Tips for getting published

As a published author, I know it can be hard to get editors to consider your submission and think positively of it if you're new to the game. Here's a quick guide on how to get your work out there!

First of all, check out their guidelines on their profile. There's nothing worse than having sent a short story to a magazine and then finding out they don't publish high fantasy but only hard sci-fi, or their submission window is closed!

Second of all, make sure your manuscript is formatted well. Don't send out writing that's messy, hard to read, in formats like PDF or JPEG (unless specified). And let me know if you'd like a post about formatting.

And here we come to the more subjective tips, things I have personally learned through my work.

Your first line counts...

That's right! It's what your editor sees first: the line you open your story with. So make sure it's a punch in the gut, or curious and well-written enough to make them want to read until the last line.

...and so does your last.

Your last line should be almost like a moral of the story, the aftertaste that you leave your reader with. So don't make it quick! Think it through and care about it a lot.

Your title counts.

I have tiny tips for this, and some of them might be stupid, but think of this title as it's written in your list of works. For the story of that time you realized you wanted to pursue your dream while you were at the pool with friends, would you prefer "On Becoming Water" or "Pool day with friends and dreams"?

Personal experience/social relevance > complete fantastical speculation.

A lot of magazines prefer to have stories from people's actual lives that have then been turned into fiction, a sort of post-modern approach to real events.

Of course, there are many mags that only accept pure SFF, but try to find experiences in your life a reader might resonate with, and turn them into a short story. That might grant you a published piece, like it did for many of mine.

Start small.

I know, The New Yorker, The Sun, and others are very cool places for your writing to appear in. However, it's hard to appear there if you've never appeared anywhere else. So, look for smaller mags (especially ones in your niche. Whether you're a disabled writer who imagined story about aliens, an Asian-American writer with a passion for non-Western history, or a writer who loves to write about myths reinvented, there's always a nice place that will welcome your work!)

Don't be afraid to aim high!

Yes, press send to the New Yorker. Do it. Even if you'll get rejected.

English isn't your first language? That's fine!

It isn't mine either, and my work has appeared on magazines before without people questioning my writing abilities. Don't be scared of the language, read a lot, and check your spelling!