Kickstart your Lit Journal Submitting Project

How I turned submissions into acceptances in the first month

If you’re a creative writer like me, maybe you have aspirations to see your poetry or fiction published in a literary journal. But when you picture this happening, it’s always in the hazy future.

When you’re at the top of your writing game. When you’ve perfected the sonnet, or written your first stand-out short story, or that highly moving memoir. When you have time to really figure out where you’d like to be published. When, when, when — but never today.

Somehow, you just never feel that today could be the time to make that first journal submission. But why not?

As 2022 drew to a close, I was sick of hearing myself say I must get around to journal submitting again and doing nothing about it.

(Re)Starting my Lit Journal Submission Journey

My two-year affair with instant publishing platforms for my creative work had lost its allure. Between 2013 and 2018, I’d had several publications in journals and anthologies (some under a pseudonym), but I now had infinitely more material and a stronger writing practice. I hoped I could make submitting a habit — a regular part of my writing life.

I set a goal of making 52 literary journal submissions for 2023: 1 a week, roughly 4–5 a month. It felt scary, but also exciting and energizing to just set that goal.

By the end of January, I’d sent off twelve submissions. I’d also lined up February’s list of submission calls, and was starting to speak Litjournalese quite fluently.

And, completely contrary to my expectations, I’d received my first three acceptances.

The Digital Era Lit Journal Landscape: More Spaces for More Voices

I’m sure you’ve heard many stories about writers weathering dozens of rejections before they receive an acceptance. Those stories circulate in the writer zeitgeist, daunting and discouraging many writers from sending their work out to journals — for years, and sometimes, forever.

But with a pinch of pre-planning and a sprinkle of strategy, I believe you can improve your chances of acceptance.

With the explosion of the digital era, there are far more lit journals now than in the print-dominated past. Journals and their publishing interests have diversified, as genre niches have increasingly err … nichefied. This means there’s more spaces for more voices.

Why couldn’t one of those voices be you?

Six months ago, I only had hope and a dream to be published in journals again. Now I have 5 publication credits, and two forthcoming. My kickstarting strategy worked for me — so I encourage you to give it a try. By following these “Beginner Submitter” articles and using my curated submission call lists, you’ll be submitting like a pro in no time.

My Submission Strategy: No Plane, No Gain

To introduce any new goal into your life, you need to make time for it. It’s also helpful to have a short preparation period and an execution plan.

Think of the preparation period as the runway for a jet plane. Your goal isn’t going to achieve take-off without it, and neither will you. Let’s define “take-off” as the moment you hit “submit” on your first submission, and sit back with a sigh of satisfaction and relief.

The “plan” is the flight path — how many hours to the first fuel-stop, how many hours for the entire journey — so it arrives at its destination on time.

Careful thought and planning goes into the flight plan. Your submission journey needs that too.

Look at what you give your time to each week, and find something you can do without for a while. For example, I gave up my habit of night-time Netflix-watching for a month last year to put together my first poetry chapbook. My mostly mindless absorption in Nordic Noir and dark sci-fi was the easiest thing for me to sacrifice. What can you give up to grow your writing?

Another tactic to kickstart your submitting project is to begin when you have holiday leave. That’s why I started submitting in January — a popular month for Australians to take leave and holidays. It’s summer, and in the afterglow of Christmas, at the cusp of a brand new year, everything seems possible.

Goal as Destination

The final point of this little allegory — as exciting as plane trips are, part of that excitement is knowing the plane is landing somewhere. And that somewhere is your “goal”. So set a goal for your submission journey, like I did. It helps enormously to keep you motivated.

You can’t control how many acceptances you’ll get, but you can decide how many submissions you’ll make. If making a big goal for the year feels too scary, try this:

• Make one goal for your first month of submitting.
• At the end of that month, make a goal for six months, including the month prior. See? You’ll already be part-way there.
• At the end of six months, make another goal for the next six months.

Oops! You’ve just made a year-long goal. How did that happen?

Getting on the Runway

I say I “started” in January. However, during the previous two months, I began reading literary journals more regularly. The reading inspired new work, as well as giving me a sense of where my work might be a fit. I also began making lists of journals I liked. This turned out to be valuable and time-saving preparation.

So before those holidays arrive, or your planned time to start your submission project, you can do the same. Get on the runway. Put aside a few hours on say, two weekends, and maybe an hour on two weekdays over a fortnight.

Additionally, if you don’t have a Submittable account yet, go here. You need an account to submit to a growing number of journals. It’s free, and takes 5 minutes.

