Suggestion on where to submit stories/poems to? (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone! Longtime lurker, first time poster. Anyway I've got a sorta silly question here:

I've been writing quite a bit on my own for a while now and have amassed more than I thought I could produce. So lately I've been wondering where to try out, with submitting some of my material (little publications in print and/or online). I know there's a plethora of places to choose from, but it's all foggy to me and some suggestions on where to go would be awesome.

Thanks, I appreciate anything you all have offer, even the putdowns! :)

(apologies if I didn't post this in the right section too; at the time it seemed like the appropriate one)
 
It's kind of foggy to me as well, and I've been getting published for ages. There is so much out there, and so little (a paradox, no?), there's no way to be systematic or comprehensive. Just hit whatever comes along, like tumbleweeds on the highway. That's my worthless advice. Whatever is meant to happen will happen, with some effort from you, of course. Good luck.
 
Just submit to places that print work you admire. You'll care more about it, you'll look as objectively as you can at the work you end up submitting, and getting accepted will mean more when you do.

Don't worry about getting a bunch of credits -- just worry about getting printed in the right places.

Don't take rejection too personally, and don't let bad work out the front door. Best of luck to you.
 
[...] Don't take rejection too personally, and don't let bad work out the front door. [...]
That's better advice than what I gave you. Expect rejection, and try to remember it's that particular piece of writing being rejected, not you the writer. And it doesn't always mean there's something inherently wrong with the piece. Sometimes it has more to do with what the editor is doing, what they want, than what you've done. You write about a bird but they only like cat poems. Your poem is 20 lines but they don't want any longer than 15 lines. You set your story in Los Angeles and they hate L.A. Like Hosh said, don't take it personally. And if you do send our a piece you think is less than your best, some editor is sure to take it.
 
That is encouraging advice indeed. But I would just remind you not to forget the possibility that a lot of rejections can also be a good sign that you need a different hobby.

For the record.
 
Start with the top markets first and work your way down. I received a shit load of rejection slips before my work found a home. Never, ever let anyone tell you to get another hobby if you have too many rejections. God Damn, who the fuck says that? Stephen King filled up a nail full of rejections he hammered into the wall. When it became too packed to add more, he took them down and started over.

Some have accumulated thousands of rejection slips before finding homes. Editors have various tastes. The writing world is much different than it used to be. It's much harder today. Keep going. Don't stop. Never surrender. A Bestseller once told me this over a few beers.

For the record.

Steven
 
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Never, ever let anyone tell you to get another hobby if you have too many rejections. God Damn, who the fuck says that?
Someone who has read enough bad writing to fill a small public library.

What you seem to be suggesting is that everyone is a writer worthy of publication, and I would disagree with that idea. Look around. Most people aren't capable of cobbling together a few sentences of their native language. If we're talking about publication, and that's the subject here, there should be some kind of standard.

Our friend Kirbie sprinkles words like amassed and plethora into a messy stew that pisses in the eye of grammar and rhythm, and that demonstrates to me that he isn't qualified for publication. I'm sure Kirbie is a swell guy, but do you want to read hundreds of pages of that? If the honest answer is "no," then the honest advice should be, "go do something else."

People who do not have a talent for writing should never be encouraged to pursue publication. That's just cruel (to them and to us). Writing in a journal that your kids will toss into a landfill when you die is one thing, writing for publication is something else altogether.

The idea that it's wrong to discourage anyone from doing anything is very odd. I don't know if it's strictly an American thing, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that it is.

The worst thing the Internet has spawned are the thousands of forums, groups and communities that propagate the lie that there is no difference between the endless flood of amateur creative work and what the professionals do. That all the amateur needs to do is stick with it, never give up and persevere and then they, too, will be as famous and rich as they deserve to be. It's delusional.
 
Start with the top markets first and work your way down.

For the record, to me, this sounds like the following dating advice:

"Start with the beautiful ones and work your way down."

In this case, speaking as an ugly girl, I say that it may be a good idea to start in the sewer with us ogres. Random House, Simon & Shuster and all of the supermodels will throw your ms in the trash unopened. Because of fear of plagiarism claims, they will not read any manuscripts that do not come from agents. If you want to start at the top, you may as well save the postage and just throw your manuscripts in the trash.

If you have an agent, then you would not be asking the question in the first place, so I have to assume that you do not have an agent.

BIll
 
when you do submit, make sure you mention the press in your cover letter, and earn bonus points by mentioning other work they've published that you like. as a small publisher, i can tell you that i don't even read submissions that come through either without cover letters or with form letters. if i'm going to invest days of my time publishing you, you should at least take the time to write a good cover letter. (we make it clear that we don't accept submissions on our website, but that doesn't stop people from submitting anyway.)
 

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