Series: On Being a Writer-Prompt 4
Find your places.
A Writing Quote to Inspire You
“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.”
—Sylvia Plath, quoted in On Being a Writer
Action Prompt 4
Research opportunities to submit your work. Depending on your available time and interest, find at least one possible new market.
If you’re writing articles, essays, short stories, or poems, start by making a list of the publications you enjoy reading—newsletters, newspapers, magazines, websites, etc.—that publish the type of work you want to write. Find out if any of them take submissions. Look in the masthead of printed materials, scan online materials for “contact us” links, or use a page’s search function by typing the word “submissions.” Copy relevant email or snail mail addresses and contact names into your journal.
Go Further: Choose one of the markets you identified, and according to their genre and subject needs, and based on your interests and research, write an article, essay, short story, or poem to submit.
[Ready to submit? Check out these tips from
on pitching your work to the media.] The 5 action prompts in this mini-series are from
On Being a Writer: 12 Simple Habits for a Writing Life that Lasts.
The book includes inspiring writing quotes, helpful stories from the lives and careers of two successful long-term writers, prompts for action, prompts for journaling, and chapter-by-chapter discussion questions for writers' groups and classrooms.
Our aim is to help you to create a writing life that is rich and sustainable!
