How to Submit to Literary Magazines
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DON'T LET YOUR STORIES LANGUISH! HOW TO SUBMIT TO LITERARY MAGAZINES A LECTURE BY DORETTA LAU © DORETTA LAU, 2014 Congratulations on completing a short story! Now it's time to send it out for publication. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 AGENDA FOR TODAY'S TALK • Why you should submit to literary magazines • How to submit, broken down into simple steps © DORETTA LAU, 2014 MY EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE • As an undergraduate, I edited a literary magazine at The University of British Columbia called Uprooted. We published short fiction and poetry. • I was a first reader for PRISM International at UBC. • After graduate school I was an editorial assistant for a journal called NOON, which is edited by the American writer Diane Williams and showcases short fiction, essays, and art. • I worked as a production editor for the children's book publisher Scholastic Inc. • I currently work as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 FROM A WRITER'S PERSPECTIVE MY STORY COLLECTION CONSISTS OF 12 STORIES, 8 OF WHICH WERE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN LITERARY JOURNALS IN CANADA AND THE US. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE EIGHT PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED STORIES FROM MY COLLECTION • 2008: "Left and Leaving", Zen Monster • 2009: "O, Woe is Me", Grain Magazine • 2010: "Two-Part Invention", Grain Magazine • 2012: "How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?", Event • 2013: "Rerun", Grain Magazine • 2013: "Sad Ghosts", A Fictional Residency • 2013: "Days of Being Wild", Ricepaper • 2014: "Robot by the River", Day One © DORETTA LAU, 2014 WHY YOU SHOULD SUBMIT YOUR STORIES TO LITERARY MAGAZINES • Your story deserves an audience beyond your family, friends, and classmates. Some book editors and agents read literary magazines to search for new writing talent. • Working with an editor on a story is an opportunity to learn more about the writing process and become a better writer. • In order to qualify to apply for a Canada Council Grant for Professional Writers, you need to have a minimum of 4 publications in eligible literary magazines or anthologies. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 CANADA COUNCIL GRANT FOR PROFESSIONAL WRITERS AN EMERGING WRITER CAN QUALIFY FOR $3,000 TO $12,000. HTTP://CANADACOUNCIL.CA/COUNCIL/ GRANTS/FIND-A-GRANT/GRANTS/GRANTS-FOR- PROFESSIONAL-WRITERS-CREATIVE-WRITING © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE JOURNEY PRIZE ANTHOLOGY THE STORIES SELECTED WERE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN CANADIAN PRINT AND WEB LITERARY JOURNALS. THE WINNER OF THE PRIZE RECEIVES $10,000. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 WHY YOU SHOULD READ THE JOURNEY PRIZE ANTHOLOGY • The anthology is comprised of stories that were previously published in reputable Canadian journals. • It will give you an idea of where you should submit. • You can immerse yourself in contemporary Canadian writing. It's important to know what other writers are doing at the moment and what is being published. • http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/Journey-Prize.aspx © DORETTA LAU, 2014 HOW I GOT MY BOOK DEAL • I tried to secure an agent. I failed to sign with one. • I sent the book to Anansi's slush pile. I never heard back from them. • I submitted the story "How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?" to contests and literary journals. I amassed many rejections. • Event, a journal published out of Douglas College, e-mailed me to tell me they wanted to publish "How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?" • The story appeared in Event. • Silas White, publisher at the small press Nightwood Editions, read the story in Event and e-mailed me to ask if I had a manuscript ready for consideration. • I sent my manuscript to Silas. A few months later, he offered me a book deal. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 I would not have a book out right now had I not first published my stories in literary magazines. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE SUBMISSION PROCESS • Preparing the manuscript for submission • Where to submit? • The cover letter © DORETTA LAU, 2014 Writing is both an art and a business. Therefore, you should treat the submission process the same way you would a job search. Put in the work. Do the research. Be a professional. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 HOW TO PREPARE YOUR MANUSCRIPT FOR SUBMISSION • Double spacing • 12 point standard font • Standard margins • Plain white paper or PDF • Consult the magazine's submission guidelines and make sure you follow the specific instructions. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 EDITING RESOURCES • The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition (CMS 16) • The Elements of Style • Oxford English Dictionary (for Canadian usage) • Merriam-Webster (for American spelling and usage) © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, 16TH EDITION • The definitive guide to style, usage, and manuscript preparation. • http:// www.chicagomanualofsty le.org/home.html © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE • An excellent guide if you want to sharpen your writing on the sentence level. