The long journey to publication

As I creep ever closer to finishing my first novel, I have a concern lurking on the periphery of my writer’s brain: my resume.  I’ve read in a number of places that as I try to get my foot in the door to an agent and then a publisher, one thing that could go a long way to convincing these fine people of my worthiness is to have a demonstrable writing history.  Now, I do have some things in my kit, but I’m always on the lookout for ways to expand my portfolio. 

To that end, I’ve decided that in my spare time (we all have so much of that, don’t we?) I’m going to start submitting some of my short stories to some online and traditional literary publications.  It seemed like a no-brainer kind of decision.  After all, it can only look good if I have on my writer’s resume that I was published in a reputable regional or even national magazine, right?

So I’ve been researching potential candidates.  The problem I’ve run into frequently is that a lot of periodicals that have historically accepted submissions from authors have shut down, victims of a changing online and print market place.  So I thought I’d share some of the still viable options here, to maybe save my fellow writers some time.  Here they are in no particular order: 

Heliotrope Magazine
This quarterly e-zine specializes in ”Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and
Horror.” They seem to pay pretty well (10 cents per word, up to 5000 words), so this might be a venue to explore in the near future.  There are two things to note: one, this online e-zine attracts some heavy hitters (like Michael Moorcock), so I imagine it’s pretty difficult to get in. The other thing is that you need to keep on top of them if you’re going to submit. When I checked this morning they’re not accepting submissions at this time because their next two issues are full.  So bookmark this in your favorites.

Fantasy Magazine
As the name says pretty plainly, these guys accept fantasy writing, at 5 cents per page, up to 6000 pages.  Like Heliotrope, though, they seem to fill up pretty fast: they’re not taking submissions until May 1. If you’re intent on writing the next Lord of the Rings, this might be a good site for you.

Lucid Magazine
For something with more spiritual fulfillment, there’s Lucid Magazine.  It bills itself as a magazine that provides articles that focus on “various aspects of our journey as Christ-followers.”  They take articles of 1000 words or less. 

Glimmer Train
This is a popular one, and more than the other resources mentioned above GT really encourages submissions.  In fact, they host regular contests with calls for Fiction, New Authors, etc. The prizes are generous, and of course there’s the potential publication.  As you might expect, the competition is pretty stiff.  I submitted a short story in February, and the process was pretty easy.

Anyone else out there have any tips on where aspiring writers can take their work for publication, please leave a comment.  I’ll be updating these resources articles periodically.

WE Linde