I've been slugging away at the publishing thing for five solid years, and have 15 or 20 magazines to my credit. They range from Asimov's Science Fiction and Fine Gardening to a bunch of literary magazines like Borderlands, Fourteen Hills, and Rattapallax. I write fiction, poetry, and essays, so that gives me a pretty wide pool to try.

Here's my system. I research the magazines by looking in the Writer's Market (or the Poet's Market, or the Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, all put out by Writer's Digest books). I look for magazines that carry the kind of thing I write. I narrow it down to a list of the best prospects. Then I
write to them for a sample copy of their mag (that costs a few $$) so I can make sure it's worth my while, and to get a feel for what they're looking for. I also pick up lots of literary magazines at bookstores (that also costs some $$). I also get the magazines' writer's guidelines, either directly from the publisher, or from their websites. They all have different guidelines -- times of year when they read; maximum word count; all that important stuff. Then I decide which magazines I like (or just plain want to to be in), choose some poems or a short story or essay that seems suitable, and send a package off -- with an SASE, of course.

Then the rejections roll in -- many, many rejections (this was my experience, anyway). And eventually you get one "yes." Then two (meanwhile, dozens of rejections are still rolling in). You take the rejected ones and send them back out after a brief period of mourning and frustration and rending of clothes (I give myself a day). Then you get a third yes, and so on.

It's good to start local. Small, local magazines are generally much more open to writers they don't know already.

Those Writer's Digest "Market" books are invaluable. Each one has a big section in the front with tips and how-to articles on sending your stuff out, and they list the mags geographically in the back. I learned a ton from those.

If you're trying to get poetry or essays published, you'll need to send the mag the actual poem (usually a batch of 3-5 poems), or the entire essay. The only time you'd query them with an idea would be if you're interested in writing a article for a mass-market magazine -- like How to Pack Yummy Lunches for Good Housekeeping or something.

It is a lot of work, but it helps narrow down the field so you're directing your submissions toward magazines where you'll have a chance, and where you want to be. That saves some time that you might otherwise waste sending stuff out to magazines that aren't appropriate, or that you find out later you don't really like.

If you're sending out a short story (fiction) or a short essay, most magazines like to see the entire piece right off the bat. But you might find that editors of smaller, local magazines are more willing to hear your idea, and let you know if they're interested in seeing it. You can try a few queries and see how it goes. I always just send stuff off because it eliminates a step -- If they don't want it, I know right away, and can move on to another magazine. But it never hurts to try a new approach. You never know what will work -- This business is full of surprises!

Amy Miller can be contacted at amymca@earthlink.net.