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY • http://www.oed.com © DORETTA LAU, 2014 MERRIAM-WEBSTER • http://www.merriam- webster.com © DORETTA LAU, 2014 PROOFREADERS' MARKS • Though many editors edit manuscripts electronically now, knowledge of these proofreaders' marks is valuable because it informs you of the most common errors that need to be corrected in manuscripts. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 QUICK EDITING TIPS • Spell out numbers under one hundred • Flush left at the beginning of a story • One space after periods and other punctuation. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 WHERE TO SUBMIT? One great piece of advice I received early on about how to decide where to submit your work: look at the acknowledgements section of a short story collection that you admire and see where the writer's work was previously published. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 WHY CONSULTING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PAGES OF PUBLISHED SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS IS A GREAT STRATEGY • It informs you that a specific literary magazine publishes fiction. • You have read the story and can decide whether your work shares a similar sensibility. If it does, chances are your story will be read more favourably by the editor of the journal. After all, editors are humans and have their own personal preferences when it comes to fiction. • Another writer, whose work you like, has done the job of pinpointing that a specific journal is a worthy outlet for publishing a story. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 LYNN COADY'S HELLGOING • Geist • www.joylandmagazine.com • The Walrus © DORETTA LAU, 2014 MIRANDA HILL'S SLEEPING FUNNY • The Dalhousie Review • The New Quarterly © DORETTA LAU, 2014 SARAH SELECKY'S THIS CAKE IS FOR THE PARTY • The Walrus • Event • Prairie Fire • The New Quarterly © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THEODORA ARMSTRONG'S CLEAR SKIES, NO WIND, 100% VISIBILITY • Event • The Fiddlehead • Prairie Fire © DORETTA LAU, 2014 I WROTE A BLOG ENTRY WITH LINKS TO CANADIAN LITERARY MAGAZINE WEBSITES AND THEIR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES HTTP://WWW.DORETTALAU.COM/BLOG/ 2014/3/18/PUBLISHING-RESOURCES-LITEARY- JOURNALS-IN-CANADA © DORETTA LAU, 2014 Read a recent issue of each magazine you wish to submit to in order to get a sense of whether your story is a good fit. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS • A simultaneous submission is when you submit your story to more than one literary journal at a time. • Consult each magazine's submissions guidelines to determine whether this practice is acceptable. • Keep track of your submissions on a spreadsheet so that if your story is accepted for publication, you can immediately withdraw the story from consideration by sending a polite e-mail. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION SPREADSHEET 2011-13 CHECK OUT ALL THE REJECTION I ENDURED OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS. THIS CONTINUOUS SUBMISSION STRATEGY RESULTED IN THREE ACCEPTANCES. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 What I've learned from this process is that rejection does not mean a story is bad. Sometimes it simply indicates that a story has not yet found the right editor or magazine. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 SAMPLE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: RICEPAPER HTTP:// RICEPAPERMAGAZINE.CA/ SUBMIT/ © DORETTA LAU, 2014 SAMPLE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: PRISM INTERNATIONAL HTTP:// PRISMMAGAZINE.CA /SUBMIT/ © DORETTA LAU, 2014 WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CONSULT A MAGAZINE'S SUBMISSION GUIDELINES? • Some magazines have a designated reading period. Submissions outside of this period do not get read. • There is often critical information about what an editor is looking for stated clearly in the guidelines. If your story is too long or too short for the magazine's needs, it doesn't matter how good your writing is because it's not the right fit. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 WHAT IS AN SASE? • Some literary magazines only accept submissions by mail and conduct their correspondence via snail mail. In such cases, you must include a self-address stamped envelope (SASE). Be sure you use the correct postage. • For submissions outside of Canada, you will need to supply an International Reply Coupon rather than Canadian stamps. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 THE COVER LETTER OR E-MAIL • Address the editor by name if possible. Check the publication's most recent masthead or website for this information. • State the title of your work, genre, and word count. • If you're a fan of the magazine, allude to a recent story you enjoyed reading. • Include a short biographical note about yourself. • Remember to include your contact information. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 HOW TO WRITE A BIO • State your credentials. If you are attending or attended a creative writing program make note of it here. • List your publications. If you do not have publications, that is okay. • Mention where you live and work. • If you're working on a book or big writing project, mention it as well. • When in doubt, keep the bio brief and professional. © DORETTA LAU, 2014 A SAMPLE BIO I am an arts and culture journalist who completed an MFA in Writing at Columbia University. My fiction and poetry have appeared in Day One, Event, Grain Magazine, Prairie Fire, PRISM International, Ricepaper, sub-TERRAIN, and Zen Monster.