This is sort of a combination of the Validation and Career Advancement categories, but one of my motivations for submitting to lit mags is to see whether my writing is "good enough" (read: receives enough institutional approval) for me to consider getting an MFA. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but if I'm not a "good enough" writer to get a handful of clips under my belt, I'm probably not good enough to get accepted into a fully funded creative writing program. So in a sense the lit mags are a testing ground for my skill / potential as an overall person, in addition to a way to gauge the quality of my work.
Thank you for this great information and comprehensive links! I want to get your take on withdrawing a submission. I submitted to a Lit mag in June. Their confirmation email stated they would decide in 4 months. I did not hear anything, so in December, I sent a follow-up asking if they were still considering stories, but there was no response. I emailed the editor directly earlier this month again with no response. I want to withdraw my story to submit it elsewhere but am not sure if this is good practice. Thank you again for all the information!
As far as 'Bird by Bird' goes it's one of the best books on writing there is. Anne Lamott is a wonderful writer and spiritual person. I've read the book many times and can't think of anything that she may have said that would be considered "offensive." Frankly, I am also a person who believes we all have biases and the best we can do is become aware of them and change. But, lambasting an entire work of art and a great craft book here is not only unprofessional but also cruel. You want to throw out the baby with the bath water, demonize people who don't meet your standards, you might as well start with Socrates who had slaves and said that women were only a step up from them. We are all imperfect and products of our times, we make mistakes and, hopefully, have the wisdom and alacrity to change but the human race has changed and we have gotten better at treating all people as equals. Do we have a long way to go? Absolutely. But, frankly, though all the information in your articles are wonderful and I'm grateful and have shared it with my classes, leave out the nastiness.
Hi Catherine, my aim is to always be fair in situations like this. I am neither disabled nor indigenous and so I might not understand how a book may have made someone feel. That is why I left it in the footnotes and made it clear that it was a comment by a user that should be considered by folks interested. I think it is important to listen to these concerns when they are presented to me and I put it as a footnote rather than in the lesson for the very reasons you stated — I don't want my lessons to be about anything but encouragement and information. But don't want to blindly do that at the expense of someone who may have been harmed by something I've shared or put someone who doesn't have my life experience in a position to be harmed in the future because of my actions. I hope you understand.
Hi Benjamin. Thanks for responding. I did have a bit of a knee jerk reaction to your "warning" about 'Bird by Bird' because of my familiarity with it and Lamott's other books and with the author -- I've met her twice. I do feel strongly, however, that if you are going to post a 'warning 'that you provide a link to the comment made - you advise readers to check out the comment, but you don't link to it, nor provide the person's name who made said comment.
You say, "Someone brought it to my attention that Bird by Bird has several problematic elements. [I suggest reading their comment before going off and purchasing it.]
That said, the comment you quote is completely general. The writer of the comment provides no specific examples - which means this is mere opinion that you are quoting - nothing else.
Comment you quote: "Bird by Bird" is deeply racist against Indigenous Peoples and is also ableist. It says horrible things about autistic people and also mocks athletes at a Special Olympics. I don't understand why this book continues to be promoted when there are wonderful craft books which don't punch down.”
I guess what I'm saying is I don't think anyone deserves to be quoted for making a statement that is damning to the book/author without providing the facts. Or, if not wanting to quote something, I truly believe that if you post something so damning that you confirm that these "offensive comments" do indeed appear in the book. If you do find them, please let me know. I'd really love to know what this commenter is referring to and what they find so deeply disturbing to lambast this beautifully written, evocative, personal and wise guide to the writing life. Thank you and thanks again for this great workshop on submitting .....
I appreciate that. I read through the anonymous reports - they are general and most are kind of snarky and mean but if you think comments such as these are valuable to your readers, you should link to them. As a former journalist I would be wary of anything that reeks of opinion without evidence. I also would want to give the target of damning comments chances to defend themselves. Thanks again Benjamin for this wonderful workshop and for ChillSubs. It's so beautifully designed and user friendly - way better than Duotrope, in my opinion :)
Thank you! We are doing our best. Got loads of updates soon. And I do understand that sentiment. For me, it depends on the context. In this context my first concern is to create a safe space for students of this course within a sphere that is outside of my experience. I suppose, I weigh the two sides: someone who may be interested in the book reads those comments, decides, as you did, that they don’t hold much weight and reads it anyway. Fair. On the flip side, if I am made aware of the potential for someone to be distressed because of my recommendation, the book is bought and read by someone who finds it to be a perpetuation of discrimination in a life I couldn’t possibly understand and so could not measure the possible harm of. I am OK taking responsibility for someone being informed and making their own decision but not OK with being the catalyst for someone else’s pain. If that makes sense? Absolutely, if I were a journalist writing a piece on Bird by Bird, I would go and find those examples myself. But I’m working with what I got.
