I saw this question on a discussion forum some time ago, and thought it was a good one. The person who posed it was just starting out as a writer and unsure about navigating all the different publication outlets. Should a writer invest time and resources in short stories and micro fiction for the purpose of submitting to journals? Is this a wise choice for a writer whose ultimate goal is to finish a novel? Can you make a living from submitting smaller works of fiction? What, really, is the point of having your work appear in those little journals anyways? Why not just go for the full manuscript from the beginning and skip all the rest?
Networking
First, let’s talk about the networking aspect of submitting to literary journals. Having your writing appear in journals is a great way to begin networking as you’ll be reaching out to others within the writing & publishing industry. When you have a completed short story (or multiple pieces), spend some time researching the journals that are a close-to-exact match for that style or subject matter. Avoid doing the “spray and pray” method of just sending items out to any journal with an open submission call—really take the time to be selective. (See my blog article How to Choose a Literary Journal for more detail on that process for beginners.)
When you receive a response from the journal, it will be one of a few possibilities:
- An acceptance letter – This speaks for itself. You’ll receive a response with the terms of acceptance for publication. At this stage you’ll want to have your author bio and professional headshot ready to send to the journal’s editor, if requested. Keep track of the expected release date and any important web links related to pre-ordering the issue or how to access the publication online.
- A conditional acceptance letter – Some journals have staff who are more attentive to line-editing than others. In some instances, you may receive an acceptance where the journal’s team has done a few edits. In this case, you’ll be asked to read the changes, accept or comment on them, and then proceed with the acceptance for publication. This is good practice for working with an editor or team of editors and sending timely responses based on requests and feedback.
- Feedback with an invitation to resubmit – Again, this is good practice for receiving feedback and considering where you can improve your writing in general while strengthening the piece. This is a scenario where you need to make a judgement call. It probably involves some sort of re-write or major revision. Having a journal editor take the time to provide criticism or advice is rare—embrace it even if it stings. Consider this situation a rehearsal in maintaining professionalism through communication with others about your work.
- Letter of decline – This does not mean the end. It could be that the piece was not as polished as you assumed. Or it just means this particular piece is not a good fit for what the editorial team has slated for the upcoming issue(s). Some journals will provide detail along with the decision and others will simply indicate “no thanks.” Only about 1% of submissions to literary journals receive an acceptance, so don’t wallow in negativity after receiving one of these letters. Again, consider this situation a chance to practice professionalism. Try again.
Brand-building
Having your work appear in literary journals builds your brand as a published author. Being able to show a list of publications indicates that you are a serious writer who can navigate the submission-to-publication process. The catch is that you’ll need to invest in creating an online hub for your portfolio to showcase all of these publications. I recommend building a website after you get two or three pieces accepted for publication. Make sure that you always include your website address and professional social media handles in your author bio that gets published with each piece of writing. At some point you will notice that your website activity has increased—more viewers, especially interactive ones who click through your pages & links, means that you’re building a following. This gives you a chance to get used to having an audience.
Earning Money
Can you make a living from submitting smaller works? No, many literary journals and magazines don’t pay well. You’d be looking at a little extra cash for a rainy day. There are writers who stick with magazines in lieu of writing books. This is perhaps because they are able to go more mainstream with journalism or other non-fiction articles, or get accepted into a staff writer position. I’m not one of those, so I can’t comment. In my search for stories to include in reviews here on my blog, I have found writers who for their own set of reasons decide to stick with submitting short works to journals as a side gig, hobby, personal goal, & etc. The point being that it won’t be anything close to a full-time paying job—it is more about marketing than money-making.
The Next Step
So why not just go for writing that novel you’ve always wanted to? Well, there is no reason why you can’t begin with that. But consider the actual writing side of things. If you haven’t practiced the art of storytelling in short form, then how can you tackle a large-scale project? It takes at minimum three months to draft a novel—many writers have indicated that this step alone can take up to a year due to time constraints or conflict with other responsibilities such as a day job. If you haven’t rehearsed the writing process multiple times through, then it will likely be more difficult to approach writing a full-length manuscript.
Think of a novel as a collection of chapters. Consider that each chapter is essentially a short story. Then break each of those short stories into scenes. A collection of scenes that comprise a story arc is akin to a short fiction piece that you’d submit to a journal. More short form practice will help you build your way toward that larger manuscript. Now that being said, a writer will reach a tipping point with those little journals.
I’ve started to find that concentrating on smaller works has taken momentum away from my larger manuscript progress. Ultimately, the time will come to pull away from smaller works and delve into longer projects. The next step is finishing that full-length manuscript.
For any new writers out there: if you are pursuing writing as a career move, check out Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer. It is a good resource to start learning about the ins & outs, technical jargon, and so on. Ask questions and start the discussion by sharing your comments below. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Wanna get it in your email inbox? Subscribe to stay informed of my newest articles, story reviews, updates, and more.
Cover Image: Photo by Madison Inouye on Pexels.com
Pauline Shen 