Welcome to the Year of Fearless Writing!
You write. I mean, that's why you're here. But how often do you say "I'm a writer?" And what's the difference between "I write" and "I'm a writer" anyway?
Over the last five years, YeahWrite--besides being a great place to develop and playtest your writing, build community, and enter one of the best and friendliest competitions on the web--has devoted a lot of time and space to teaching writing. This year, we want to focus on learning what it is to be a writer. So if one of your new year's resolutions for 2019 was to take your writing to the next level, you're in the right place. Our Year of Fearless Writing is focused on the craft of being a writer. We'll take you through subjects like how to submit, developing a professional presence, finding and working with professionals, and what it takes to get your story, essay, or novel in the right place at the right time, so that by this time next year you'll be able to say "I'm a writer" with confidence.
January's topic: tracking your submissions. By this point you've probably got a backlog of stories or essays and some idea of where you'd love to get them published, but how does that work? There's a little more to it than just hitting the "submit" button, and we're about to walk you through what that is- and why you should do it.
February’s topic: how to find a home for your writing. Sure, everyone says “submit” or “keep an eye out for calls for submissions” but what does that process actually look like, from your side of the keyboard? Let’s find out.
March's topic: finding and working with an editor. You may have the greatest idea in the world, but you're not the best person to make sure it all got onto the page in a form that can be understood. And you can't see your own blind spots. That's where finding the right editor comes in.
April's topic: all about critique groups. How can you tell if your idea is good? Are you stuck on a plot point? A critique group can help you sort out in-progress writing that isn't ready for an edit, or figure out what's missing in a piece that's racking up rejections.
May's topic: your bio and website. If a writer writes, and nobody reads it, did the words happen? Your professional bio and website are two related—and important—tools to market yourself as an author.
June's topic: networking on- and offline. Like it or not, getting published is—at least in part—about who you know. But who do you need to know, and how do you meet them?
July's topic: summarizing your work. We’re helping you answer the dreaded question "so… what do you write?” Learn how to talk about your work quickly and concisely while keeping your listener (or potential agent) excited to hear more.
August's topic: pitches and queries. Now that you know how to talk about yourself and your writing, and who you should be talking to, how do you put those pieces together and finally see your work in print? Learn more about taking your writing from concept to page.
September's topic: back to school. Is an MFA right for you? Or do the cons outweigh the pros? We can't make the decision for you, but we're discussing what you should consider and evaluate not just for an MFA, but for that workshop or conference you have your eye on, and what alternatives are out there for you.
October's topic: don't quit your day job. Or should you? Here's another tough decision we can't make for you, but we can - and do - talk about what a job in writing looks like, for levels from hobbyist through fulltime novelist, and the adjacent career options in between.
November's topic: taping together your time confetti. We all have a few seconds in the day here and there. But how productive can you be in five minute chunks? The answer is, very productive for some things, but not at all for others.
December's topic: so you're a writer; now what? Being a writer isn't a static thing. You'll need to keep working on each and every skill you've developed, and then some, for your whole career. While we structured this year in terms of things you must have in place before you can move on to the next thing, in December we'll take a look back through a different lens.
Push that button
Great, you’ve got your submissions spreadsheet set up. You’ve even got a couple of pieces ready to go, or a free weekend to write in. You’re ready to go! Or are you?
The spreadsheet was the easy part – we wanted to give you something concrete to start the year with. But an empty spreadsheet is a sad spreadsheet. So how do you go about finding – and submitting to – the perfect publication?
How do I find my work a home?
Step 1: Figure out what you like to write. This sounds almost too simple, but one key to getting published is being able to play to your strengths while giving the publication exactly what it’s looking for. Coincidentally, this is also the way to make sure it’s still fun – or at least satisfying – when you’re staring at a pile of rejection slips (well, an inbox full anyway). And you will get rejections – we all do. Since there’s no avoiding it, let’s talk about what you can do to have the best possible chance at success.
Step 2: Figure out who publishes what you like to write.
Whether you enjoy writing to a prompt or want to do your own thing, the key to getting published is matchmaking: a publication that wants to print what you want to write. So what does that look like?
- Are you looking to find a home for a story you have already written? You want a magazine or anthology (online or print) that specializes in your genre. You may need to make some edits to your story to make it a more perfect fit for the call for submissions, whether that’s adding (or subtracting) words, or including a specific requirement.
- Another way to find a home for a story you’ve already written is to find a publication that wants stories from people just like you. So take stock of yourself: are you from a specific region of the country? What’s your racial or gender identity? What’s your sexual orientation? Odds are that there’s a publication out there looking for a voice like yours, no matter what you’re using that voice to write about. (Cis het white dudes who are feeling excluded right now, I promise that you also fit some specific anthology’s requirements, whether because of social class or where you live.)
- Do you need a prompt to get you started, but time to write? Look for writing contests and themed anthologies. They’ll have specific requirements that can get your creative juices flowing, and long deadlines – unless you find the call for submissions the day before it closes!
- Do you enjoy the pressure of a fast deadline? “Flash” contests could be the way to go here, where you’re given a certain amount of time – and often a prompt or three – to submit a (usually very short) story. (Our own Super Challenge is one option; NYC Midnight is another popular flash fiction contest.) NB: Contests often charge a fee, and rarely result in publication. On the other hand, they’re a great way to stock up a few stories on your backlist (see above for how to find a home for those). You’ll want to polish them after the competition’s done, but a competition is a great way to get unstuck from writer’s block and get a first or second draft in hand.
