Online How to Submit Work to Literary Magazines (Drumwright) - Summer 2, 2024 / Starts Aug 17
Meets 6 Saturdays (via Google Meet) 9-10 am PT / 12-1 pm ET
Taught by Janelle Drumwright
Price includes all fees
In this six-week workshop, you’ll learn the important do’s and don’ts for how to submit your fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction to literary journals for publication.
We’ll cover important topics such as...
How to tell when your work is ready to submit
How to find and research literary journals
How to write an effective cover letter and bio
How to properly format your submissions
How literary journals evaluate your work
Common mistakes that drive editors crazy
How to keep track of your submissions
How to deal with rejection — and acceptance
This information will be covered during a weekly 1-hour video chat on Google Meet led by the instructor to share best practices, answer questions, and celebrate publishing successes. Please ensure you are available to attend these video chats, as they will not be recorded or transcribed. If you miss the video chat, you miss that week’s material.
In addition, students will be given weekly assignments, providing them with several opportunities to try out the new techniques they’ve learned. Each week, students will submit their assignments online. The instructor will then review their assignments and post her feedback and suggestions.
This workshop is taught by Janelle Drumwright, the production editor at Carve Magazine, who also serves on the contest reading committee, and is a former reader at The Masters Review. Her work has appeared in Necessary Fiction, Mulberry Fork Review, and Naugatuck River Review, and has been performed live as part of So Say We All’s VAMP Showcase. This class is open to all writers who wish to begin submitting their work for publication.
Janelle Drumwright
"Since taking your class, I've been able to place 25 pieces of poetry and prose with various literary journals. Thank you, I couldn't have done it without what you taught us." —Veronica Bettencourt
I'd been taking workshops at The Writers Studio for a couple of years, but didn't know anything about the literary magazine world. By the end of the workshop, I had all the practical tools I needed to start submitting work, and I understood how literary magazines function from an editor's perspective. I started sending short pieces out as soon as the workshop ended, tentatively at first, and then as a regular part of my writing practice. Nine months later, I've had nine poems and essays accepted for publication, and my first work of fiction has been shortlisted. One of those poems was nominated for a 2025 Pushcart Prize. I now have a publication CV: something that seemed out of reach at this time last year. With a history of publication I've been able to apply for residencies and fellowships, and have recently been awarded a fellowship for a manuscript intensive in 2024. I feel like my writing career is underway. Thoroughly grateful to Janelle Drumwright and The Writers Studio for this class, and I highly recommend it. —Petra Chambers-Sinclair