I'm pretty new at trying to get my work published, so I plan on keeping track of all the places I've sent submissions and whether or not they were accepted.
Here's how it is so far:
Oklahoman Review
Pieces submitted: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SUCH A FUCKER, AUGGIE APPLE," "There I Was," "Sleep Safe Until Tomorrow"
Status: REJECTED
Equinox
Pieces submitted: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SUCH A FUCKER," "There I Was," "Sleep Safe Until Tomorrow" and some poems.
Status: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SUCH A FUCKER," "There I Was," "Ginsberg" were ACCEPTED
Quills and Pixels
Pieces submitted: "Elysium" and "Cancer for the Cure"
Status: "Cancer for the Cure" was ACCEPTED.
Copper Nickel
Pieces submitted: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SUCH A FUCKER," "Cancer for the Cure."
Status: PENDING
Narrative Magazine (Story of the Week Contest)
Piece submitted: "Cancer for the Cure"
Status: PENDING
And that's it, really.
I haven't submitted a lot of things. I get very excited about lit mags, and then they just end up making me a little sick to my stomach. Still, I figure I can take a bit of the sting out of rejection by making it a little game.
I am sure Justin is way ahead of me in submissions. Actually, I know he is.
Things in progress:
I figure if I update at least once a week on the things I'm working on, I will be more accountable for getting them done. So here's what I've been working on.
-A story about a Peruvian woman going swimming.
-A story about a self-hating Indian, two punk rockers, and a paraplegic boy who find themselves at odds with each other.
-A story about a writer who works at an archive that burns down.
-An article for Studies In Short Fiction about Flannery O' Connor
-Editing "What Has Been Done and What Is Left To Be Done" (the short story, not this post) so that I can submit it to the NIMROD Awards Competition.
That's it. Maybe Justin will post soon.
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How are you choosing which mags. to send your stuff to? Are you going to publish stuff on here for us to comment onto? Do u mind if I steal this idea as well?
ReplyDeleteJustin sent me a link to a list of different lit mags. Charles sent me one too. I can forward them on to you if you want.
ReplyDeleteBasically I just go through the lists and if the mag seems like my kind of thing, I submit. It's a bit harder than that, though, because a lot of lit mags are very specific in what they want.
For example, "The F-Word," a feminist mag, wants only stories that include a "spunky female lead" who brings down "the man."
Or "Cat Tales," a mag that only wants cat stories, where cats are shown in "a positive light" and there are "no talking cats."
All my positive cat stories involve talking cats.
I'll probably post some things in the future.
Also, how'd you find this blog??
Justin sent it to me. I would like that if you sent me the list. Are you reading any of the lit. mags before you send it or just perusing their websites (which seems like it would take less time)? What is your cover letter like? Are you keeping a folder of your rejections and acceptances?
ReplyDeleteIf I'm lucky, I can read a little bit of what they have, but most of the time, I just go off of the descriptions they post on their website. It's really much better when they have a list of authors that they've either published or enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMy cover letter is pretty simple. Generally just:
"This is my piece, [TITLE HERE]. Thank you for your time. Phillip Garcia."
Dr. Jauss says that if you start telling them anything more, like "inspiration," etc., they know they're dealing with an amateur and will probably not want to read your piece. He says he keeps his cover letters short and that he prefers it when other people do too.
Also, I think this is pretty much counting as my folder of rejections and acceptances. I haven't had much of either yet to warrant organizing them away, but I probably will start soon.
What's funny is that Justin and I were just talking about this. You can keep track on this site http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx which is really helpful. I agree that it is best to keep it simple.
ReplyDelete