New Literary Magazines and Writing Contests As Chances for New Writers

The biggest problems for aspiring writers are getting noticed, getting recognition, and getting published. Many publications will not even accept work from newer writers if they have not been published before. Others put their nose up to writers if they have not earned any awards or any writing contests. How, then, are newer writers supposed to break into this exclusive “published authors” club if no one will give them a chance? Please visit us to get more benefit barnes & noble coupon.

The best options for newer writers are newer literary magazines. Most of these magazines are ready and willing to publish previously unpublished authors. Some even prefer it, hoping to find that next Margaret Atwood and always being able to claim they published her first.

Newer magazines do not provide the notoriety that magazines such as The New Yorker or Poetry, and many will not be able to pay their writers right away, but that is okay. If you are looking to start writing today and begin making the big bucks right away, you should stop reading this article right now and probably give up on the craft of writing altogether. What you want from these magazines is the chance to get your work published. If they can pay you, great. If they can’t, that’s fine. Getting published is the main goal. Think of this as your invitation to the party. Your name is now on the guest list.

An even better option is to find writing contests. Many literary magazines run contests for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, offering awards, prize money, and publication. In winning a contest you win a few things: you now have a contest/award to put in your bio, you now have a magazine that published your work, and you earned some spending money in the process. This is a slam dunk.

Some magazines will have a reading or entry fee, but that is okay. As long is the fee is something like $5 or $10 (perhaps even a bit higher if the ultimate prize is substantial), it may still be worth it. In many cases, the presence of an entry fee greatly reduces the amount of submissions, making your chances of winning very high. This fee usually goes towards paying the award to the winner of the contest. Essentially, it’s like you are buying a raffle ticket, only the quality of your work effects your chances of winning. The more confident you are in your work, the more confident you should feel entering contests.