HOW TO SUBMIT TO A MAGAZINE by ShabdAaweg

HOW TO SUBMIT TO A MAGAZINE April, 2022 #ShabdShop (First Edition) All Rights reserved by ShabdAaweg

Created By SHLAGHA BORAH Designed By CHARVI SHEKHAWAT shabd.aaweg.com

Table of Contents Where to submit/how to find where your work fits? 4 How to polish your submission packet? 5 Tips and techniques for revision 6 How to write a cover letter and a professional author bio? 7 Some Dos and Don'ts 9 Other tips, recommendations and resources 10

4 Where to submit/how to find where your work fits? Research is the key. Almost every journal or magazine (used interchangeably hereon) has its own aesthetic - which can be best understood by reading their previous issues (often available online) and looking at the kind of writers' work they publish. Proper research will give you an idea of their particular aesthetic & you can avoid sending spoon poems to a journal that likes to publish poems on, for instance, cat. For a head-start on finding suitable journals, there're various platforms you can visit. Some of them are: ● Submittable ● Duotrope ● Instagram pages of journals. Usually, journals follow other journals so the “Following” tab can be helpful. ● Twitter - Follow writers you like. Look at where they’re being published. @JoseHernandezDz posts about lots of opportunities. ● Acknowledgement pages of contemporary books. A lot of the poems or short stories in a published book appear in magazines previously. Writers mention those names in their acknowledgement. It’s a good way to identify places to submit based on the style of that particular writer. ● Here’s a list of independent journals doing some great work. ● Another list- 5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in April 2022 Publishing is a numbers game. Do not be disheartened by rejections. Keep persevering, writing, polishing your work and submitting consistently.

5 HOW TO POLISH YOUR SUBMISSION PACKET? ● This might be stating the obvious, but proofreading is very important. Not only it’s disrespectful not to, but it can also be a huge turnoff for editors to notice a glaring typo on the first page. ● This doesn’t mean using the thesaurus for every word. Simple and clean edits, such as paying attention to punctuations, grammar and spelling, is enough. ● Use a standard legible Serif font, such as Times New Roman, Point 12. For poetry, single space your document. For prose, double space. (Unless specified otherwise by the magazine). ● Follow the submission guidelines religiously. Every journal has its own. Readers and editors are often reading through a slush pile. So it’s imperative for them to discard the submissions that don’t follow basic rules, without even giving them a chance. ● ShabdAaweg accepts previously published work. But most places do not. Be careful to double-check if your work is available elsewhere on the internet. Sending previously published work to a journal that has specifically asked for a new script is almost dangerous. ● Simultaneous submissions are okay unless stated otherwise. If a piece from your packet has been accepted somewhere, withdraw it immediately from all other places. Authors don’t usually do it. In that case, like ShabdAaweg, editors put those authors on a mental black-list. ● Name your files clearly. It’s easier for editors to look for “first name, last name - (genre)” or “name of pieces - first name, last name” than “Doc 1” or something random. ● Most journals aren’t a paying market. Out of respect for readers’ and editors’ time, please put content warnings wherever necessary, unless specifically stated not to. ● It is advisable to work on revising your pieces. Your first draft is usually not your best draft. Enrolling in workshops and exchanging feedback with writing peers is a good step. Some places to check out for online workshops are — Hugo House, Catapult, Lighthouse, Brooklyn Poets, and Clarion. ● Look for scholarships and financial assistance if needed. Always explain your situation and ask. There is absolutely no shame in asking. ● Read extensively. If you’re a beginner, it is totally okay to imitate elements of craft before you develop your own voice. Having said that, plagiarism is NOT okay. It is not only illegal, it’s heavily disrespectful. Credit should be given where it is due.

6 Tips & techniques for revision: ● Megan falley (@megan_falley) / (from a workshop with Kelly Harris-DeBerry, iterary Cleveland) Twitter shares some amazing tips regularly. ● Zoom in on your verbs and adverbs. Are they strong enough on their own? Are they doing the work they’re supposed to do, or is there another, more appropriate word for what you’re trying to say? ● Ask yourself while editing your work: Is every sentence doing the work you intended it to do? ● Often, reading your pieces out loud helps identify awkward or flat moments, fillers, and not-so-interesting lines. Alternatively, you can ask a trusted friend to read your work aloud and examine which parts draw your interest the most, and which don’t. ● Think beyond conventions. If cryptocurrency and the likes interest you, find a way to inculcate it in your creative work. Don’t be afraid to be weird. ● Where is the heart of your piece? If you had to pick just one moment, line, or sentence in the entire piece, what would it be? Think of it as a thesis statement. Once you’ve identified that, look at all the other moments in the piece in relation to it: do they support, enhance, complicate, or contradict it? If not, experiment until they do. ● Are you being completely honest? Are you running away from something? What are you afraid to say? — Address these questions while writing the first draft. Write your heart away. You can always edit later. ● Know the difference between revising and editing. A few helpful pointers are.

