How Do I Know Where to Submit?

Dear Horace Greeley,

I am new to submitting and am overwhelmed with trying to find the right venue and the right fit for me. Besides reading sample work, is there a more efficient way of determining their aesthetics and editorial focus?

New But Hopeful

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Dear Hopeful,

First, if you’d like to be published in a lit journal, you should be reading them - lots of them. When you find a story you like, look at the author’s bio. Hopefully, they’ve listed other places where they’ve published work, and you can use that list to build your own list of possible markets for your own work.

You’ll also find that a lot of contributors to indie lit journals are editors at other indie lit journals - submit to the journals they edit as well!

Once you’ve published a piece, look at the other submitters in the issue/on the website and find out where else they’ve published.

Starting to see a pattern? It’s all about using your time effectively - don’t just read individual stories or poems: read every bio in a journal, because that’s where the real information is hiding.

Your humble servant,
Horace Greeley