“I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged… I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.” — Erica Jong

Starting to submit your work to literary journals is a hard task. Before you start, it can seem overwhelming. It is easy to delay submitting your first poem or prose piece to a journal indefinitely. The first submission I made took over an hour. However, now I can easily submit work in five to ten minutes, because it is a habit and I have a system established around it.

If you are one of those writers who has not yet submitted your work, or perhaps you just took a long break from submitting over the summer and need motivation to start submitting again, this article is for you. It focuses on all the reasons why you should start (or re-start) submitting this September.

We are sending this out on August 31st, so please note that some places will not open till tomorrow. and we won’t be able to double check before sending this out, that a market has opened as expected. However all the journals that have strict caps on submissions should still have space, because of our timing this year. Please reach out to support@authorspublish.com if you have any market updates.

1. Why Not?
Everyone I know is capable of procrastination, and sometimes there are even benefits to it. Sometimes while I’m procrastinating I get even better ideas for how to write and revise. However, while procrastinating might help a writer write, procrastinating does not help your writing become published. Most writers from time to time will be struck by the inspiration to write, even if they don’t have a regular writing practice. Submitting does not work that way. Submitting just takes research and effort. Some also say it takes courage, but the more you submit, the easier it becomes. This eBook goes into even more details about how to submit effectively.

2. Most Journals Reopen to Submissions in September
The hardest time of the year to start submitting is the summer, when most journals are closed. Many literary journals are run by academic institutions, which means that the bulk of literary journals reopen during the month of September. Also many editors of smaller journals take the summer off, which means they reopen to submissions in September as well. Not only does this mean that there are hundreds of journals that are now open to submissions, it also means that the editors have had a break or the staff has turned over. This means that your work is more likely to be read by fresh eyes, not by someone who is really worn out.

3. More Journals are Open to Submissions in September than any Other Month
It’s not just the journals are more likely to reopen in September, more journals over all only have reading periods in September. There are more journals open now than any other point in the calendar year, which makes evaluating and submitting earlier. Some experienced submitters plan their whole schedule around this month. Many organizations (ourselves included), organize and promote submitting during this period, because of all the open journals. That being said, some journals are aware of this and have moved their submission periods to other months. The Paris Review, after years of being open for submissions in September, has moved their reading period to October. Starting this year, Poetry Northwest has moved their main reading period from September to January.

4. Some of the Most Prestigious Journals Have Just Reopened to Submissions 
So many journals have just started accepting new submissions again, that it can be hard to sort the smaller journals from the more established ones. If you really have your heart set on publishing your work in a prestigious journal, The Kenyon Review, The Cincinnati Review (before they hit caps), West Branch, and Afternoon Visitor, are accepting fee-free submissions again. The following prestigious journals have reopened to fee-free postal submissions, but do charge for online submissions: AGNI, The Iowa Review,  and Ninth Letter (online submissions to their print magazine are free during December until they hit a cap, and the web magazine submissions are free till end-October). Uncanny Magazine, a highly respected science fiction and fantasy journal, is open to short story submissions now through the 7th of September. They close to poetry submissions today, August 31st.

In general it’s always best to submit to journals at the start of the month. Strange Pilgrims will open up to submissions for their Micro of the Month call on the 1st of September, and Only Poems is open to free submissions for Poem of the Month for the first week of every month. Wigleaf, which publishes flash, is open in the final 7 days of every academic month, until they hit caps or seven days pass. Many journals close to submissions when they reach caps on their Submittable account, that can be anywhere between a few hours and 3 weeks of opening to submissions. Some journals never hit these limits.

It’s also important to note that even though this article focuses on publishing in literary journals, the same is also true of publishers, and agents. Many of them re-open to submissions in September as well.

Where to Start Submitting

You can also try River and South Review, Pithead Chapel (may close early if they receive too many submissions), The MacGuffin, and Heartlines Spec (their goal is to publish 50% Canadian content so please keep that in mind). All of these recently reopened to submissions and are great journals. 

The following journals are all great, but have already been open to submissions for a while now: Sixth Finch (submissions for their fall issue should be made by October 6th), Redivider (they close to submissions December 1st), and the Baltimore Review.

Also Salt Hill Journal’s reading period for fiction and poetry ends on September 6th according to Submittable (and August 31st according to their site). Although they are open to nonfiction and art submissions year around. Frozen Sea is closing to submissions on September 1st.

In terms of limited demographics and geographic limitations, there are other good options out there. Kweli Journal seeks to publish work of writers and artists of color. If you are woman over 50 who writes poetry, Quartet Journal is a great place to submit your work. The prestigious Arc Poetry will reopen on September 1st to fee-free submissions from anyone not based in the US. Foglifter Journal is looking for work  by LGBTQ+ writers (though their submission cap for fiction has been reached, they are still open for other genres).

Just remember that you can procrastinate forever, but that is not the road to publication. September is one of the best months to start submitting, so start now.