Hey, I’m curious: has anyone ever published in a debut issue of a magazine? Would love to hear success/fail stories. Are there warning signs I should look out for?
Hi Adi. I have definitely submitted before. But never been published in one. But benefits: You get to be one of the first published by them and they'll likely celebrate the hell out of you. Also, if the mag becomes highly regarded, it's a great time to get in while the competition is less. On the downside, new lit mags have a higher rate of going defunct so you risk having a piece be considered 'previously published' down the road without getting much for it. I will go over analyzing lit mags for quality in later lessons that should help with identifying lit mags with a lot of potential.
Again...such GOOD and PRACTICAL information. Truly, are you only one person??
My goal for submitting to lit mags is to legitimize my writing. It's the next step on my list of Things I'm Doing to Claim the Title of Writer:
1. Write consistently - not when I felt like it, but every day if possible, even after a long day at work when my brain feels like mush
2. Accept input from others - to glean more than the 'oh this is so good' comments from close friends and family. I joined a writing group to interact with other wordsmiths
3. Follow writing centric peeps - substack, podcasts and of course WRITE OR DIE!
4. Take courses - free and paid (Gotham Writers Fiction 1 was a great start)
5. Tell people I was writing - saying it out loud seemed to make it official
6. Submit to lit mags and contests - I started this in November with a goal of 5 submission monthly. I failed at that, I'm currently averaging 2/month. *Sigh*
7. Find an agent/publisher/self-publish - my novel is done and I'm working on the second round of edits, so step 7 is closing in soon
Haha yep, still only one person. Just possibly not a totally sane one. I think that is an excellent goal. All of these are excellent goals. I can definitely help with # 6 in later lessons when we get to submissions scheduling at tracking.
I wrote a whole essay in my head based on this lesson of why I submit to litmags. I, of course, put zero of them down in actual words in an actual medium.
As far as one litmag, while it is extremely hard to narrow them down, there are truly so many, but *just femme & dandy* would be the one I mention.
Yes, its beautifully put together, (at least partially) in color, and its got a nice variation of topics while having a cohesive theme. I also know 100% that they follow up with their pay promises. But more specifically this zine feels very personal to me and brings me joy not just to read, but to think about. I care about every single piece in it. I feel connected to the people who have put their works out there. Its most certainly because its a niche that I don't feel personally filled for me in general. The keeping of Queer history is so fundamental to queer culture, and present Queer culture is queer history in the making simply by existing, so what its doing has a deep, personal meaning for me.
So maybe that's something to consider if your target isn't just launching up the literary ranks (and there is nothing wrong with that): finding litmags that make you glow even when you aren't published in them, and then make you proud to be part of it, if you are.
Here's another really wonderful lit mag that is great at building community (and its design alone is to die for): 86 Logic (86logic.com). It is open for submissions only to people who have some background in the hospitality industry, broadly defined, and it publishes all genres plus artwork. Small, intimate, outstanding quality, editorial staff like a family.
Oh! Yes! And their design is fantastic. I haven't had the chance to read it yet but it's on my list. I see them all the time popping up in my research.
I’ve been writing for a long time, but privately. The thing is, the more you write, the more you want to belong in a community of writers. This happened to me in the Writing Community on Twitter/X. I discovered the daily micro-fiction community called Vss365. So this is a story that is only about 40 words long. I did one every day for 365 days: now a book in pdf. Even though I had already written a 70k manuscript years before, this was an amazing thing in my progress as someone concerned with craft.
At the same time, I was struck by how many lit mags live in this community as well. I tried more word counts: 100, 700, 1000, 5-7000, 10,000. Then I started submitting last year and competing for the first time (Reedsy contest) and, hey; I made it to the finalists category. I’ve had two CNF pieces published. So twenty short stories in 2023 - 10 rejections - 9 submissions pending, and just like that, Ben, I’m off to the races.
I am working on longer fiction too, but the shorter formats are so amazing, I’m reading as many anthologies as I can: Isaac Bashevis Singer, Evelyn Waugh, Raymond Carver, etc, etc.
Happy to get rejected, happy to get accepted because I'm too driven now to stop!
Haha yes! It's kind of addicting right? Once you get over the hump of rejections there are soooo many possibilities. I've definitely written way different works than I ever would have through submitting to lit mags. I'm very glad to hear you are enjoying the lessons.