Hate to Wait?: How to Spend less Time in the Departure Lounge

My runway research revealed three surprising facts about journals:

1. There’s a considerable number of “quick response” lit journals. Some cite their response time as a month or less. There’s even journals that respond within 24 hours to two weeks.
2. A number of journals and calls (far more than I would have thought) accept “reprints”. That’s journal-speak for previously published work. You can read more in-depth info about how to re-purpose your creative writing on Medium to submit to literary journals here and here.
3. Some journals have a quick response and accept reprints as submissions. (What?)

Surprisingly — a good portion of these journals are paying markets.

One thing I used to hate about journal submitting was the massively long wait time. But this suggested I could get a decent number of submissions out relatively quickly. If you have a solid selection of previously published (or unpublished) work, so can you!

Preparing for Take-Off

Firstly, I decided to maximise my submissions in January, so if other months were hectic and I didn’t make my monthly goal of 4–5, I’d still be on track. I realized starting with journals from Category 3 (above), would get submissions out fast, freeing up more writing time — and I’d receive my responses by early February.

I then spent some time reviewing my Medium poetry and fiction, selecting the strongest pieces from each genre and deciding which best fit my shortlisted Category 3 journals. I revised every piece before submitting. For tips on how to make your selections, go here.

Making Take-Off

Due to my “runway research”, I achieved “take-off” by Day One with a submission of 4 reprint poems. Within the first 10 days of January, I made 7 submissions to Category 3 journals.

The fact that these submissions were quick to assemble gave me time to write a new flash fiction for a submisson, and prepare a lengthier manuscript of 5 poems for a category 1 journal — which accepted reprints, but being higher-tier, had a 6-month wait-time. (This was a slight “rookie error”, as I couldn’t send those 5 poems to any other journals until they responded.) Learning: don’t begin with a journal that takes 6 months to respond.

Nonetheless, I was doing well: 9 submissions in 10 days. Including reprints in the mix meant I could steadily increase my submission tally, while having time to research more calls and write new work.

Flying High: My First (and Second) Acceptance

On day 10, I received my first acceptance. A paid publication for a reprint prose poem in an indie feminist horror magazine. I was beyond excited! On day 13, I saw my flash fiction had been selected for publication in The Ekphrastic Review. My second acceptance!

For the remainder of January, I worked on a new prose poem for a surrealist journal I’d fallen in love with, due at the end of January. And for my twelfth submission, I sent a some “reprint” short stories to an anthology call for reimaginings of female literary characters.

I wouldn’t know it for a while, but both of those submissions would lead to acceptances.

The anthology isn’t due out until early 2024, but the new prose poem I’d written especially for the surrealist journal went live in their Winter issue. Here it is in The Aurora Journal, a home for surrealist-inspired poetry and prose:

Where Am I Now?

As the months have gone by, I’ve stayed slightly ahead of my original submission goal by only sending 3–5 submissions per month. I spent a lot of February writing my first novella draft. Having the strategy of sending reprints amongst new work allows me to still keep to my submission goals even when I’m busier with new writing or — life.

I now have 7 acceptances. My goal and progress keeps me super-motivated, plus all the amazing new work I’m reading.

I don’t let rejections deter me— they’re inevitable, after all. Rejections tell me which journals I shouldn’t expend further energy on — or, when they’re encouraging “no’s”, which might be interested in future work. Either way, they’re useful feedback.

More Resources

Over the next few weeks to help beginner submitters, I’ll post an in-depth article on the preparation phase with tips on finding journals that might fit your work. Another article will cover how to prepare a typical submission.

Additionally, I’ll compile handy lists of “quick response” journals and one for double-whammy “Category 3” journals. I’ll add links here once they’re up.

UPDATED 06/29: 15 Fast-Response Journals

Flight Notes

Inspired to try my approach? Here’s a quick recap:

1. Set a yearly, or six month submission goal. Or set a series of smaller bite-size goals.
2. Get on the runway — give yourself time to research submission calls and prepare.
3. Use “Category 3” journals (quick response +reprints) to kickstart your submission goals. Phase in Category 1 and 2 journals. Ideally, carve out some intensive time to submit as many as possible and get the hang of preparing submission packages.
4. Either way, create a flight plan. Which journals or calls will you submit to? What “reprints” will you polish for Category 3 or 2 journals? What new work will you write? Use reprint calls when you’re busier or writing new work to stay on track.
5. At the end of each month, set a new “flight plan” for the folllowing month.

Finally, and most importantly — celebrate that first take-off. Order the most expensive bubbly on the in-flight menu! You deserve it.

I hope, like me, you’ll make “the submitting habit” a part of your writing life. It’s incredibly rewarding.

Good luck, & I’d LOVE to hear if you get an acceptance! Subscribe to my stories to catch the best of the lit journal lowdown.

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