The Far-Flung Writer: A Lesson in Submitting Your Work from Abroad

REALIZATION #1: A few days ago, I realized that I've got 5 or 6 (amazing, kick-ass, life-changing) unpublished essays/short stories just lying around my office that I've intended to submit to literary magazines, but haven't.

WHY HAVEN'T I SUBMITTED THESE ASS-KICKING ESSAYS & SHORT STORIES THAT ARE JUST LYING AROUND MY OFFICE?

• Like a lot of writing women, I'm a working mom with too many things to do and not enough hours in the day. Sitting at my computer, writing cover letters, reading the often super-detailed submission guidelines of dozens of lit magazines, printing copies of my work along with labels, and stuffing envelopes often falls right off my arm-length to-do list. Go figure.
  

• I'm trying like crazy to keep my first novel Thirsty moving. Marketing, connecting, sharing with readers, potential readers, book bloggers, etc. (Hey, that reminds me, have you read Thirsty yet?)

• I'm trying like crazy to finish writing novel #2.

• Submitting your work is an oh-my-god time-consuming activity no matter where you live, but it's even more time-consuming when you live overseas. (Mostly I submit to lit mags in the U.S.)

REALIZATION #2: It's time to get off my arse. These pieces aren't going to submit themselves. The editors of literary magazines aren't going to bang on my door begging for the essay I wrote about that god-awful smell in Shanghai that nearly sent me soaring out an open window. It's up to me. Me! "Kristin, get off your arse," I told myself this week. (And I did.)

EXTRA-SPECIAL SUBMISSION CHALLENGES FOR WRITERS LIVING OVERSEAS?

• Slower Internet connections make it more time-consuming (notice a trend here?) to look up the submission guidelines of literary magazines. I'm talking hours and hours to find out the reading period of Magazine A (Sept 15 - April 15...missed it!) and the submission address for Magazine B.

• In order to include an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) with our work, we far-flung writers need to make sure we have U.S. stamps in our possession. After all, it is a self-addressed STAMPED envelope we have to include with our submission. (And by the way, what is the cost of sending a letter internationally from the U.S. these days? Still 90 cents?)

• I know each country is different, but dealing with a post office in China can be either weirdly quick and painless OR so frustrating you want to jab chopsticks into your own eyeballs.

• Mailing submissions from China via regular mail is fairly cheap, but awfully slow...and somewhat unreliable. Using a quicker shipping service is expensive. Kind of a lose-lose situation.

cheap & slow & somewhat unreliable VS expensive & quick & much more reliable

BRIEF PAUSE FOR RANT AGAINST BIGGEST PET PEEVE

I cannot believe that there are still literary magazines out there that state "No Simultaneous Submissions" in their guidelines. (All you non-writers out there, see below for definition of "Simultaneous Submission.")

Hello? Hello?

We writers often wait six months and longer to get a yea or nay from a literary magazine to which we've submitted a single essay or story. Six months or longer! (In fact, last year I received a rejection for a piece I'd submitted an entire year before.)

And there are still literary magazines out there that want us to submit our work one piece to one lit mag at a time? And wait for a response before submitting to another lit mag?

My god, we'd all be dead before we were published.

 
HAPPY DISCOVERY FOR WRITERS ABROAD!!!

As a far-flung writer abroad, I look for literary magazines that either allow email submissions OR use an online submission manager. Two years ago (before I became a mom and I did a lot more submitting of my work), there weren't all that many lit mags that offered this option. Most accepted submissions via snail mail only. Today (pause for happy dance) there are many more. And it seems the list is growing.

Here's a quick list of lit mags that now allow email submissions OR use an online submission manager. (There are more, I'm sure. I just haven't discovered them yet.)

• Keyhole Magazine
• Mid-American Review
• Ascent
• Black Warrior Review
• Agni
• Southeast Review
• The MacGuffin
• Redivider
• The Indiana Review
• River Teeth
• Silk Road
• The Louisville Review

THE OUTCOME?

I've spent oodles of hours over the past five days submitting work. So far, I've submitted one short story and two essays to handfuls of lit magazines. Yep, I sent some via snail mail and some via online submission. And oh yeah, I've made a number of simultaneous submissions.

Hopefully I'll soon be letting you know that I've got a new essay or short story coming out. Fingers crossed.

AND FINALLY, A BIG THANKS!

To all the lit mags that allow simultaneous submissions AND take online submissions. You rock! Writers all over the world thank you.

___

Thanks to Simon Howden for the use of his photos.

*What's a simultaneous submission? It's when a writer sends a piece to more than one literary magazine at the same time.

Comments

[Nancy]

Kristin,

This is such a great piece. Such great info and so frigging generous of you to share all your research.

Fei chang xie xie ni!

[Kristin Bair O'Keeffe]

Thanks! Hope all the research is helpful.

[Carol]

Great article. Thx for the research and sharing!

[Delia Lloyd]

Couldn't agree w/you more K, and thanks for the list of sources. I too have begun ignoring the whole "simultaneous" thing-it's unrealistic esp if you live overseas. But I'm heartened to see that you keep on submitting amid all your other activities. I think I'm going to go do the same right now!

Cheers
Delia
www.realdelia.com

[Spencer L Casey]

I just realized my comments aren't always getting posted. I replied to this yesterday but forgot the final final step. Bummer.

Well, I don't remember what I said, but I'm sure it was brilliant!

Cheers,

SLC