Lit Mag News

Lit Mag News

Share this post

Lit Mag News
Lit Mag News
Committed but Realistic: Wisdom Gleaned from Twenty Years of Publishing
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Submissions Advice

Committed but Realistic: Wisdom Gleaned from Twenty Years of Publishing

Experienced submitter shares strategies for getting acceptances from lit mags

Erica Goss's avatar
Erica Goss
Jun 09, 2022
∙ Paid
4

Share this post

Lit Mag News
Lit Mag News
Committed but Realistic: Wisdom Gleaned from Twenty Years of Publishing
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
9
Share

Welcome to our weekly column offering perspectives on lit mag publishing, with contributions from readers, writers and editors all over the world.


By Erica Goss

My goals as a writer are simple: 1) Write. 2) Publish. 3) Repeat.

For me, publishing completes the act of writing. I wish I could publish everything I write, but of course, that’s not possible. I’m happy to have at least some of my literary output shared with the public, and I’m grateful to every editor who saw enough in my work to publish it.

Sending out your work: must you pay to play?

I started sending my written work to journals in the early 2000s, years before Submittable, before most journals had websites, on-line versions of their printed magazines, or accepted email submissions. Back then, the process was simple: print the essay or poems, add a cover letter and a stamped, self-addressed envelope (the SASE of yore), stuff the whole thing into another envelope and mail.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
A guest post by
Erica Goss
Erica Goss is the author of Night Court. Her essay, "Just a Big Cat," was one of Creative Nonfiction's top-read stories for 2021. Recent and upcoming publications include The Georgia Review, Oregon Humanities, Creative Nonfiction, and Redactions.
Subscribe to Erica
© 2025 Becky Tuch
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More