7 , HOW TO WRITE A COVER LETTER AND PROFESSIONAL AUTHOR BIO? A bad professional author bio would sound ●First and foremost, be polite and something like: Howdy!!! Here are some poems. I have been reading and writing since I was four. professional. Do not send Poem 1 is about… Poem 2 demonstrates… Poem submissions sans a Cover Letter. 3 paints a picture of … Anyway, I love cats and Write one that displays your want to live in the mountains when I’m old. Ciao! enthusiasm, even if it’s in one or two sentences. Address it to the My professional bio: Shlagha Borah (she/her) is editors. Thank them for their time. a poet from Assam, India. Her work is forthcoming in Longleaf Review and Rogue ●If you receive a rejection, respect Agent and appears in long con magazine, Ninety Seven Poems (Terribly Tiny Tales & Penguin), the decision of the editorial team. LiveWire, Aainanagar, GroundXero, and Do not be rude to them. It’s a elsewhere. She works as Associate Poetry small world and as much as Editor at Doubleback Review and Editor-in-Chief people might remember you for at ShabdAaweg. She is the co-founder of Pink your work, they remember your Freud, a student-led collective working towards behaviour more. making mental health accessible in India. ● Do not ask for individualized ,Instagram: @shlaghab Twitter: @shlaghaborah feedback. It’s disrespectful of their time. Some magazines offer paid feedback options, so that’s a good option to check out. ● Write a short, professional bio of 50-100 words in the third person without going into details. Mention where you’re from, where you work, previous publications (if any), what you write about (optional, keep it short). Let us briefly check what a Cover Letter should contain and how it should sound. Its tone should be polite, professional & unassuming.

8 , PARTS OF A TYPICAL COVER LETTER ○ What it should contain - My personal cover letter (sometimes I change the tone warm but formal salutation, depending on the magazine): professional language, Dear poetry/fiction editors (you can personalise this mention of it being a ,with their names if mentioned on the masthead), simultaneous submission, Thank you for considering the attached poems— _____, _____ and _____— for publication in [magazine name]. and your author bio. This is a simultaneous submission, but I'll be sure to let you know immediately if any of these are accepted ○ What it should not elsewhere. contain - Personal With gratitude for your time and attention, Information; For example, your friend XYZ is my Shlagha roommate’s cousin. Shlagha Borah (she/her) is a poet from Assam, India. ○ Things to avoid - Her work is forthcoming in Longleaf Review and Rogue Agent and appears in long con magazine, ■ while a Cover Letter is Ninety Seven Poems (Terribly Tiny Tales & Penguin), meant for the editors to get LiveWire, Aainanagar, GroundXero, and elsewhere. She to know you a little bit works as Associate Poetry Editor at Doubleback better, it is not the place to Review and Editor-in-Chief at ShabdAaweg. She is the be friendly. Don’t write co-founder of Pink Freud, a student-led collective things like “I loved your Goa working towards making mental health accessible in pictures on Instagram” to India. Instagram: @shlaghab Twitter: @shlaghaborah sound cool or quirky. ■ don’t make it extra lengthy, try to respect the editors’ time.

9 SOME DO’S AND DONT’S ● If you’re writing a cover letter or an artist statement, do not say things such as “I like to read” since if you’re a writer and are submitting to places, this is pretty obvious. ● Don’t explain or summarize your work in your cover letter, unless asked to. If you’re submitting to a journal following a specific theme for their upcoming issue, make sure your work adheres to it. ● Don’t keep emailing the editors repeatedly regarding the status of your work once you’ve submitted, unless you need to withdraw your work. ● Don’t send in revised/edited work unless you’re asked to. ● Don’t check-in before the designated response time. ● Don’t write about things you don’t know about, just because it seems cool or trending. For instance, if you’re an Upper-Caste, Upper-Class person, don’t write a poem on the trauma of the Dalit community. Not only it’s problematic, but editors can see right through when someone is appropriating. Be honest. Write about things you know best about.

10 OTHER TIPS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOURCES ● How to organize your poems & submit more – Brian Evans-Jones – Trish Hopkinson ● Make a Submission Tracker to organize your submissions and keep track of journals with current open periods. Here’s a helpful template. It’s best to customize your own. ● Read craft essays and books, interviews with authors to know about their writing process in more detail. Here are some reading recommendations: ○ Asian American Voices in Poetry ○ One Day in the Life of Kaveh Akbar | wildness ● Listening to white noise/jazz music/spa music to create a calming ambience while writing (preferably music without vocals) can increase productivity. Spotify has many such playlists. ● Trish Hopkinson (@trishhopkinson) on Twitter posts has a lot of valuable information related to writing. ● If you like someone’s work, tell them. Reach out to people, create a community. Opportunities don’t knock at your door unless you seek them. ● Writing, submission, revision–these processes take discipline and consistency. Inspiration is temporary and rare. Discipline is waking up every day and dedicating your time and energy to writing. Read this article for more perspective. ● Last but not the least, internalize that your work has worth. Rejections are a part of the publishing game (as is of life). They don’t define your journey as a writer. It is very easy to lose focus and if you, yourself, don’t believe in or feel good about your work, no amount of external validation is going to cut it for you.

#ShabdShop (First Edition) Team Priyanka Srivastava ShabdAaweg Shweta Rathod Soumini Banerjee Simran Mehta Charvi Shekhawat ShabdAaweg Thank you, we look forward to Review, Press, Creatives & hearing from you in our Content Solutions feedback form.