How to Start Publishing Your Writing
I published my first poem at seventeen years old, which was then nominated for a major award.
After seeing that sweet, sweet Header 2 title above, you’re probably like, “Wow. This girl seriously is tooting her own horn.” But something I really want to stress in the first place is that when you put serious thought and care into your craft, you can make anything happen. Even a seventeen year old who was super into poetry can break into an industry that supposedly is extremely hard to break into. The average acceptance rate for many literary magazines is about 1% or less. By 21, as someone who didn’t major in creative writing or didn’t plan on any of this happening, I have roughly 55 poems published in literary magazines, many of which are considered well-known emerging markets.
When I had that first poem published and it was nominated for Best of the Net, that felt like the first time I was validated outside of my school and tight-knit writing community. I didn’t know much about the world of publishing, I just did it. So go and just do it.
Finding Markets for Your Work
One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to new submitters is to not just submit everywhere to rack up publications. You can be the most published poet in the world, but if you’re not tapping into the audience you want to reach, then what’s the point? A big part of being a writer is finding people like you, people who see the world differently and can appreciate the minor details in an intricate painting. I was happiest when I found my people, the ones who will uplift you and your work.
Finding the right homes is an integral part to this. Submit to places you’re passionate about, not just because they’re a prestige institution that’s been in the literary game for awhile. If you aren’t excited by the previous things they’ve published, chances are you’re not going to be excited to see your work appearing in the next issue.
If you’re excited about what they’re publishing, that also means you’re their target audience, and perhaps your work falls within their parameters. So submit! Similar people will be reading the content as well, and then you can start to gain a following. Then people will start to know who you are!
Don’t Take Social Media Too Seriously
Social media is a comparison trap. I see this all the time: young writers on Twitter gloating about their next big conquest, then seeing the ones that are younger or not as successful feeling dejected about how little they’ve done as a writer. First of all: no. Stop comparing. It’s perfectly okay to be sad about your losses, but seriously everyone’s writing journey is different. Toni Morrison didn’t start writing until she was thirty-eight years old. Some of the most prolific writers started writing later in life and gained acclaim.
And, at the end of the day, you could have all of these fancy publications, but outside of the Twitter world, no one may know who you are. Build a community. Be known for who and what you do, not for getting into some god-tier literary magazine. It’d be beautiful to be the reason you inspired a kid to write, rather than just being published everywhere.
Take Your Time on Your Pieces
As an editor and poetry reader for multiple places, I see pieces all the time that are seemingly rushed. Personally, I think some of my best poems are the ones I’ve sat on for years and slowly chipped away at. I’m extremely guilty for not taking my time on my works before sending them out. I’ve sent out work with typos that have been published with the typos. I’ve sent out work that I am now embarrassed that I wrote. It’s because I didn’t sit on the poems and didn’t wait.
I recently had banned myself from submitting for six months, and it really did miracles for my work. I didn’t feel the pressure to publish anymore, so I could just dump my thoughts onto the page. In my memoir class in college, my professor pointed out something that I didn’t notice about my own work before: I carefully curated each and every single line.
And sometimes that’s detrimental to the piece. I miss the emotional aspect completely because I’m so hyper-focused on the intricate details, or I miss something that’s completely necessary and extremely obvious. Just sit on the pieces. Let them marinate. They get better with age, I promise.
Read for a Literary Magazine
This is a niche advice topic, but reading for literary magazines really increased the quality of my own writing. I hate to say it, but sometimes people just submit bad writing, and by knowing how the editorial process works, you can take that more into your own writing. I don’t have much else to say about this because it’s pretty self-explanatory.
Find a Writing Routine
If you want to focus on production and output of writing to sit on, then this is your section. I personally didn’t fall into a writing routine until I got an actual desk instead of sitting in my bed and on the floor all the time. My personal routine is that every day, from 10 pm to 12 am, I sit down and write. I do this every single day, and mix up what exactly I’m writing with each day.
Like, today, as I’m writing this blog post, I’ve been sitting and writing blog posts all night. It’s not glamorous, but it gets my thoughts going, and it helps me refine what I’m writing. Writing is a practice, a tool you need to keep sharpening over and over again. When you write a little something in a routine, you add layers of precision.
Seek out Opportunities to Connect with Community
Instagram and Twitter. Those are two big places where the writing community is quite active, so I recommend heading over to those platforms, making friends with anyone whose work you enjoy or just find chill. These are also places to find many opportunities, such as fellowships, literary retreats, and contests. I’ve found some perfect opportunities via Twitter, just by following organizations and fellow writers, so this has actually helped me quite a bit.
Also don’t be afraid to cold email people and ask them for help! Many writers are actually very nice people who want to help developing writers out, so feel very okay with reaching out to your mentors. Maybe they’ll let you know about an upcoming workshop they’re teaching, or nudge you in the right way.
Just be very careful though. Everyone knows everyone in these parts.
Find Your Medium
Literary magazines aren’t for everyone. There’s a particular culture around them that I totally get if you don’t want to contribute to them. But that doesn’t mean you’re lost forever into the void! Instagram has been a thriving place for writers, but I really want to warn you about social media and writing: likes and followers doesn’t mean your work is bad or good. It might make you feel warm and fuzzy, but you can lose it all in an instant.
Also real-life networks can be amazing! Find literary groups and communities around you; when I was living in NYC I would attend poetry readings and events, and made some friends and connections that way. If you’re more of a slam-poet, then embrace that and join spoken word teams. Ain’t no one stopping you!
