What do I mean by ‘Poetry Submission Roundup’? Am I saying that I am rounding up places to submit mine and your poetry through showing you the places my writer friend, Audrey Bowers, showed me? That’s exactly what I am talking about! Listen up Poets, Fiction, Non-fiction, any style of writing and art people – you’ll wanna remember these Literary Magazines and tips for all your publication dreams.
My poetry submission journey all started on December 20, 2018, when my guy friend suggested I send more poetry into literary magazines. The previous month, I sent poetry and photography into a literary magazine called ‘Paper Trains’ after stumbling upon one of their tweets.
I had just found out, hours following my college graduation, that they had accepted some of my photography for their upcoming issue. I was thrilled! Five days later, when he asked me if I could submit to more, I was totally down to write more poetry while submitting the poems I had already written. I immediately got to work reading submission guidelines, preparing Word documents, and picking out or writing poetry for five of the magazines Audrey sent my way!
I sent poetry to Brave Voices, Royal Rose, Little Lion, Marias at Sampaguitas, TurnPike, and Honey & Lime – Literary Magazines. Through the power of Twitter and the connection, this social platform brought me, I have found homes for my deepest thoughts and emotions that embody my poetry style. Since that first day, I have submitted to two more literary magazines: Rust + Moth and Nightingale & Sparrow. Although Rust + Moth marked my first rejection, I still can’t wait to send more their way, there is always a next time, my friends. Also, Nightingale & Sparrow is the only literary magazine that I have sent prose to, in which, I submitted one of my favorite Creative Non-fiction pieces from college. Then, Brave Voices Magazine recently started their blog (Courageous), where they can post submissions more often, so I was very excited. Being a blogger and all, I will always support new blogs. I immediately started thinking about submitting and then a poem hit me smack in the head. I am so glad that the first line came to me! Lastly, Marias at Sampaguitas started a 4-liner poem series on their Instagram and I was immediately interested in challenging myself to write one. I naturally don’t write short poems, but this one really came off the top of my head and I am glad I sent it to them. The sky is definitely the limit!
The following days, I began receiving emails and Instagram Direct Messages saying, ‘we would be glad to accept your poems.’ Yes, I screamed with joy every time! So far, as of December 29th, I have had five poems accepted for publication (2 in literary magazine, 1 for literary magazine general submissions, 1 on Instagram, and 1 for a blog). I never dreamed this would happen! You can read my poetry when the magazine issues launch in 2019, for now, I have one poem published on Brave Voices Blog: Courageous! I have one poem on Instagram (Dec. 30)! Thank you, Royal Rose, Marias at Sampaguita Literary Magazines, and Brave Voices Magazine Blog for publishing my poetry!
Accepted Poetry: “A Gentle Nudge,” “Battle Ground Problems,” “Gentle Reminder,” “Everlasting,” and “Memories.”
I have learned some valuable tips this past week while submitting my work to these Literary Magazines.
1.) Don’t get discouraged by rejections. You are still talented, it just wasn’t your time (YET!). Try, try, try again! 2.) Don’t be afraid to try new things. Submitting poetry to Literary Magazines was a very new thing for me this year, but I don’t regret trying it because I absolutely love submitting poetry, prose, and photography. 3.) Don’t be afraid to put your name out there! Show off your work and be proud of your little masterpieces. You are talented and amazing – No one can change that! 4.) Remember EICs (Editors-in-Chief) are real people and they are on the other end of your submission emails, so write a nice greeting and make sure they know you know they are a real human that has feelings.
5.) Be confident and believe in yourself and your work! You are a warrior! 6.) Ask questions, be creative, be yourself – Reach out to the magazines and ask questions when you aren’t sure about something or ask friends for advice. Never forget that you can ask for help! Without reaching out on Twitter, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be writing this blog post! 7.) Be kind ALWAYS! Don’t be rude to the people trying to help you publish your work! 8.) Edit your work until you can’t edit anymore – if you find a typo after you send your work in, email the magazine with your edits (It can make a difference!). 9.) Be honest with your work – share your truest feelings in whatever you do. Make your work a hundred percent you! 10.) Don’t be afraid to submit!
Thank you to all the amazing Literary Magazines out in the world; Y’all are doing amazing! Thank you for being here for all the creative minds!
