I was thinking about some of my early publishing credits (poetry and flash fiction) the other day.

They were written under my retired pen name. Some of the literary journals are now defunct; a lot of time has passed since then.

This year, I started dabbling with creative writing again and submitted several pieces (mostly poetry and flash fiction again—including my debut chapbook!) to literary magazines and small presses.

Here are some quick tips if you’re thinking of building up some publishing credits, but aren’t quite sure where to begin.

1. Your WHY for motivation

Are there certain literary magazines or journals you admire?

Some of my favorites include wigleaf and SmokeLong Quarterly.

I don’t read them as often as I would like to as I’m not a full-time creative writer, but when I come across pieces there that I like, it makes me aspire to be a better writer.

In the past, I liked submitting material to improve my versatility and build a bit of credibility.

It can also be a great way to network and meet like-minded writerly folk that you otherwise may not have come across.

It’s really important to read at least a sample of the magazine before submitting. You want to fit their vibe or ethos, and it saves everyone time when you read/follow the guidelines.

2. Start. A. Spreadsheet.

I get it—an Excel or Google Sheet may not look like the most writer-friendly document on the planet.

But when you’re submitting to many places, or making a list of literary journals / publishers / agents / etc. that may be interested in your work, having it neatly organized in one place is vital!

I partly keep track of things on a spreadsheet so that I can inform people about a simultaneous submission that was accepted for publication.

It’s the polite thing to do (here’s a great post on simultaneous submissions by Nathaniel Tower).

You also want to keep track of submission fees because they add up pretty quickly. Think about your submission budget.

There are also sites like Authors Publish which only feature publications that don’t charge a submission fee.

3. Where should you submit?

I’ve used a number of platforms to browse around, namely:

• Poets & Writers database
• Chill Subs
• Resource page by poet Trish Hopkinson
• Twitter / X (I’m part of the exodus moving over to Bluesky)
• Winning Writers
• The Practicing Writer 2.0

I’ve also browsed poets’ or writers’ bios to learn about new magazines/journals.

Again, always read the publication and guidelines before you submit.

4. Have a website

Having a website, or a simple one-page website to list everything, is useful.

It’s a convenient way for others to quickly learn about you and view your writing samples.

I’ve always had a website as I didn’t like the idea of being overly reliant on a social media platform.

I’ve been using WordPress.com* (affiliate link) for many years out of familiarity. I’m not the biggest fan of the block editor, but I’ve spent enough time clicking around to figure out how things work when I need to change or update something. I also like having a robust blogging platform, and I don’t have the patience to deal with the self-hosted WordPress.org themes (and MAINTENANCE).

Here are some others I’ve seen others say good things about:

• Wix
• Google Sites
• Carrd.co (one-page responsive site)
• Clippings.me (writer portfolios)

5. Enjoy building momentum + confidence

Have fun looking around.

You might want to check out this starter pack and Erika Krouse’s ranking of literary magazines if you’re focusing on more prestigious short fiction publications.

It doesn’t hurt to narrow it down by genre either. I’ve gotten a few short stories published through anthologies by Black Hare Press, an indie dark fiction press based in Australia. They happened to accept my first story during one of my longest, dreary, self-doubting phases as a writer, so I’ll always be grateful to them for that!