Submission Sunday - October 2023
Putting it out there
Are you ready to submit? Let’s do this!
Submission update: I submitted 14 times in September and still have 8 pending responses. So far, in October, I have received 1 acceptance letter, 1 request for revision, and 4 rejection letters.
I’ve had 1 piece published in October: “What’s Left Unsaid”
Today I submitted 2 pieces to 3 markets! I’m playing my celebration playlist and dancing around my office (don’t judge me!)
How about you? Leave a comment below if you were able to submit your writing today. We will celebrate together.
Wondering where to submit? Check out these open calls for submissions:
Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literary Arts. Accepting submissions through November 15th.
Cool Beans Lit (fledgling magazine). Accepting submission through November 15th.
New Ohio Review. Accepting submissions through November 15th.
Fiddlehead Magazine. Accepting submissions through November 30th.
To Submit or Not to Submit, that is the question.
Are you ready to submit your writing?
Let’s get real here. You don’t have to publish to be a “real writer.” (Imagine my fingers making the air-quotes sign around that real writer phrase. That’s right folks, I am air-quoting you.)
The bottom line: You don’t have to publish if you don’t want to. You can write for yourself. You can write for your friends and family. You can write for future alien librarians searching the galaxy for new literary material (yes, that was oddly specific – don’t question it.) The point is… It is up to you. Whether you want to publish or not, you are a real writer; don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell you differently.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way – let’s say that you do want to see your work published through a traditional marketplace. Here are some tips to help you through the process:
Let go of what you can’t control! You cannot control how your work is received or whether it is published. You can control how often you submit. You can control how much time you spend working on your craft. You can control how you prioritize your creative life.
Collect rejection letters like kids collect Pokémon cards – obsessively and with unhinged levels of joy. I know. I know. This advice sounds completely backwards (and, again, oddly specific). Here’s the thing: Rejection (in general) sucks. BUT, if you can flip it and view rejection as an affirmation that you are a bad-ass and perseverant writer, you can celebrate all of those letters as proof that you are not only in the game but also playing to win.
Celebrate every time you click “Submit” – Because, again… you rock!
Work on your craft. Approach each project as a beginner, not as an expert. Every project always has room for improvement, experimentation, and exploration. In writing, mastery is not an end; it is simply part of a cycle.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”― Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
Unf#ck Yourself. Have multiple pieces of writing in various stages of “readiness”. Have something you are creating, have something you are revising, have something you are submitting. Even have fragments of something you are working on. The more work you have that is in different stages, the easier it is to feed your creative process when you feel stuck and the easier it is to get out of your own head (my own head is a scary place to be, and I spend a lot of time trying to get out of it!)
Those are just a few tips that can help you get started. The scariest step will always be the first time you click that “submit” button. But don’t worry… we can submit together, and I will celebrate alongside you! If you didn’t have anything ready to submit today, no worries… we will submit our work again on Sunday, November 19th.
Happy Writing!