Writing in 2021 has afforded me pretty decent results.
In 2019, I published “Waiting Room” on the website Midnight & Indigo.
In 2020, I sold my story “Suffering Inside, but Still I Soar” to Flame Tree Press, and it was published this year in a physical anthology book that was distributed in the U.K., Canda and the United States.
And now, in 2022, I look forward to having two more short stories published for money.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, it’s not about luck; it’s about having the right strategy to find the publications that will embrace and publish what you write.
I’d like to share what I’ve learned in the past two years about how to successfully get a piece of fiction published.
Disclaimer: I can only speak in terms of publishing short fiction. While I have been paid for a few nonfiction pieces in 2020, there’s a different sensibility and strategy to selling nonfiction writing. I am interested in making money, but I’m also interested in producing content that better aligns with my goal of someday publishing my young adult novel.
Here are my tips:
1. Sign Up for Writing Newsletters
When I first got serious about my writing journey, I used to purchase the U.K. pub aptly titled Writing Magazine and scanned the literary market section for writing opportunities. This offered modest success, but then I opted to pay for a weekly subscription to Duotrope and Sonia’s Writing Opportunities.
Nowadays, I go the free route, and have had considerable success with Authors Publish and Freedom with Writing newsletter. If you have the patience for it, another strategy is to sift through the “Discover” section in Submittable (that’s how my piece was accepted into Midnight & Indigo).
2. Read the Publication
So how do you determine which publications are right for you? It often helps to read the “About” page of a publication to get an idea, but to really get a feel for its style, it’s recommended that you read the publication.
This is simple if the publication is free or if there are complimentary issues available on the site, but sometimes the only option is to purchase a copy of the publication. If you have the money and want to be absolutely sure, then go for it; if nothing else, and you decide that the publication isn’t for you, at least you’ve supported an independent journal.
3. Pay Attention to the Submission Guidelines Deadlines and Word Counts
Once you’ve found the publication you want to write for, you’ve got to determine if you have a piece eligible for submission.
At this point, you would visit the Submission Guidelines page to see what is required to be considered for publication. This section is very important as it details what the editors are searching for in terms of how long your story can be, what is their formatting preference, and when their submission window closes.
Ignore this information at your peril. Even if you have a piece that would otherwise be perfect, by ignoring the guidelines, you’ve sent a clear message to the publication that you don’t care, and your work will end up rejected.
Another rule of thumb. Don’t write a story with the intent of getting it published in a certain publication. Complete your work to the best of its ability, and then shop it around. Don’t try to shave down a 3,500 short story to fit a 2,000-word limit; give your writing every chance to succeed.
4. Avoid “Reviews” and College Publications
This tip will only pertain to people who are into writing more genre-based fiction (i.e. speculative fiction).
One thing I noticed is that whenever I submitted a story to a publication that ended in the name “Review”, it would get rejected almost immediately. Same thing when I would submit to publications run by universities. Generally, these publications are looking for more literary writing.
These past two years have taught me that I’m not a literary fiction writer, I’m a genre fiction writer. Therefore, I’ve since tweaked my strategy to only write for publications that cater to genre writing.
5. Analyze Your Rejections
This step is the most crucial. You’re going to get rejected. A lot. The important thing is to not delete every rejection you receive, but to retain and analyze them for their “hidden messages”.
Some have no hidden message; they’ll just be a boilerplate response stating that the work was “not for us” and “good luck placing it elsewhere”.
However, you’ll occasionally get a rejection that comes with personalized feedback. This is a free critique! Take what the editors are saying about your work to heart, especially if you see the same criticism show up from multiple publications.
If you are getting no’s across the board with no notes for improvement, then it may be time to head back to the drawing board. But if every fifth or tenth rejection results in personalized feedback on how to improve, then you’re on the right track. It’s especially encouraging if the publication invites you to submit again, once you’ve made the necessary tweaks.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope this provides some insight on how to increase your chances to get your work published (and get paid)!
If you have any other tips or advice to impart, please leave in the comments below.