Notes From My Writing Experience. Post #3
Jerry, Where Do You Find Your Publishers?
Jerry, where do you find your publishers? This is the question that I have been asked several times.
I search for publishers through a variety of publication resources that I have come to know over the past seven years. I also have my go-to resources that I search all the time. Before I talk about my favorite Go-To’s (forgive me for breaking punctuation rules) I would like to write about how I found those Go-To’s in the first place.
1. Google It. As much as I hate, hearing people equate googling it to Research and Compiling Empirical Data, googling “poetry publishing” is a quick way to display a list of potential publishers. That is how I started seven years ago —by googling it.
2. Get yourself a copy of Writer’s Market. “But Jerry,” you say, “Writer’s Market has been sold and the online version isn’t available. Further. Publishers are selling it a it $30 a pop.” I hear you. My first copy of Writer’s Market cost me $1. I picked it up from a used books section at a bookstore. When the pandemic lessens, mask up, glove up and browse used books at Goodwill stores, Flea Markets, Local Library sales, etc —wherever used books are sold. You may find a copy. Don’t sweat it if the edition is a year or two old. Mine was two years old but 80% of the information was quite useful.
3. Go to Open Mics and listen up for announcements about publication opportunities. If the organization who sponsored the open mic has a mailing list, think about getting your name on the list. You can always kindly unsubscribe later.
4. Search for workshops. Google writing workshops in your area. Workshops were very beneficial to me. The feedback was valuable and the networking helped me find publishers that I could submit to.
5. Search the internet for online writing journals or online writing magazines. Search for small literary presses (large ones too).
6. Maintain a list of publishers and publishing resources that you find. I keep a list and I track the length of their average response time.
I could go on but I will transition to some of my favorite publishing sources:
I subscribe to Authors Publish Magazine. Authors Publish Magazine has been a great source for finding publishers that I can submit my work to. I receive weekly email updates from Authors Publish Magazine. These updates contain valuable information. For instance, this past Monday, I received an email with a link to “20 Poetry Markets Open for Submissions.”
Occasionally, Authors Publish Magazine contains great articles about writing and publishing, such as “How to Evaluate A Publisher For Your Book”, “The Problem With Mass Submissions”, (one of my favorites) and many other informative and thought provoking pieces. Authors Publish Magazine also informs readers of writing workshops.
Authors Publish Magazine is one of my top Go-To’s when I am looking for publishing information. You can find them at:
https://www.authorspublish.com
There are many other sources one can refer to. Poets & Writers Magazine is another source that I use often. I also subscribe to them (and I am listed in their directory of 11,000+ writers, poets & spoken word artists, etc).
Browse through their “Publish Your Writing” menu for literary magazines and small presses that you can send your work to. You can access Poets & Writers Magazine at:
There are many other writing resources available, the two that I mentioned just happen to be my favorites. I’m sure you will find your favorites as well, but if you want a head start, go ahead and start with mine.
Jerry T. Johnson, Poet 