- Are you writing (or have you written) a novel? You’ll need to decide whether you want to self-publish or publish traditionally. If you want to go the traditional publishing route, start researching agents and publishers now, even if you’re not finished with the book. Check out the Manuscript Wish List, where agents post what they are looking for, whether they are open to queries, and what their submission guidelines are.
- Protip: Follow authors and agents in your genre on social media platforms. They often share posts by industry professionals, including agents and editors, who might be open to work like yours.
- Do you write nonfiction? Look for genre publications, just like if you were writing speculative fiction. Some publications accept both fiction and nonfiction; many that publish nonfiction do not accept unsolicited pieces. Instead, they want you to “pitch” – give them a rough outline for what you plan to write, after which you’ll work with their editor to develop a finished article or essay. (We’ll talk about how to pitch a story idea in a forthcoming post.)
Step 2.5: What if you don’t know where to look?
One short answer to this question is another question: what do you like to read? Start there. Check out your favorite print and online publications, get a feel for what they’re looking for (by reading), and then see if they take submissions (hint: they probably do). Keep an eye on submission windows: some publications have quarterly submissions, others may only be open sporadically and unpredictably.
Google is your friend for finding sites that compile calls for submissions (yes, that’s your search string: calls for submissions). Some are genre-specific (Horror Tree); others are more broad (Poets & Writers, New Pages, Aerogramme Writing Studio). In addition to aggregators, there are dozens of lists out there (20 Places to Submit Your Speculative Short Stories, The Top 25 Publishers for New Authors). Quality varies, so do your research.
Dale Cameron Lowrey’s Calls for Submssions site lets you filter for genre, pay rate, and format. It’s a great, free resource (but you can throw him a few bucks on Patreon if you find it useful, and I encourage you to do so if you can).
Erica Verillo’s Published to Death is another site that aggregates calls for submissions, lists of agents (including new agents who might be excited to expand their list of authors), contests, and other useful resources.
DL Shirley maintains The Short List of flash fiction publishers – fiction from 50-4000 words. They’re not all paid markets, so you’ll need to sift through them carefully, but it’s a great place to start if you’re trying to find a home for that 250-word paranormal romance you’ve got kicking around.
And don’t forget plain old word of mouth. Join a few Facebook groups for writers (you’re in the YeahWrite Coffeehouse, aren’t you?), and pretty soon you’ll start seeing authors and editors sharing calls for submissions.
Step 3: Read and follow the submission guidelines
No really. We can’t say it enough: read and follow the submission guidelines. Maybe your story is pure gold; maybe your book is so good you’ll have editors falling all over themselves to publish it. It doesn’t matter: if you don’t follow the rules, you’re seriously undermining your chances of publication. Sometimes this means having several versions of the same story, all formatted differently. That’s okay. Maybe it seems inefficient to you, but keep in mind that editors have reasons for the requirements. At the very least, following the submission guidelines to a T will show a prospective editor that you have great attention to detail, and who doesn’t love that?
Look back at our January post (near the bottom) for a list of common things that are included in submission guidelines.
Step 4: Put it in your spreadsheet.
Once you hit send, don’t forget to add the submission to your spreadsheet! Not only will that keep you from sending your story to the same place twice, it’ll let you know when you should have heard back – or when you want to give up or send a gentle query.
A word of warning:
Someone in a writers’ group posted this the other day:
I’m so excited to share that I’ve been offered a contract for my novel! They want me to pay them $3,100 – is this reasonable?
Hopefully you can hear the warning bells loud and clear. When a publisher asks you for money to publish your work, that’s “vanity publishing.” Vanity publishers’ profit comes from the fees authors pay, rather than from book sales, and this arrangement rarely works out in the writer’s favor. What you get out of it is the right to say that you’ve published a book. For that price, you might as well self-publish, and at least take home whatever profits the book earns.
The same goes for anthologies and other publications of short works–even some competitions. If you’re being asked to pay for publication, do your own marketing, design your own cover (seriously, though: always get a professional to do that; we’ll talk about how to find one and why you definitely should later this year), you may as well self publish and keep all the profit for yourself! (What’s the difference between vanity and self publishing?)
Not sure if your publisher is legitimate? Check out Writer Beware, which provides warnings about literary schemes and scams (including contest scams), along with information on how writers can protect themselves.
Want more?
We talked about this very subject last year. We’ve got additional tips and tricks, as well as links to a few other places to look for calls for submissions.
February’s YFW assignment is:
Submit something to a market you’ve never submitted to before.
Explore some of the options we listed above, or open up that bookmark for that publication you’ve been eying all along. Check for submission deadlines, and find something due by the end of the month. Do you already have a piece that fits the requirements? Great! Make sure the format follows the guidelines. Do you need (or want!) to write something new? Make sure you set aside time to write it. Don’t wait till the last minute – you want to make sure your beta readers have time to look it over.
Pushing that button can be scary, but it’s exhilarating, too. Be proud that you’re putting your work out there. And remember, the more often you do it, the easier it gets.
Don’t forget to add this submission into your spreadsheet!