Oof, I know. That's tough. I've eventually gotten desensitized—like hitting the same spot till it goes numb. But I will talk more on this in later lessons.
So. Much. Goodness!? Thank you again, Ben, for making this lit magazine world a little less murky!
GOALS: a little career advancement, the honorable mention category, and a lot to do with honing my craft. I've written a few novels now, but writing short is HARD! Every sentence really needs to sing! I love themed calls as a timed craft exercise for this reason.
Dream magazine: They support emerging authors who write fiction that walks the line between literary and upmarket...where having a plot isn't faux pas, periods and quotation marks are PB & Jam, and having a hopeful ending adds extra sprinkles. I'd love for this magazine to have editors who work with the author to smooth out the crunchy bits and possibly have eyes on the full-length book publication world. I'd call this journal: Singing in the Dead of Night (because who doesn't love The Beatles, My dream theme: Hope in dark times.) Is this mag out there???
Side Question for Ben: Can we submit opening chapters from a novel if re-worked to feel like a complete story? I've heard of writers doing this, but I don't know if this puts you in a rights conundrum down the road, or makes the novel less appealing to sell?
I totally get that. Every word matters — especially if you're into flash. I often write things, leave them for a bit, then go back and cut them down soo much. It hurts.
Hahah I'd love a lit mag called Singing in the Dead of Night. Have you looked at all into Maudlin House? I think they nail a lot of these points and they also publish books. Super great mag that does support emerging writers and isn't too wildly competitive.
Side question answer: This is totally fine. In terms of rights, I will get into them next week with my breakdown of submission guidelines. Most lit mags do not require the rights to your work to the extent where it would impact publishing a novel-length version. But I'll talk about those.
Ben what you offer here is amazing! So glad I signed up for this course. I'm looking for the credibility/validation that comes from being published in a lit mag. I'm currently working on a memoir and realize I need to be submitting and publishing shorter pieces now - both to establish my expertise and build my audience. I have two big frustrations:
1. I really struggle with switching my focus from revising my memoir to writing blog posts or essays. It feels like they happen in totally different parts of my brain, and the movement from one to the other tends to paralyze me. Then I end up writing nothing at all.
2. I don't know why this seems so complicated, but I can't figure out WHERE to put WHAT. The "what" is things I could be writing = standalone excerpts and stories that have been cut from my memoir manuscript; personal essays that will eventually be collected into my next book (different topic); reflections on my writing process/writing life; and tons of story ideas that could be essays or blog posts. The "where" is places I could be submitting (lit mags or contests?) or self-publishing. I have a Substack with a handful of followers, but I haven't posted anything there yet because I can't choose what to focus on. I have a Medium account with 670 followers and a bunch of subscribers where I used to post regularly before I started writing my memoir in earnest. Now I can't decide what to put there. I have an email list but don't know what to write to subscribers. I have a WordPress website, and the process of transferring my Medium stories to my site is so grueling I avoid it.
I just reread what I've written so far and I have to laugh at myself - I sound so pathetically whiney. But the truth is that this indecision is blocking me. I eventually get tired of trying to sort it out and I go back to my memoir manuscript, which is where my heart lies after all. I want to finish it and start querying agents by the end of this year. I'm turning 75 in a few days and I'm feeling the urgency of time. Plus I have several more books to write after this one.
1. OK, so I don't know if this will help, but I write in a lot of different genres. I've also written columns for a few magazines where I had deadlines to hit and so I had to force my brain to switch over. So, I segment all of my notes into different categories. Like, I have a 'Fiction Notes' 'Nonfiction Notes' 'Poetry Notes' 'Article Notes' and so on. Whenever, at any time of day, and idea strikes, I put it in those notes. Then, when I sit down to write, rather than having to figure out an idea or switch over, I just go and read those notes for a bit until something snags at my inspiration. I'll do this by subgenre as well, or topics in the case of articles. It helped me a lot. And then, if there is a piece I am working on I couldn't finish, I'd make a notes doc specifically for that piece then go on walks, cook, go about my day, and whenever an idea for that piece hit me, I'd add it to the specific note then weave it all together.
2. The next lesson is Friday and I will go over all of the where for lit mags. In terms of Substack and Medium, maybe I can do another course on those. But we will have one coming about Substack from Courtney Kocak in March right here on WoD101
Haha as to what to focus on and indecision. Here's what I'd do. Focus on finishing the memoir. Print it out and leave it somewhere safe with a sticky note that says "If you've ever loved me, get this published" just in case. Back up plan.
