Tips on Getting Published (notes from my writing class)

pvoberstein:

(advice comes from a published Canadian author of novels and short stories, take it for what you will)

• Ignore anything that says NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS. Most publishers are resigned to the reality that if you’re submitting a piece to them, you’re shopping it around. There’s not much stigma to this anymore.
• If you do get accepted, immediately inform everything else you submitted the story to that it is no longer available. Also send them another story in the same message. If you were good enough for one editor to run with…
• Rejection is the norm. Do whatever you can to beat the odds. Have multiple stories queued up that can be fired off to different publishers with a little tweaking.
• When submitting, always list your word count, the name of the editor, and any recent publications you have
• Start trying to get published in a local publication, then work your way up. It’s important to establish credentials being published anywhere at first
• Self-publishing is probably the exception. Editors know which “magazines” are basically “pay to be printed”, and will review your submissions accordingly
• Things get easier. The more you get published, the easier the next sale will be.
• The turning point is usually around 5-6 published works. Then you’ve got real momentum
• Generally don’t bother following up for around six months.
• Enter into writing competitions! 
• Though always check to make sure it’s not a pay-to-play scam
• Paying to be judged, though, is not necessarily a bad thing. Gives you better odds of being published, and a publishing credit, and might be supporting a magazine
• Join local writers’ groups and organizations, such as the Writers’ Union of Canada, the League of Canadian Poets, and CANSCAIP
• Great freebies!
• Maybe meet Margaret Atwood!
• Attend literary festivals! These are all over the place, including at local libraries.
• They often give you a chance to hear authors read aloud, which is a great opportunity to hear how an author intended a book to be read, cadence-wise
• Chat up industry reps! They’re generally lonely, and you can follow up with them a day later with something like “hey, remember we were talking about my short story…”
• Getting paid anything is a great start
• Editors know how much different publications and contests pay, and if they see that you’ve won anything, they’ll look more favorably on your submissions
• If you get accepted, negotiate an escalator – an improved % of the revenue that you get in subsequent publications.
• Residuals should mostly go to you, not the publisher. 80-90% is the norm.

Resources (unverified by OP)

• The Writer’s Digest Guide to Manuscript Formats is probably you’re best one-stop for submission formatting questions
• placeforwriters.com – a website of Canadian calls for submissions, grants, funding, literary organizations
• pw.org – Poets and Writers Magazine, which is a great magazine for professional writers
• aerogrammestudios.com – The publication website for publishing in the UK
• duotrope.com – free trial, but then a paid subscription which gives access to a database of publisher contacts and news