5 Really Good Reasons to Submit To Lit Mags

Submitting to literary magazines is, by and large, nerve-wracking, tedious, and disappointing. But every once in awhile, it all pays off and you (yes, you!) get to see your name in ink right next to your work. And it feels super, duper, incredibly awesome. 100% worth it.

You just gotta hold onto that feeling.

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1. Poetry can change the world. 

Did you miss my post on Dead Poets Society? Because it pretty much says everything I could say about this point. In sum: you'll never know the simple effect one poem can have on a person. If even one heart is changed or touched by your work, you've accomplished something important. This is why we publish.

2. Decide: Journaling or Writing? 

Part of calling yourself a writer means sharing your work. Otherwise, you're journaling. This isn't to say that your work is less in any way if you're not sharing it. There are some pieces that are simply only meant for your eyes. However, if you never test your work, you'll never know the different ways you can evolve --- you'll never know what heights you can reach.

3. Rejection letters are fine teachers. 

They don't always testify to the quality of your work (magazines are looking for pieces that fit with their niche style), but they do make you look back over your work with a renewed perspective. You can either choose to be beaten down by your rejection letters, or to adapt, evolve, and persist as a writer. Once, my poetry professor shared an anecdote about how she and her grad school classmates/roommates plastered the walls with all their shared rejection letters. Another good lesson: this is a shared experience. Go ahead and try to find me a writer who hasn't received at least one rejection letter. (Hint: you won't.)

4. It builds a little character. 

Rejection sucks. Nobody likes it, and nobody wants to seek it out. That being said, it's a great character builder. After workshops and mentors telling you that you show potential, encouraging you and helping you to grow, it can be a really rude awakening when you strike out 15 times in a row. Here's the thing: you 100% need those people to build you up. The trick of submitting to literary magazines is not to let them break you down. Your professors, mentors, and workshoppers think you're awesome for good reason. Hold onto that, but stay flexible and edit fearlessly.

5. There's an editor out there waiting for your work to land on their desk.

Somewhere there is an editor waiting for something just like what you've written. Is it easy to find that editor? No. But you have to keep searching, and along the way you just might find a few other editors who want to high-five you along the way. Stay positive; everyone is looking for something different in their poetry and someone somewhere is into the flavor you're developing.


To end: put your faith in your own talents. Even though it may feel like it, it's not a waste of time. For every 100 rejection letters, there's an opportunity awaiting you. But you'll never find opportunity #101 if you don't slog through the 100 rejections. Does it suck? Yes.

But you should do it anyway. Life is too short to let pre-written rejection letters keep you from that shiny, delicious feeling of seeing your name in ink.