Then segment it out into personal essays and submit to lit mags, create a substack or blog with short related stories to the whole. Get an audience into those stories and used to your voice then when you have a bit of a platform or have it in a few lit mags, send it to agents and publishers.
Sending to agents and publishers is a huge tasks so be prepared. And you can only submit the same work once per publisher and they are more limited than lit mags so I'd work with an editor on the pitching and all that
Ooooh this is pure gold!! Re: #1 - Evernote!! yes yes I can make this work! I'm currently doing my annual decluttering/reorganizing of Evernote, so the timing is perfect!
#2. Will the Substack course in March be available for free subscribers? (We're stretched so thin financially, I can't afford to subscribe to anything new). I got the sense that Substack works best for people who are using it to teach something. Is it also a good platform for publishing short written pieces?
I LOVE your advice about printing out the memoir manuscript when it's finished. One of my kids just had the "what should I do with all your stuff when you're gone" talk with me, so again the timing is perfect!
I do have a close friend who is a professional editor and has offered to help me with pitching to agents/publishers.
I've asked a (shorter LOL) version of this question in several writerly spaces, and I've gotten plenty of "follow your heart/intuition/gut responses. They're lovely, but less useful. I am insanely grateful for your specific, concrete suggestions!! Thank you for making this course available to those of us who don't have a paid subscription.
That exercise generated a lot for me. I feel like a lot of CNF tends to lean toward trauma writing and dark subject matters. My dream mag would publish stories about pain and healing but also happy stuff. I'm looking for literary magazines that like jovial, triumphant stories as well. Does anyone know of anything in that realm?
I am sure I could find some, yes. Do you have a target in mind in terms of prestige level? Could go off acceptance rate. Like, below 50 or 30 or 10 or 2?
I've seen the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" advertise for uplifting stories, but they don't appear to be very quick to respond - I recall seeing their ad about a year ago - and they don't respond quickly, but that's a series that does print the type of thing you mention (upbeat, real life stories).
Back in the day I published two stories with the Cup of Comfort anthology series. I think they were a sister series to Chicken Soup for the Soul, so maybe they work in the same way. Each book had a theme and a pretty strict deadline for publishing. So in my experience I had a better idea of when they would respond back to my subs than I've had with lit mags. It can be frustrating waiting on responses, although I have to say the quick responses I've gotten have unnerved me more. Like, how did you know so quickly that you didn't like me, er, I mean my work? On the other side: how did you know so quickly that you wanted me? Now I have to rethink if I want YOU. ;) Good luck!
Sure. Good wishes with submitting. My memory of reading about them a year ago was that they would not be getting back in touch anytime soon. You can probably find their guidelines online.
I tried doing the exercise and realized I’m stuck wanting any lit mag to publish my work because I am desperate for validation, but am vain enough to want the validation to come from somewhere prestigious. Writing can be so exhausting and difficult that when it isn’t enjoyable and I’m not getting recognition, I wonder what the fuck the point is. No one’s holding a gun to my head but myself (a proverbial gun, to be clear).
Anyway, your post was thought provoking and provides some incredibly practical, honest information. Thank you for taking the time to put everything into an excel sheet. Super slick.
Also of course the step brother’s shorts are steamy — they’re stuck in the washing machine with the step sister.
Oh wow, so relatable. I realize that if I never wrote another word, no one would care. Not to be negative, but we each have to get real about our goals for ourselves. I ride this roller coaster almost every day.
And writing can be so isolating I forget I’m not alone riding that roller coaster. It’s good to know there are other people screaming on this damn thing and others who can keep a level head coming down the dip. That analogy is way too extended, but whatever.
Totally fair. So, later on, I will get deeper into increasing your chances at being accepted to the more prestigious mags. HAHAHAHA oh no, laundry/step siblings porn joke. Too real.
I am filled with love for you.
This is sort of a combination of the Validation and Career Advancement categories, but one of my motivations for submitting to lit mags is to see whether my writing is "good enough" (read: receives enough institutional approval) for me to consider getting an MFA. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but if I'm not a "good enough" writer to get a handful of clips under my belt, I'm probably not good enough to get accepted into a fully funded creative writing program. So in a sense the lit mags are a testing ground for my skill / potential as an overall person, in addition to a way to gauge the quality of my work.
Thank you for this great information and comprehensive links! I want to get your take on withdrawing a submission. I submitted to a Lit mag in June. Their confirmation email stated they would decide in 4 months. I did not hear anything, so in December, I sent a follow-up asking if they were still considering stories, but there was no response. I emailed the editor directly earlier this month again with no response. I want to withdraw my story to submit it elsewhere but am not sure if this is good practice. Thank you again for all the information!
