10 Tips for Creative Writing Submissions

Your short story is finished. Your poem is polished. Your personal essay has been proofread. Now, you’re ready to submit your creative writing project for publication.

How do you do it? Where do you find the right publication? What do you send to them? How long do you wait before following up? And what if your piece is rejected?

For many writers, the submission process is a big drag, because it doesn’t involve writing, and let’s face it, most of us are in it for creative writing.

Creative Writing and Publication

First you have to wrap up your project. Make sure it’s polished and proofread. Next, you find suitable publications, and then you start sending out your work.

After that, you wait. You might wait a week or you might wait six months. You may have moved on to other projects, but somewhere in the back of your mind you are constantly wondering if they received your submission. You wonder whether they liked it, whether they will accept it, or whether you will have to go back to square one.

If you approach the submission project strategically and professionally, you’ll increase your chances of getting an acceptance and therefore getting published.

Tips for Submitting

1. Take some time to get familiar with the various publications in your genre. Send your creative writing to the ones that are a good fit for your work.
2. Use the library or visit a local, independent bookstore to get copies of print publications. You can also try college bookstores. Peruse them in the aisles if you wish, but keep in mind that buying copies of these publications helps support them – and other writers.
3. You’ll find submission guidelines on most publications’ websites. Otherwise, they’ll be in the publication itself. Review the guidelines carefully as they contain instructions on how to submit your work.
4. Follow the guidelines to the letter. Publications that are overwhelmed with submissions will toss out any that stray from the guidelines they’ve set forth.
5. In some cases, the guidelines may refer to a style guide. If this is the case, you might need to revise your work so it will be in accordance.
6. Keep your query or submission cover letter succinct and professional. Same goes for a synopsis (if applicable). Don’t try any fancy antics to get the editors’ attention. They see gimmicks all the time.
7. Once you’ve issued your submission, sit back and wait. Do not harass or annoy the editors by bombarding them with follow-ups.
8. Many submission guidelines include information about how long it should take for you to receive a response. Once that allotment of time has passed, go ahead and send a single follow-up. Ask if they received your submission. Be professional.
9. If there is no indication of how long it should take for you to hear back from the publication about your submission, wait about three months before following up.
10. If you receive an acceptance, great! If you receive a rejection, accept it graciously and get back to work. Don’t give up! If your rejection includes a critique or any helpful feedback, be grateful (most editors don’t take time to provide feedback unless the see hope in your work) and apply it to your future creative writing projects.

Ready, Set, Submit

Submitting your work is fun and a little bit scary. You hope you get lucky, but luck comes most frequently to those who have prepared for it with hard work.

And creative writing is hard work. We writers have to wear many different hats. We must be artists, grammarians, communicators. We require empathy and an understanding of the human psyche. We have to be publicists and marketing experts. And we have to become pros at submitting our work.

Otherwise it may never land in a reader’s hands.

Do you have any tips to add? Have you submitted any of your creative writing to publications? What was the experience like? Did you get lucky? Were you disappointed? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

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