What does it take to get your work published? In today’s world the opportunities for publishing your essays, short stories and poems are more abundant than ever before. But that doesn’t mean it is any easier to get published. With the age of the internet and platforms like blogging and personal websites the writer can see their work out in the world with relatively small degree of effort. Getting published though is not the same is having readership. In fact, the market for writing is fairly saturated and it is still a challenge to break into literary magazines. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for other kinds of published work. Breaking into journalism, content marketing, articles for businesses for example offers many writers the chance not only for publication but to make money writing. For the purposes of this newsletter though I will focus on publishing your work in the literary marketplace. (Book publishing is another topic that I will cover in a future issue.)
So are you ready to publish your writing?
Here is my list of what it takes to get published.
1.Find your voice and your message.
What is it that you must say, and why must you say it? Only you can offer the world your perspective and your wisdom. But if you aren’t sure what it is you have to offer, your work can be rambling and lacking in focus.
2. Refine your craft.
The only way to become a better writer is to write. A lot. Write every day. It doesn’t matter if it is in a journal or notes. Just write. Put words on the page. Create a huge volume of work. That is all.
3. Keep learning.
This will help you refine your craft. Read authors who write in your genre. Read authors who don’t write in a genre you would normal read. Seek out online or local classes on writing, read books on the craft, and study the great writers of the past. Read book reviews. Most good reviewers are able to articulate what is working or not working in a piece of writing. Learn from them.
4. Imitate.
I am NOT promoting plagiarism. Imitate to learn, to develop the eye for seeing how great writing is constructed. Let the masters of writing guide your hand. At some point your own creative genius will take over.
5. Create value for your reader. Your own writing has intrinsic value to you. But that doesn’t mean it clearly has value for your reader. What will your reader gain from reading your work? How will their life be improved or made easier? Can you offer a new perspective on a worn out topic?
6. Be honest with yourself.
Some people don’t want to write, they want to have written. They crave the acknowledgment and the accolades but in order to succeed as a writer you have crave the work, the nitty gritty act of putting words on the page. If you’re too focused on getting published and not focused enough on creating something worthwhile it will be a painful learning experience that ends in disappointment. Tell yourself the truth so that you can move forward in alignment with your values and your purpose.
Challenges to getting published.
Here is my list to break through the obstacles facing you in your attempts at publication.
1. Share.
Learn to talk to others about your work in a meaningful way. I find this to be immensely difficult but one of the most rewarding and supportive actions I can take to keep me going.
2. Pace yourself.
Don’t burn out in a year or two by over doing it. Know what your limits are and think in the long term. You want your writing life to be sustainable. Longevity and persistence will win the day. I personally, close the door on my writing at three in the afternoon. I have a good life outside of my writing world.
3. Accept rejection.
Rejections and criticism can be demoralizing and discouraging. And even worse than rejection is the silence that often comes with submitting your work. Don’t let any of it wear you down. It is part and parcel of the business. All the great writers had their share of rejections and naysayers. When I get low I will read all the bad reviews of an award winning author whose work I admire. I look for rejection stories of famous writers who thought they would never make it.
4. Don’t quit.
This goes without saying. Because if you’re even contemplating quitting you likely don’t have the mettle to see it through to the end. I tell people all the time, I will write until I’m dead. That’s my commitment. I will also pursue publication until I’m dead. Of course, that means I have to love writing for its own sake, (I do) as well as have a burning desire to see it published.
And lastly, here is my short to-do list for getting your work published.
1. Complete your writing.
Don’t just let your work sit in piles at varied drafting stages. Bring each piece to completion. Then decide where you would like to submit it and get writing or revising another one.
3. Submit or pitch multiple projects at one time.
It is my experience that pitching or submitting more than one piece at a time is helpful to let the rejections slide off a little easier. Knowing that you may get a yes on something else that you have submitted makes the rejections feel less personal. I always make sure I have at least five submissions out at time.
4. Be organized.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Be organized with your writing. Label folders and documents. Date everything. Keep track of your submissions by using submission trackers, or by using your own spreadsheet of the data. Take it seriously. This organization will save you time and emotional energy, not to mention mental and creative space.
5. Aim high but be ready for low.
Start with your dream publications and then work your way down the list. Just the act of submitting to a respected and widely read magazine will build your confidence and it will also help you discover your writing weaknesses, particularly when editors comment on your rejection. This is gold. Learn from it. But be willing to publish your work wherever it is accepted and then with the next submission aim high again.
Again, don’t quit.
Keep writing and keep submitting regardless of the results. Eventually you will have breakthrough.
And that’s it folks. You want to be a published writer? It’s no walk in the park but if you have a love of the written word and you have the stamina to endure the process I have no doubt you will be successful.