As far as 'Bird by Bird' goes it's one of the best books on writing there is. Anne Lamott is a wonderful writer and spiritual person. I've read the book many times and can't think of anything that she may have said that would be considered "offensive." Frankly, I am also a person who believes we all have biases and the best we can do is become aware of them and change. But, lambasting an entire work of art and a great craft book here is not only unprofessional but also cruel. You want to throw out the baby with the bath water, demonize people who don't meet your standards, you might as well start with Socrates who had slaves and said that women were only a step up from them. We are all imperfect and products of our times, we make mistakes and, hopefully, have the wisdom and alacrity to change but the human race has changed and we have gotten better at treating all people as equals. Do we have a long way to go? Absolutely. But, frankly, though all the information in your articles are wonderful and I'm grateful and have shared it with my classes, leave out the nastiness.
Hi Catherine, my aim is to always be fair in situations like this. I am neither disabled nor indigenous and so I might not understand how a book may have made someone feel. That is why I left it in the footnotes and made it clear that it was a comment by a user that should be considered by folks interested. I think it is important to listen to these concerns when they are presented to me and I put it as a footnote rather than in the lesson for the very reasons you stated — I don't want my lessons to be about anything but encouragement and information. But don't want to blindly do that at the expense of someone who may have been harmed by something I've shared or put someone who doesn't have my life experience in a position to be harmed in the future because of my actions. I hope you understand.
Hi Benjamin. Thanks for responding. I did have a bit of a knee jerk reaction to your "warning" about 'Bird by Bird' because of my familiarity with it and Lamott's other books and with the author -- I've met her twice. I do feel strongly, however, that if you are going to post a 'warning 'that you provide a link to the comment made - you advise readers to check out the comment, but you don't link to it, nor provide the person's name who made said comment.
You say, "Someone brought it to my attention that Bird by Bird has several problematic elements. [I suggest reading their comment before going off and purchasing it.]
That said, the comment you quote is completely general. The writer of the comment provides no specific examples - which means this is mere opinion that you are quoting - nothing else.
Comment you quote: "Bird by Bird" is deeply racist against Indigenous Peoples and is also ableist. It says horrible things about autistic people and also mocks athletes at a Special Olympics. I don't understand why this book continues to be promoted when there are wonderful craft books which don't punch down.”
I guess what I'm saying is I don't think anyone deserves to be quoted for making a statement that is damning to the book/author without providing the facts. Or, if not wanting to quote something, I truly believe that if you post something so damning that you confirm that these "offensive comments" do indeed appear in the book. If you do find them, please let me know. I'd really love to know what this commenter is referring to and what they find so deeply disturbing to lambast this beautifully written, evocative, personal and wise guide to the writing life. Thank you and thanks again for this great workshop on submitting .....
When I revisit these lessons later I will try to re-link The StoryGraph for all books so these sorts of concerns and dialogs can be explored there.
Fair points. OK, I researched a bit and updated the footnote to read: "Someone brought it to my attention that Bird by Bird has some problematic elements that have also been reported in The StoryGraph under ‘Racism’ and ‘Ableism.’ ← Those are hyperlinked if you would like to learn more." (Hyperlinks didn't go through on the comment, but here they are: https://app.thestorygraph.com/book_reviews/52c5061e-c05c-4a8b-890d-f04f360937dd/content_warning/40 / https://app.thestorygraph.com/book_reviews/9a1172f0-3bb0-4d37-b2f1-115b338bcf2b/content_warning/1).
I appreciate that. I read through the anonymous reports - they are general and most are kind of snarky and mean but if you think comments such as these are valuable to your readers, you should link to them. As a former journalist I would be wary of anything that reeks of opinion without evidence. I also would want to give the target of damning comments chances to defend themselves. Thanks again Benjamin for this wonderful workshop and for ChillSubs. It's so beautifully designed and user friendly - way better than Duotrope, in my opinion :)
Thank you! We are doing our best. Got loads of updates soon. And I do understand that sentiment. For me, it depends on the context. In this context my first concern is to create a safe space for students of this course within a sphere that is outside of my experience. I suppose, I weigh the two sides: someone who may be interested in the book reads those comments, decides, as you did, that they don’t hold much weight and reads it anyway. Fair. On the flip side, if I am made aware of the potential for someone to be distressed because of my recommendation, the book is bought and read by someone who finds it to be a perpetuation of discrimination in a life I couldn’t possibly understand and so could not measure the possible harm of. I am OK taking responsibility for someone being informed and making their own decision but not OK with being the catalyst for someone else’s pain. If that makes sense? Absolutely, if I were a journalist writing a piece on Bird by Bird, I would go and find those examples myself. But I’m working with what I got.
