Submitting work to publications can berewarding or frustrating. As a writer I want someone to read my work, appreciate it, buy, it, and publish it. The baker wants people to enjoy his cake, The pro athletes wants the fans to admire his skills. Submitting the work is an attempt to achieve the ultimate payoff.
I recently submitted a first-perosn narrative of mine to The Iowa Review. I wrote a stroy about the firs ttime my friends and I went cliff jumping. I tihnk the story is good and hope they take it.
One of the tough parts about submitting my work was determining which publication was the right one. There are tons of magazines, websites, journals etc. that may want to publish someithng you have written, but determining which one is right can be challenging. When I was looking around online I discovered that a lot of publications have guidelines for submissions. Requirements can range from word count to subjects matter and they can give you a better idea of exactly what a specific magazine or journal is looking for. Other informaiton you can find on a publications website is their desired submission format. Some places will only take work that is submitted online. Othwer prefer you to send in your work hard copy. Some of the larger publications have different people in charge of different sections or styles. If you are writing a query letter it is important to make sure your work is going to the right person.
We had discussed in my Writign for Publication class the importance of nailing your query letters. If there is a typo or grammar error in your letter there is a good chance that an editor of reviewer will not take your piece. They might not even read it.
If you spell a name wrong or write a number incorrectly your are proving to the powers that be that you're not taking your submission seriously. It also shows that you lack sometihng very important...an eye for detail! This is especially true when it comes to journalism.
When I took my letter to the post office to be sent to The University of Iowa for possible publication I asked the woman at the counter to take a picture of us exchanging my letter. I explained that i needed proof that i submitted my piece for a class. She told me she had a bad hair day, and handed me a proof or sending notice
I recently submitted a first-perosn narrative of mine to The Iowa Review. I wrote a stroy about the firs ttime my friends and I went cliff jumping. I tihnk the story is good and hope they take it.
One of the tough parts about submitting my work was determining which publication was the right one. There are tons of magazines, websites, journals etc. that may want to publish someithng you have written, but determining which one is right can be challenging. When I was looking around online I discovered that a lot of publications have guidelines for submissions. Requirements can range from word count to subjects matter and they can give you a better idea of exactly what a specific magazine or journal is looking for. Other informaiton you can find on a publications website is their desired submission format. Some places will only take work that is submitted online. Othwer prefer you to send in your work hard copy. Some of the larger publications have different people in charge of different sections or styles. If you are writing a query letter it is important to make sure your work is going to the right person.
We had discussed in my Writign for Publication class the importance of nailing your query letters. If there is a typo or grammar error in your letter there is a good chance that an editor of reviewer will not take your piece. They might not even read it.
If you spell a name wrong or write a number incorrectly your are proving to the powers that be that you're not taking your submission seriously. It also shows that you lack sometihng very important...an eye for detail! This is especially true when it comes to journalism.
When I took my letter to the post office to be sent to The University of Iowa for possible publication I asked the woman at the counter to take a picture of us exchanging my letter. I explained that i needed proof that i submitted my piece for a class. She told me she had a bad hair day, and handed me a proof or sending notice