A Beginner's Guide to Literary Magazine Submissions
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About The Author:
Anita Trimbur is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh where she received a BA in fiction writing.
Although photography is her primary line of work, writing will always remain part of her professional life. Her flash fiction has been long listed for the Smokelong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction. Find her raving about books on Twitter @anitatrimbur.
If you write short fiction, submitting to literary magazines is a great way to find an audience. But with thousands of magazines to choose from, submissions might feel intimidating.
Don't know where to begin? Or even what to think about when submitting to litmags?
This guide breaks down the big considerations as you delve into the world of submissions. By the end of this read, you'll be able to:
Discern what publications best fit your work
Ask yourself the questions that will decide your submitting preferences
Hard Requirements
Literary magazines always cite their non-negotiables. These factors dictate whether a magazine is a possible fit for your work. Strike out on any of these requirements, and you can move on to other submission candidates.
Usually, you'll find requirements listed on an "about" or "submissions" page. These requirements might include:
Genre
What fiction genres does the magazine accept? Most literary magazines don't take work that falls into popular genre categories like:
SciFi
Fantasy
Romance
Horror
Genre writing is better suited to genre magazines. You'll have better luck submitting your sci-fi short to Asimov's than AGNI.
Word Count
What story length does the magazine accept? Magazine editors are serious when they put limitations on word count. It determines how much space gets taken up by any one author's work. Unless a magazine states that word count is flexible, treat it as a hard rule.
Some magazines publish stories of specific lengths. Smokelong only publishes flash fiction (stories under 1,000 words). Other magazines look for longer works. Granta's published stories run from 3,000 to 6,000 words.
Reading Period
Usually, magazines aren’t open to submissions year-round. Instead, editors will choose a window during which they’ll accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Many publications affiliated with academic institutions will not read during the summer months. You may notice fewer submission opportunities from June through August.
Bookmark magazines you're interested in, and record when their reading periods begin. Never submit to a magazine outside their reading period. Editors will not consider those manuscripts.
Format
Always treat formatting guidelines as a hard rule. When unspecified, assume magazines are looking for a document in standard manuscript format.
Some magazines only read "blind." This means your name and contact information cannot appear on the submission. Any identifying information on a blind submission results in automatic rejection.
Style
Let's say your story meets the hard requirements for a literary magazine. Next, turn your attention to style. Every publication has a unique aesthetic. Despite the literary merit of a submission, a magazine will still reject it if it isn't a stylistic match.
Some magazines publish experimental writing. Other magazines favor a traditional narrative approach. Some magazines want lighter fare. Other magazines look for heavy hitters. These are only a few stylistic dimensions that editors may consider.
But how can you determine a magazine's style? An "about" or "submissions" page may offer a blurb about stylistic preferences. Websites like Duotrope record interviews with editors that may provide insight.
The best way to identify style is to read what the magazine publishes. Many digital publications are free-to-read online. Print journals will often make some selections available for non-subscribers to read. Take advantage of this free content. Not only do you serve yourself as a submitter, but you also support other authors.
Submissions Type
The previous two categories determine whether your work is a good fit for a magazine. These next categories determine whether a magazine is a good fit for you. Submitting work is a process. As you continue to send out work, you'll develop preferences in how you engage with that process.
Postal vs. Electronic Submissions
In the digital age, most journals take electronic submissions. But there are still publications that field submitters via snail-mail. NOON is a long-running magazine that only considers mailed manuscripts. To receive a response, submitters include a SASE.
Consider that you'll have to make print copies of your submission and pay for postage. Postal submissions may be worthwhile if you're optimistic about style-match. Otherwise, you might consider magazines that allow electronic submissions.
Electronic submissions are convenient in that you won't need physical materials. You won't have to run to the post office either! For electronic submissions, many magazines opt for submission managers.
The most popular is Submittable. Managers organize your submissions in one place. Other magazines take emailed submissions. No matter what, always follow a magazine's submission standards to a T.