Hey, I’m curious: has anyone ever published in a debut issue of a magazine? Would love to hear success/fail stories. Are there warning signs I should look out for?
Hi Adi. I have definitely submitted before. But never been published in one. But benefits: You get to be one of the first published by them and they'll likely celebrate the hell out of you. Also, if the mag becomes highly regarded, it's a great time to get in while the competition is less. On the downside, new lit mags have a higher rate of going defunct so you risk having a piece be considered 'previously published' down the road without getting much for it. I will go over analyzing lit mags for quality in later lessons that should help with identifying lit mags with a lot of potential.
Again...such GOOD and PRACTICAL information. Truly, are you only one person??
My goal for submitting to lit mags is to legitimize my writing. It's the next step on my list of Things I'm Doing to Claim the Title of Writer:
1. Write consistently - not when I felt like it, but every day if possible, even after a long day at work when my brain feels like mush
2. Accept input from others - to glean more than the 'oh this is so good' comments from close friends and family. I joined a writing group to interact with other wordsmiths
3. Follow writing centric peeps - substack, podcasts and of course WRITE OR DIE!
4. Take courses - free and paid (Gotham Writers Fiction 1 was a great start)
5. Tell people I was writing - saying it out loud seemed to make it official
6. Submit to lit mags and contests - I started this in November with a goal of 5 submission monthly. I failed at that, I'm currently averaging 2/month. *Sigh*
7. Find an agent/publisher/self-publish - my novel is done and I'm working on the second round of edits, so step 7 is closing in soon
Haha yep, still only one person. Just possibly not a totally sane one. I think that is an excellent goal. All of these are excellent goals. I can definitely help with # 6 in later lessons when we get to submissions scheduling at tracking.
I wrote a whole essay in my head based on this lesson of why I submit to litmags. I, of course, put zero of them down in actual words in an actual medium.
As far as one litmag, while it is extremely hard to narrow them down, there are truly so many, but *just femme & dandy* would be the one I mention.
Yes, its beautifully put together, (at least partially) in color, and its got a nice variation of topics while having a cohesive theme. I also know 100% that they follow up with their pay promises. But more specifically this zine feels very personal to me and brings me joy not just to read, but to think about. I care about every single piece in it. I feel connected to the people who have put their works out there. Its most certainly because its a niche that I don't feel personally filled for me in general. The keeping of Queer history is so fundamental to queer culture, and present Queer culture is queer history in the making simply by existing, so what its doing has a deep, personal meaning for me.
So maybe that's something to consider if your target isn't just launching up the literary ranks (and there is nothing wrong with that): finding litmags that make you glow even when you aren't published in them, and then make you proud to be part of it, if you are.
I love just femme and dandy. I think that is an excellent reason to be motivated to submit
Here's another really wonderful lit mag that is great at building community (and its design alone is to die for): 86 Logic (86logic.com). It is open for submissions only to people who have some background in the hospitality industry, broadly defined, and it publishes all genres plus artwork. Small, intimate, outstanding quality, editorial staff like a family.
Oh! Yes! And their design is fantastic. I haven't had the chance to read it yet but it's on my list. I see them all the time popping up in my research.
Hey Ben, what an awesome lesson! Thank you.
I’ve been writing for a long time, but privately. The thing is, the more you write, the more you want to belong in a community of writers. This happened to me in the Writing Community on Twitter/X. I discovered the daily micro-fiction community called Vss365. So this is a story that is only about 40 words long. I did one every day for 365 days: now a book in pdf. Even though I had already written a 70k manuscript years before, this was an amazing thing in my progress as someone concerned with craft.
At the same time, I was struck by how many lit mags live in this community as well. I tried more word counts: 100, 700, 1000, 5-7000, 10,000. Then I started submitting last year and competing for the first time (Reedsy contest) and, hey; I made it to the finalists category. I’ve had two CNF pieces published. So twenty short stories in 2023 - 10 rejections - 9 submissions pending, and just like that, Ben, I’m off to the races.
I am working on longer fiction too, but the shorter formats are so amazing, I’m reading as many anthologies as I can: Isaac Bashevis Singer, Evelyn Waugh, Raymond Carver, etc, etc.
Happy to get rejected, happy to get accepted because I'm too driven now to stop!
Again, thank you for your wonderful lessons.
Haha yes! It's kind of addicting right? Once you get over the hump of rejections there are soooo many possibilities. I've definitely written way different works than I ever would have through submitting to lit mags. I'm very glad to hear you are enjoying the lessons.
