8 Resources for Writers Looking for Publication Opportunities

Part of life as a writer is putting myself out there for constant rejection, typically in the form of turning things I've written into a magazine to get (99% of the time) rejected. I have gotten away with not doing it while I'm in school, but now that I am also putting myself out there to look for a job, I figured that I might as well throw all of my darts at the board and start submitting work as well. A girl has to find a way to eat, and all that.

But where does one start? I'm going to share with you the resources I turn to when I'm looking for publication opportunities for my own work. For the most part, these are resources I have learned about as a student of the writing industry, so I've learned about them as a result of classes I've taken, a result of mentors advising me, or finding them through my own experience.

1. Writer's Market

Link: https://writersmarket.com/

So I am discovering as I pull this up for you that this might be a little outdated, because on the website it says that, "Writersmarket.com was sold to Penguin Random House as part of the F+W Books acquisition in 2019. Unfortunately, and due to circumstances outside of our control, the website will be unavailable for the foreseeable future." However, I do think it is beneficial to have the physical copy of this book on hand (in case you want to be productive without the internet... it's hard to imagine, but try and think about when the power goes out during a hurricane here in Florida).

The last time I bought one was in 2018 when my mentor advised me to get a copy. When I got it, it was the writing guidebook that writers should have on hand. These guidebooks include an array of opportunities for writers, including listings for book publishers, magazines, contests, and literary agents. It's also a resource with information on turning your writing into a business and how to best promote it (honestly, maybe I should be reading this now). While the listings might end up outdated, the information inside these guides are timeless references to check back on.

2. Poets and Writers

Link: https://www.pw.org/literary_magazines?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjbyYBhCdARIsAArC6LJBbjEoFKf8deAYCZzPJSMLhxTFk_1EuE5Qo5rY1oQJwzxDp8k__QwaAkzLEALw_wcB

Anyone interested in writing on any level has heard of Poets and Writers. In fact, the reason that I knew about Poets and Writers is that I was gifted a copy of their magazine when I attended my first writing residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. It started as a nonprofit organization to serve creative writers, and I heard about them through receiving a free copy of their bimonthly magazine.

The link that I have included here takes you directly to their literary magazines page, a database that has collected an array of information on magazines throughout the industry. This is a very useful database because it has a search filter that allows a user to find magazines based on genres and reading periods, which are very important things for writers to know.

3. New Pages

Link: https://www.newpages.com/guide-to-magazines/literary-magazines/

This resource was one that was recommended to me in a professional development class that I took in graduate school. The page that I have linked to is the "New Pages Guide to Literary Magazines," but here is a little bit more about them from their own "About" page:

"Founded in the early 1970s as a print publication, NewPages provides online news, information, and guides to literary magazines, independent and university publishers, graduate and undergraduate creative writing programs, independent bookstores, alternative periodicals and newsweeklies, writing conferences and events, and more."

Ultimately, I trust this source because it was recommended to me by someone I trust, but you can come to your own conclusions.

4. Derek Annis

Link: https://derekannis.wordpress.com/submissions-calendar/

This is another resource that was recommended to me in a professional development class that I took, and what I love about it is how easy it is to see this information at a glance. Derek Annis is a poet who has compiled an easy-to-view Google Calendar with up-to-date information on magazine submissions.

Since he has provided such a useful and easy tool to use as a writer, I think it's only fair that I plug him a little more, so here is a little bit about Derek from their "About" page:

"Derek Annis (they/he) is a neurodivergent poet from the Inland Northwest. He is the author of Neighborhood of Gray Houses (Lost Horse Press) and River City Fires (Driftwood Press). They are an editor at Lynx House Press, and their poems have appeared in The Account, Colorado Review, Epiphany, The Gettysburg Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Missouri Review Online, Spillway, Third Coast, and many others."

5. Community of Literary Magazines and Presses

Link: https://www.clmp.org/

I remember walking around AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference) and seeing CLMP often and wondering what it meant. Now that I am checking back on my resources, I can see that it stands for the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses.

Why might I include a resource that I don't seem to be too familiar with? Well, I believe in small businesses, and CLMP focuses on small literary presses. The general statement that can be made about publishing is that there are the "Big 5 Publishers" that dominate the space (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan), and then there is everyone else. CLMP is a great resource to turn to because it includes many of the "everyone else" categories.

6. Aerogramme Writer's Studio

Link: https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/

This is one of the things that I believe was killed by COVID, because the site stopped being updated in 2020. I used this site as a resource a lot when I was an undergraduate student. Even though I wasn't actively sending out work at the time, I looked into the contests and used the prompts as inspiration when I was feeling stuck.

That being said, I don't think the site should be written off just because the information hasn't been updated in years. The publishing industry does not change very quickly, so it is a matter of finding the information and checking to make sure it is still relevant information.

7. Your Own Reading

I would say that this is part of the reason that the advice writers often receive is to be a successful writer, you have to read a lot. In reading a lot, you notice specific skills and patterns over time, but you also develop your own knowledge of the information that you are reading. This should then give you an idea of how to develop similar content.

It also goes a little further than that. For example, when you read a book you enjoy, have you noticed that there is typically an "Acknowledgements" page, either at the beginning or end of the book? While that doesn't interest the average reader, it is something that a writer should pay attention to. Beyond just thanking family and friends, writers will often thank and name their editors and agents. If you believe your work as a writer is similar and might interest the same agent, this could become an opportunity to pitch to that agent. The stipulation here is that you have to do your research and check that they are looking to represent some new writers and that your work would fit into the work that they represent.

The other part of this is that I make sure to read the annual version of Best American Short Stories/Essays. There are two reasons for this:

1. It gives me an idea of what is doing well in the market now, and

2. I am taking note of what magazines are being included.

This helps me as a writer because then I understand what kind of writing is doing well, and I also have an idea of where I should be sending out my work if I want to be included in that kind of list. It also helps me discover new writers and maybe go further in building my writing community.

8. Searching "Publication Opportunity" on Search Engines and Social Media

This is the age of the internet, after all. While the publishing industry isn't so quick to change, people are. It's amazing to be able to Google "Where to submit work as a writer" and have thousands of results at your fingertips.

Moreover, if you're into social media, it's great to follow some publishing houses and presses to see what comes up. It is also helpful to develop your own writing community to commune with. Something that stood out to me after I had defended my thesis was that one of my talented peers (shout out to Danielle Sarta) sent me a book competition through Instagram that they believed I should apply for. It was validating that they felt like I could win, and I think that is one of the benefits of social media and community.