Reading Fees
Some publications cover overhead costs with "reading fees." This is a small amount of money submitters pay for editorial consideration. Most often, fees range from $2 to $5.
Finances are an important factor for writers. If you are unwilling or unable to pay fees, consider magazines who read for free. Other magazines waive fees during small windows for equal opportunity. It might be prudent to budget the amount of money you're willing to spend on submissions.
Keep in mind that general submissions usually have smaller associated fees than contest submissions.
Simultaneous vs. Exclusive Submissions
Most literary magazines permit "simultaneous submissions." Submitting simultaneously means sending the same piece of writing to several magazines.
Let's say a publication accepts your submission. If you've submitted simultaneously, other magazines still have that piece under consideration. You'll need to immediately withdraw those pending submissions.
Always inform a magazine when a submission becomes unavailable. You wouldn't want to waste an editor's time reviewing a piece they can't publish.
Some magazines avoid the confusion of simultaneous submissions by asking for exclusive consideration. This is a common request for genre magazines. Some literary magazines like Conjunctions make the same request.
Exclusive submissions can reduce the opportunity for acceptance.
Depending on response time, you may wait months before you're able to submit elsewhere. Some magazines are aware of this drawback. In response, they've developed faster editorial processes to compensate. The Threepenny Review asks for exclusive consideration. But they respond to submissions within three days!
Response Time
In the previous category, we touched on response time. It may be important to you how long magazines take to respond. The slowest markets can take a year or more to hear back from. The fastest markets may take a few days or less.
See if editors list an estimated response time on their website. Submission trackers like Duotrope average the reported response times from their user base. If you're willing to wait, you'll have a wider selection of magazines to submit to.
Status Inquiries
You may notice a magazine taking much longer than promised to respond. It may be appropriate to send a "status inquiry." These are requests for an update sent by email or submission manager.
Some magazines ask that you do not inquire about submission status. Be sure to check for editors' preferences beforehand.
Non-Responses
Not all magazines guarantee rejections. You can assume a submission rejected after some duration for these markets. The New Yorker is a notable example of an unresponsive magazine.
Prestige
The prestige-factor is tricky when it comes to literary magazines. There is no precise measure of prestige. But we can make a distinction between, say, The Atlantic and your uncle's Blogspot.
One way to measure prestige is through readership. How many people does a publisher reach? If they publish online, how many monthly page-views do they have? If they publish print copies, how many people order an issue?
Another measure of prestige is prize nominations. How often are a magazine’s stories recognized for literary merit? This post from Clifford Garstang attempts to rank magazines based on Pushcart nominations.
Why might prestige matter to you? A more prestigious publication will likely reach a wider audience. It will also be a stronger writing credit.
But prestigious publications are extremely competitive. These markets may accept less than 1% of submissions. You're much likelier to receive an acceptance from a lower-tier publication.
Medium
Print versus digital: does it matter? There is a longstanding bias in the literary community that favors print publications. But digital publications are gaining recognition, too.
The preference of medium is author dependent. It might be important for you to hold your published work in your hands. Or, it might be important that your work be accessible and shareable online.
Payment
A final consideration for submitters is payment. Not all magazines are paying markets. Why? Many magazines are running on shoestring budgets and can't afford to pay contributors. Some paying markets may only offer token payments.
Markets that offer professional compensation often publish infrequently and accept few submissions. Short fiction submissions are not intended to be reliable income potential. Above all, publishing in literary magazines is a way for your writing to find an audience.
Wrap-Up
Let’s finish with a checklist. These are the considerations you can reference next time you submit fiction.
1. Genre or literary magazine
2. Word count range
3. Open reading period
4. Formatting guidelines
5. Style match
6. Postal or electronic submission
7. Reading fees
8. Simultaneous or exclusive submission
9. Response time
10. Prestige
11. Print or digital
12. Payment