"I've definitely written different works than I ever would have tried..." Exactly! In part, these words answer the question, Why submit?
I have now realised my reason for submitting to lit mags is learning to handle rejections...
Oof, I know. That's tough. I've eventually gotten desensitized—like hitting the same spot till it goes numb. But I will talk more on this in later lessons.
exposure therapy, they say it works! :D looking forward to next lessons, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, much appreciated.
This was so well organized and information packed! I feel like it's owed a reread in a day or two!
Fantastic! Happy to hear it. It will be here when you're ready. Leaving it up for a long time so no rush.
So. Much. Goodness!? Thank you again, Ben, for making this lit magazine world a little less murky!
GOALS: a little career advancement, the honorable mention category, and a lot to do with honing my craft. I've written a few novels now, but writing short is HARD! Every sentence really needs to sing! I love themed calls as a timed craft exercise for this reason.
Dream magazine: They support emerging authors who write fiction that walks the line between literary and upmarket...where having a plot isn't faux pas, periods and quotation marks are PB & Jam, and having a hopeful ending adds extra sprinkles. I'd love for this magazine to have editors who work with the author to smooth out the crunchy bits and possibly have eyes on the full-length book publication world. I'd call this journal: Singing in the Dead of Night (because who doesn't love The Beatles, My dream theme: Hope in dark times.) Is this mag out there???
Side Question for Ben: Can we submit opening chapters from a novel if re-worked to feel like a complete story? I've heard of writers doing this, but I don't know if this puts you in a rights conundrum down the road, or makes the novel less appealing to sell?
I totally get that. Every word matters — especially if you're into flash. I often write things, leave them for a bit, then go back and cut them down soo much. It hurts.
Hahah I'd love a lit mag called Singing in the Dead of Night. Have you looked at all into Maudlin House? I think they nail a lot of these points and they also publish books. Super great mag that does support emerging writers and isn't too wildly competitive.
Side question answer: This is totally fine. In terms of rights, I will get into them next week with my breakdown of submission guidelines. Most lit mags do not require the rights to your work to the extent where it would impact publishing a novel-length version. But I'll talk about those.
Thank you muchly! I'll got check them out!
Ben what you offer here is amazing! So glad I signed up for this course. I'm looking for the credibility/validation that comes from being published in a lit mag. I'm currently working on a memoir and realize I need to be submitting and publishing shorter pieces now - both to establish my expertise and build my audience. I have two big frustrations:
1. I really struggle with switching my focus from revising my memoir to writing blog posts or essays. It feels like they happen in totally different parts of my brain, and the movement from one to the other tends to paralyze me. Then I end up writing nothing at all.
2. I don't know why this seems so complicated, but I can't figure out WHERE to put WHAT. The "what" is things I could be writing = standalone excerpts and stories that have been cut from my memoir manuscript; personal essays that will eventually be collected into my next book (different topic); reflections on my writing process/writing life; and tons of story ideas that could be essays or blog posts. The "where" is places I could be submitting (lit mags or contests?) or self-publishing. I have a Substack with a handful of followers, but I haven't posted anything there yet because I can't choose what to focus on. I have a Medium account with 670 followers and a bunch of subscribers where I used to post regularly before I started writing my memoir in earnest. Now I can't decide what to put there. I have an email list but don't know what to write to subscribers. I have a WordPress website, and the process of transferring my Medium stories to my site is so grueling I avoid it.
I just reread what I've written so far and I have to laugh at myself - I sound so pathetically whiney. But the truth is that this indecision is blocking me. I eventually get tired of trying to sort it out and I go back to my memoir manuscript, which is where my heart lies after all. I want to finish it and start querying agents by the end of this year. I'm turning 75 in a few days and I'm feeling the urgency of time. Plus I have several more books to write after this one.
What's an elderly memoirist to do?
1. OK, so I don't know if this will help, but I write in a lot of different genres. I've also written columns for a few magazines where I had deadlines to hit and so I had to force my brain to switch over. So, I segment all of my notes into different categories. Like, I have a 'Fiction Notes' 'Nonfiction Notes' 'Poetry Notes' 'Article Notes' and so on. Whenever, at any time of day, and idea strikes, I put it in those notes. Then, when I sit down to write, rather than having to figure out an idea or switch over, I just go and read those notes for a bit until something snags at my inspiration. I'll do this by subgenre as well, or topics in the case of articles. It helped me a lot. And then, if there is a piece I am working on I couldn't finish, I'd make a notes doc specifically for that piece then go on walks, cook, go about my day, and whenever an idea for that piece hit me, I'd add it to the specific note then weave it all together.
