Our last installment covered when, why, and how to secure an agent. Now, let’s talk about publishing your work.

Finding a Home for Your Work

First things first: need some guidance on where and when to submit? Check out our Opportunities page for details on which publications and contests are currently accepting submissions, as well as Poets & Writers' Literary Magazine Database, a carefully vetted, searchable list of open markets.

Before you submit, you’ll want to figure out which journals are right for you and your work. For a more in-depth understanding of a journal’s mission and its editorial team’s preferences, check out the Review Review. Every week it offers reviews of literary journals so you can gain a greater understanding of their missions. While you should read any journal before you submit your work to it, the Review Review should help you narrow down which journals might be the right fit.

Now that you’ve identified some journals where you’d love to see your work, make the right first impression with advice from five distinguished magazine and book editors from the Believer, Milkweed Editions, Tin House, New England Review, and Orion. These editors speak candidly about what they love, loathe, and everything in between in the panel, “What We Hate: Editorial Dos and Don’ts,” from the AWP Podcast Series.

Submitting Your Manuscript

In our last installment, we directed you to Poets & Writers’ overview of the process of Publishing Your Book, which provides many useful tips on topics such as submitting your manuscript, negotiating a contract, and promoting and marketing your work.

Poets & Writers’ guide also suggests that if you are submitting your first book, you might want to consider working with a small press. “Although they do not have the resources of larger publishing houses and offer smaller advances, they are usually more willing to help you develop as an author even if your books aren’t immediately profitable, and they are open to a wider range of writing.” If this sounds appealing to you, check out P&W’s Small Presses database to find some places that might be a good fit for your work.

However, if you prefer to go with a major publishing house, you’ll first need to secure an agent. Once you have a completed manuscript ready to submit, take the time to format it correctly. Check out this helpful guide from the late Ursula K. Le Guin: “Some Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation & Submission.”

Next, turn your attention to your query letter. Writer’s Digest’s fantastic Successful Queries series presents examples of successful query letters alongside comments from the agents who accepted the work. For another useful breakdown of the querying process, check out NY Book Editors’ article “How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter.”

Once you’ve crafted your query letter, you might consider using a submission management system like QueryTracker. This website offers a free service that can assist you in locating agents as well as organizing and tracking your submissions.

Self-Publishing and E-Books

Some first-time authors prefer to self-publish. If this is something you are considering, you should check out “Insider Secrets for Indie Authors and Small Presses from Amy Collins of New Shelves Books” by Jess Zafarris, published in Writer’s Digest. They discuss different methods for debut and self-published authors to build a readership, arguing that the most important thing to focus on is the reviews.

Shaunta Grimes argues that self-publishing is often a necessary first step to getting the attention of larger publishers. She makes the case that fiction writers should take advantage of blogging services as a vital method of self-promotion in her post, “If You’re a Fiction Writer, You Absolutely Should be Blogging,” published on Medium.

For additional help with self-publishing, consider using a service like Bowker, which helps authors publish, market, and sell their books.

For another less traditional route, you might be considering electronic publishing. Author and literary agent Ronald Goldfarb offers some perspective on the changing literary landscape as a result of the electronic publishing boom spearheaded by Amazon in “What Writers Need to Know about Electronic Publishing,” originally published in AWP’s The Writer’s Chronicle. Goldfarb discusses the financial considerations between traditional publishing and electronic publishing, while also pointing out the increased opportunity for multimedia features in eBook publishing.

On Rejection

Rejection is a natural and inevitable part of the path to publication, but don’t let that get you down. Below are some tips on handling rejection.

In episode 80 of the AWP Podcast Series, “Rejection! Everything You Always Wanted to Know (But Were Afraid to Ask)” David Baker, Jill Bialosky, MB Caschetta, Rob Spillman, and Melissa Stein make up a mixed group of top editors and emerging writers who join forces to offer “tips to avoid surefire rejection—and how to maintain faith in your work and your voice even when rejections keep piling up.”

Keep in mind that you are not alone. Romy Oltuski reminds us that when we are rejected, we are always in good company in “Famous Authors’ Harshest Rejection Letters” published over at The Atlantic. Similarly, in the “Dear Blunt Instrument” series over at Electric Literature, Elisa Gabbert asserts: “I know of no level of success where writers stop getting rejected (and stop at least occasionally feeling bummed about it).”

We will end this month with a fabulous roundup of advice from Chuck Sambuchino over at Writer’s Digest. In “What To Know Before You Submit Your Writing: 28 Great Tips From Literary Agents for Writers,” he uses the hashtag #pubtip to collect tweets from agents, with insightful results.

That’s plenty for now! Best of luck as you seek publication and be sure to check out our next installment where we talk about finding contests, grants, and fellowships.

Warm Wishes,

Your Membership Team