Read Submission Guidelines Carefully

There’s nothing quite like finding a market which you think you could write for. Or perhaps you have already written an article, and you think you have found just the right place to submit it.

 

But are you sure this is the right market for your work?

 

One way to find out is to read the submission guidelines – and read them carefully.

 

Most markets do post their submission guidelines online. These places understand that, nowadays, everybody is using the internet, especially writers. So they have created websites about their publications or special pages for their websites. Take some time to explore their site and look for their guidelines. They usually appear as “submission guidelines” or “writer’s guidelines.” Some sites even say “Write for us!” and you can usually find the guidelines here. Another way to find submission guidelines for markets is to check out the most recent edition of Writer's Market.

 

The submission guidelines will usually tell you everything you need to know about what exactly that market wants, and how you can submit to them. With one market I queried, I had to fill out a form. With another, they use Submittable for all submissions. So make sure you pay attention to the instructions on just HOW you submit to the market.

 

Another thing to pay attention to is their formatting guidelines. Some markets want to receive all submissions in 12-point Times New Roman (TNR) font, with double spaces. Others are a little more flexible with the formatting. Make sure you follow these formatting guidelines. Never expect a market to make an exception for you if you decide to submit something using 14-point Verdana font with single spacing. If you can’t respect them enough to follow their formatting guidelines, they won’t respect you enough to read your work. Most submissions that don’t follow the guidelines will be deleted unread.

 

Additionally, follow the word count limit. Don’t expect the editor to cut or edit the work to fit the word count limit; that is YOUR job. But if you can’t do this, ask a writer friend for help. Never ask the editor to edit your work so that it will fit their guidelines.

 

The other way to find out if a market is a good place to submit your work is to read what they have already published. Study the work they want and see if your work is a good match. If they only publish work on a specific topic, you’ll notice this by reading what they have already published. This is not only the kind of work they like but the kind of work they want. Most markets will post samples of what they have published online. Others may ask you to buy the most recent copy of their publication. Do what you can to read their most recently published work. This will help you decide if your work is a good fit there.

 

Many writers think that there’s a lot of wiggle room with submission guidelines. That if they send something via email when the editor prefers submissions through Submittable, that if their work is “just a little more” than the desired word count or that the editor will be so struck by the genius of their writing that they don’t care that it’s a health and beauty article when they publish articles about electronics, they still have a chance of getting published there. This is NOT true. Editors do not make such exceptions, especially for writers they are not familiar with.

 

Read the submission guidelines carefully. Follow the submission guidelines to a T. By being professional and putting your best effort forward with your queries, you just might make a great first impression and have a chance of getting an acceptance.