2. The next lesson is Friday and I will go over all of the where for lit mags. In terms of Substack and Medium, maybe I can do another course on those. But we will have one coming about Substack from Courtney Kocak in March right here on WoD101
Haha as to what to focus on and indecision. Here's what I'd do. Focus on finishing the memoir. Print it out and leave it somewhere safe with a sticky note that says "If you've ever loved me, get this published" just in case. Back up plan.
Then segment it out into personal essays and submit to lit mags, create a substack or blog with short related stories to the whole. Get an audience into those stories and used to your voice then when you have a bit of a platform or have it in a few lit mags, send it to agents and publishers.
Sending to agents and publishers is a huge tasks so be prepared. And you can only submit the same work once per publisher and they are more limited than lit mags so I'd work with an editor on the pitching and all that
Ooooh this is pure gold!! Re: #1 - Evernote!! yes yes I can make this work! I'm currently doing my annual decluttering/reorganizing of Evernote, so the timing is perfect!
#2. Will the Substack course in March be available for free subscribers? (We're stretched so thin financially, I can't afford to subscribe to anything new). I got the sense that Substack works best for people who are using it to teach something. Is it also a good platform for publishing short written pieces?
I LOVE your advice about printing out the memoir manuscript when it's finished. One of my kids just had the "what should I do with all your stuff when you're gone" talk with me, so again the timing is perfect!
I do have a close friend who is a professional editor and has offered to help me with pitching to agents/publishers.
I've asked a (shorter LOL) version of this question in several writerly spaces, and I've gotten plenty of "follow your heart/intuition/gut responses. They're lovely, but less useful. I am insanely grateful for your specific, concrete suggestions!! Thank you for making this course available to those of us who don't have a paid subscription.
That exercise generated a lot for me. I feel like a lot of CNF tends to lean toward trauma writing and dark subject matters. My dream mag would publish stories about pain and healing but also happy stuff. I'm looking for literary magazines that like jovial, triumphant stories as well. Does anyone know of anything in that realm?
I am sure I could find some, yes. Do you have a target in mind in terms of prestige level? Could go off acceptance rate. Like, below 50 or 30 or 10 or 2?
Thanks for getting back to me! I think my sweet spot right now is between 4-30% acceptance.
Hi Ally,
I've seen the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" advertise for uplifting stories, but they don't appear to be very quick to respond - I recall seeing their ad about a year ago - and they don't respond quickly, but that's a series that does print the type of thing you mention (upbeat, real life stories).
Back in the day I published two stories with the Cup of Comfort anthology series. I think they were a sister series to Chicken Soup for the Soul, so maybe they work in the same way. Each book had a theme and a pretty strict deadline for publishing. So in my experience I had a better idea of when they would respond back to my subs than I've had with lit mags. It can be frustrating waiting on responses, although I have to say the quick responses I've gotten have unnerved me more. Like, how did you know so quickly that you didn't like me, er, I mean my work? On the other side: how did you know so quickly that you wanted me? Now I have to rethink if I want YOU. ;) Good luck!
Thanks so much for your reply, J.J. You are awesome!
Sure. Good wishes with submitting. My memory of reading about them a year ago was that they would not be getting back in touch anytime soon. You can probably find their guidelines online.
What a world of info here. I'll be referring to this lesson so much.
Thank you!
Yay! So glad it is helping. More to come for sure.
I tried doing the exercise and realized I’m stuck wanting any lit mag to publish my work because I am desperate for validation, but am vain enough to want the validation to come from somewhere prestigious. Writing can be so exhausting and difficult that when it isn’t enjoyable and I’m not getting recognition, I wonder what the fuck the point is. No one’s holding a gun to my head but myself (a proverbial gun, to be clear).
Anyway, your post was thought provoking and provides some incredibly practical, honest information. Thank you for taking the time to put everything into an excel sheet. Super slick.
Also of course the step brother’s shorts are steamy — they’re stuck in the washing machine with the step sister.
Oh wow, so relatable. I realize that if I never wrote another word, no one would care. Not to be negative, but we each have to get real about our goals for ourselves. I ride this roller coaster almost every day.
And your last line: 😂
And writing can be so isolating I forget I’m not alone riding that roller coaster. It’s good to know there are other people screaming on this damn thing and others who can keep a level head coming down the dip. That analogy is way too extended, but whatever.
Totally fair. So, later on, I will get deeper into increasing your chances at being accepted to the more prestigious mags. HAHAHAHA oh no, laundry/step siblings porn joke. Too real.