to try something new once in a while. Not sure this will be the permanent one. I have a whole lot of choices from Blogger. They do let you see a preview of what the background will look like. So many choices and also a lot to consider before selecting one.

It's much the same when we're looking for a place to submit our writing--lots of choices, much to consider. If you're sending something to a magazine or ezine, you'll be crossing your eyes by the time you research a number of them. Don't be tempted to select one of the first three you find. There are so many other choices. One of them might prove the better place for whatever you've written.

A problem, maybe a headache, is that it takes a great deal of time, effort and scrutiny on your part to find a good fit. Isn't it worth all that to submit to a place that is more likely to accept your submission than to ship it off to one that would have no interest at all? I'm not going to send a travel essay to a magazine that deals with cooking and recipes. (Unless the travel article is centered on what we ate on the trip) Make sure you're sending to a place that will be a good fit for what you've written.

Years ago, writers had to purchase a marketing directory or spend hours at the library studying theirs. No checking it out; you had to read it at the library, make your notes and hope you could make sense out of them once home. Now, a search engine of your choice will zap you quickly to myriad publications. Use keywords to narrow the search to ones that would work for what you want to submit.

Another consideration is whether you want a paying publication or if you're willing to be published with no-pay. Name recognition alone is alright with some writers and definitely a no-no with others. Add 'paying' or 'non-paying' as a keyword in your search engine.

Another decision before submitting is whether the circulation number is of utmost importance to you. Sure, we'd all like to be published in those publications that go to many thousands of subscribers. If you decide that is the only type of publication you are going to submit to, prepare yourself for disappointment as your chances are not nearly as good as they might be with a smaller circulation magazine or ezine. Think about submitting to the smaller circulation publication until you build up some credits. Then move on to the bigger, higher-paying markets.

I once knew a writer who chose one publisher to send her work to and one only. She received many rejections from said place, but she persisted. It took a very long time before she had an acceptance. I think she became her own worst enemy by narrowing her possibilities so much. However, she was a woman on a mission and she did achieve her goal. I've lost track of her so don't know if she is still subbing to the one and only, or if she's widened her horizons.

If you receive a rejection from a publication, don't cross them off your list for future submissions. There are myriad reasons that a piece is rejected, so don't give up at the first rejection. Try again with different submission and try another publication with the one that didn't make it.

If you have an opinion on the new look of the blog, feel free to send it to me in the Comments. Some of the items shown on the old blog are still there but not immediately seen. There are three little bars at top left. Click on those and all the pertinent things will show up. Scroll down to find them. I have had a lot of trouble switching this over. I thought I would strictly be changing the background. Wrong!

Stop Dreaming and ...

I read a story in the Kansas City newspaper this morning about a woman whose dream involved starting a food van cupcake business. She didn't stop at just dreaming, she set about making it happen. The cupcake vending in the truck was so successful that she started dreaming of a brick and mortar kind of business for her oversized and delicious cupcakes. She got busy and made that happen, too. It's the kind of success story we all like to read about. Read the full story here.

It also made me think about a lot of writers who end up dreaming about being published but that's where it ends. Some writers spend all their time writing, reading about writing, or talking about writing. But they do little or nothing to attempt to have their work published. Why? Let me add that spending time writing is a good thing, and I'm not putting that down at all.

There are many reasons why some writers don't submit their writing to an editor. Sometimes it's just plain fear of rejection. No one likes to be rejected, but if you adjust your attitude a little, it's less painful. When an editor says no, it's not a personal rejection. The story may not fit their publication, or it may be excellent but they have just published a similar story. There are many reasons but hating you as a person is not one of them.

Strange as it sounds, fear of success can also be a factor. If you suddenly start selling your work, more will be expected and maybe you don't want to work that hard. It's then that you need to examine your desire to write and be published. How strong is it?

Another reason it's easier to only dream about seeing your work in print, is that it's darned hard work to market the stories, essays and articles you have written. Time to study the marketplace is greater than most beginning writers are aware of. Checking and following guidelines is of great importance and also time consuming. Putting what you've written in proper submission form also takes time and effort. I've often commented that the writing is the easy part.

If you truly want to see your work published, stop dreaming and do it. Select your best work and start searching for a market. If it comes back, send it somewhere else. As many times as it takes. If you don't try, you'll never achieve the dream. The cupcake lady did it, and you can, too.