It’s less than a year since I started writing short stories, having only worked on novel-length fiction previously. But I’ve had beginner’s luck with my first submission printed a highly-regarded publication and my second story published by an online literary magazine with a 2% acceptance rate. I’m led to believe this is extremely unusual.

Brag over. Since my first flush of success, I’ve experienced plenty of rejection.

I’m not alone in this. Every writer who wants to be read needs to roll with the rejection punches. It’s a pursuit that requires persistence and the ability to absorb rejection, or silence, with equanimity. With every rejection, I tell myself it’s not that my writing isn’t good, but that this magazine wasn’t the right places for that particular story right now. And I admit, so far, I have been picky about where I submit to, stacking the odds against myself, because I don’t want my stories published just anywhere.

I’m still a novice, but I’ve developed a regular habit of submissions over the last six months. And so I’ll share my beginners’ guide, starting here with what to consider when deciding where to submit, and continuing in part two with how to give your writing the best chance of acceptance.

Where should I submit my writing?

To find the magazine that is right for your story, poem or essay, you need to have an idea of what the magazine publishes. It sounds obvious – there is clearly no point in sending your dragon adventure to a magazine that doesn’t publish fantasy, or flash fiction to somewhere that only publishes poetry – but sometimes the style difference is subtler than genre.

At the very least, you can get the vibe of a magazine from their website, but the best gauge is to read the magazine. This is easy enough with free-to-read online mags but can be a costly endeavour with paywalled content or buying print magazines. Only you can decide if the outlay of time and money is worth it, but for me, reading other writers’ stories has improved my own writing, and I enjoy the print mags I subscribe to.

Online or Print?

Many magazines are exclusively online, whereas some still only publish in print, and many more function in combination. While the tangible joy of your story on the printed page is hard to beat, online publications can be more widely read, and free content garners many more readers than paid subscriptions. So, if readership is your goal, online might be your best bet. If it’s something to put on your bookshelf and show to your mum, then go for print. There’s nothing stopping you submitting to both if you don’t have a preference but be sure you know where your story might end up.

Acceptance rates (AR)

This might influence your decision to submit either because you want to increase your chances of publication by submitting somewhere with a high acceptance rate, or because you’d like the thrill of being accepted somewhere more exclusive. The AR can be a sign of quality or quantity of submissions and an indication of the popularity of the publication.

Of course, low acceptance rates lead to higher rates of rejection, but that rejection stings far less when the AR is 2% than it would if the AR was 30%.

Some magazines will state their AR in their submission guidelines, but many do not. You can find the AR for most magazines at Chill Subs.

Simultaneous submissions

Most magazines accept simultaneous submissions – meaning you can send your story to more than one magazine at the same time – but some request exclusive submissions, usually in return for a faster response time.

If you are submitting simultaneously to a lot of places, it’s important to keep track because you must withdraw your submission from everywhere else as soon as you get your first acceptance. It’s poor etiquette if you later need to tell a magazine that the piece they want to publish is no longer available. Likewise, an editor will not wait for you to hear back from other magazines, and you should accept the first offer of publication. So, make sure you would be proud to be published in whichever magazine gets back to you first.

Response times

Some magazines respond within a few weeks, but others can take several months. It may be a deciding factor in where to send and how to stagger your submissions if your dream publication takes six months to decide, and your fall-back options have a shorter turnaround time. You’ll never know if the Prestigious Worldwide Review wanted to publish your story if you have to withdraw it when it’s accepted by the Popular Regional Quarterly. Response times are often listed in a magazine’s submission guidelines, but if not, check listings on Chill Subs for average waits.

I hope this gives an idea of things to consider when sending your precious work out into the world. In part two, we’ll talk about cover letters, payment and submission fees, and getting submission-ready. In the meantime, here are some of my favourite resources for finding literary magazines to read and submit to:

Authors Publish

An indispensable guide and my favourite resource. They only feature places that are free to submit to (more on submission fees in part two). They provide curated lists of magazines for different genres, underrepresented writers, etc, as well as free ebooks and webinars on writing and submitting.

Chill Subs

A searchable database of literary magazines and submission calls, mainly US, but worldwide opportunities too.

The FISH list

A massive, ranked list of literary magazines covering a wide range of genres. Updated annually.

Are you an old hand at lit mag submissions or a beginner like me?

What lit mags do you read and/or submit to?

Do you prefer a generous acceptance rate or do you like to rack up rejections from fussier editors?

I’d love to hear your experiences.