Insider Guide to Lit Mag Submissions

Winter session TBC

Want to see your writing published and celebrated, but find the submission process daunting? In this two-part online writing workshop, I will demystify the often-opaque procedure of getting published for you.

In the first session, I will walk you through the submission models used by different styles of lit mags (Submittable-style platforms versus pitching, for example), covering the dos and don'ts for each and explaining the concrete procedures that editorial teams follow when they evaluate your work behind the scenes. Together we’ll do textual analysis exercises to refine submission best practices — from learning how to draft a more eye-catching opening paragraph to figuring out how to structure a pitch so that it earns a "yes" from readers.

In the second session, I will lead an "ask me anything"–style discussion drawn from my years inside the lit mag world, as an editor at both small independent journals and larger, highly structured outfits. There’ll then be a feedback session built around students' writing samples, before we turn to the afterlife of lit mag publication: how to leverage your publications to build the basics of a healthy literary career, including a portfolio of work, in-person readings, and a supportive writing community.