At Under the Madness Magazine, our #1 mission is to promote teen writing, but we understand how challenging it can be to push that SUBMIT button and risk rejection.
We are fortunate to not be alone in our drive to support teens as writers. We asked editors at a few of the country's most read teen literary magazines to share their advice. Here's what the editors at Blue Marble Review, Cast of Wonders, Flare Journal, The Jupiter Review, and Parallax had to say to the first of our three questions. (Find links to these magazines at the end of the round robin.) Stay tuned for future segments of this Round Robin.
Question 2: What advice do you have for a teenager who is considering sending out their creative writing for the first time but is hesitating over that SUBMIT button?
Do it! Take that leap of faith! I know that its hard to submit. There are so many emotions that come with it–the idea of others reading your work, the fear of failure. The courage that comes with submitting is one of the most difficult parts of writing. But know that your work is deserving and beautiful no matter what happens, and that if you keep pressing that button, keep writing, keep editing, success will come in its own way. Every time I press the submit button, I get a bit more comfortable with putting my work out there.
--Michelle Qiao, Flare Journal
Research your venue! There will always be craft considerations to your story (is it ready, is it clear, etc), but a lot of effort and time can be spared if this very often overlooked step is taken. Does the venue like strong speculative elements, like we at CoW (yes, we call Cast of Wonders "Cow" for short!) do, or is it okay for the spec element to be slightly hinted at? Should your submission be in a certain font? A certain manuscript style? Does the venue want anonymous submissions only, or does the author's name need to be prominently displayed? It's not just the submissions guidelines, but the FLAVOR that your target venue goes for: have you read a number of stories from the venue to get a sense for their story preferences? Do you notice a lot of the stories are written in a transparent, simple prose style, or do you think a flowery, baroque style is preferred? For instance, CoW prefers simple prose over flowery prose!
Are you writing a story that requires a deep understanding of BIPOC issues? Or a deep understanding of queer issues? If so, did you check the editorial staff page? Are there actually BIPOC or queer readers listed on the staff page? Are those readers who will be most receptive to your story actively reading, or are they alumni who've moved on?
--Andrew K Hoe, Assistant Editor, Cast of Wonders
Two things:
1) read the guidelines. This is a short and blunt necessity.What type of stories does the market in question publish? Are there certain things they prefer to avoid, or actively seek out? Should your story be formatted in a particular way? How much do you need to include as a cover note- just, 'here's my previously unpublished story' or something more detailed?But, all of this is basically admin. You've written your story, and now you're shopping it around to the most appropriate market.
2) Send it out! Don't be afraid to try! I think I had about a ten year gap between my first submission (rejected, of course) and the second (accepted,wheeee!), and that's a source of regret for me. The worst thing that can happen is you get a form rejection. The best? Publication. Almost as good? A response that helps your writing grow and improve. Bear in mind that only a small fraction of stories get accepted - most of the submissions that come our way are declined, including some amazing pieces that we simply don't have room for- but when one door closes, another one opens. As soon as a story is declined, start planning where to send it next! Okay, I lied about the whole 'two things' thing, because there's also a three and a four. Oh, and a five!
3) is to be wary of predatory publications. Talk to other writers, read widely, ask around. In SFF publishing, you shouldn't be expected to pay to submit, or pay to be published. Many markets can only afford token payments, but the money should always flow in your direction. 4) find a friendly critique group to share your works-in-progress with. They'll help you polish your story so it's in the best possible shape to succeed. And, 5) - keep an eye out for opportunities to volunteer on the inside. The submissions process relies on teams of 'slush readers', and becoming a slusher is a great way to learn and develop as a writer.All of this is a rather long-winded way of saying: be bold, and go for it!
--Katherine Inskip, Cast of Wonders
Literally just do it."Oh, but everyone tells me that! And I feel so paralyzed! And I just don't feel like I can submit! I'm scared of looking dumb!"Ok, and? I don't care, lol. Submit. Do. It. Trust me, like, as an editor-in-chief I can say that we view hundreds of submissions per window with an enormous variance in quality. Your work is definitely better than you think it is, and even if it's not, we'll have absolutely no idea who you are anyway. I think one of the hardest parts about being a teenager is that you overestimate how much people actually care about the things you do. No one does. Everyone is too caught up in what they're doing themselves to notice anyone else most of the time (I mean, really, think about this in your own life. How many weird people do you actually remember?How often do you truly perceive other strangers in public?). So I don't know, dance in public or something. And just hit the damn submit button.
--Ari Lohr, Editor-in-Chief, The Jupiter Review
It's hard to be objective about your own work, but if you've written, edited and revised something and it feels ready togo— SEND! Every writer is familiar with that feeling after hitting send when you think....oh if I could only get that back, what was I thinking??!! Once you DO submit your writing, then move on, write something else, check out some new journals, think about your next project—keep moving. Send your work to lots of places, because it takes a while to figure out how YOU write, and what journals are looking for. If you submit work often, it becomes an extension of your writing routine, and less of a one time panic-inducing event. Well into our seventh year of submission reviewing, we still read with care, focus on what we think is working, what we'd like to hear more about, and try to select what we think is the best writing for each issue.Keep in mind that evaluating writing is very subjective, and every journal is different and read by humans (!) with baggage, preferences and biases. While all our submissions are read by multiple readers, if we turn down a submission it just means it wasn't right for us in that moment. It might be snapped up quickly by another journal or accepted by us for another issue. I would say to all our young writers, that a no-thank -you from us means stay the course,and keep going.
--Molly Hill, Blue Marble Review
I would encourage teen writers to get their work in the absolute best shape they can get it into before sending it out. Print it out and review it, read it aloud, have a friend or parent or teacher read it and provide feedback. Once you’ve done that, hit submit and celebrate! Be proud of the hard work you put into making your work the best it could be.
After that, try to forget that you ever sent your work out (I know, easier said than done).Ruminating and fretting over work under consideration is no fun, so if you are able to forget about it, you’ll either get a small disappointment later if it isn’t accepted, or a really lovely surprise if it is!
--Kim Henderson, Parallax
"Animated Robin Valentine" by Robin Hutton is marked with CC BY 2.0.
