Catherine Weiss

how to organize your submissions

When you’re submitting to literary magazines, it’s important to keep track of everything! I know it seems like you’ll remember this momentous occasion of your first few submissions, but trust me, if you keep at it, it all kind of blends together.

One of the reasons to keep track of your submissions is it allows you to responsibly simultaneously submit. Simultaneous submissions are when you send a piece to more than one lit mag at a time. Most editors allow this practice, but request that if your piece is picked up, you withdraw it immediately from everywhere else. It really helps to have a way to know, with confidence, where you’ve sent your submissions.

Another reason to track your submissions is to avoid accidentally sending a multiple submission. This is when you send a second (or more) submission to a journal before you’ve heard back from your first submission. Most editors hate this and won’t accept pieces from you if you do this. They might even ban writers who make this mistake. Don’t let it be you!

So how to track your submissions? A simple spreadsheet!

I use google docs. Every time I send a submission or hear back from one, I update my submission doc. I set mine up like this: google doc template

Whenever a simultaneously submitted poem is accepted, I strike-thru the title in its other submissions after I withdraw it. That way I know who is still considering what!

I also have a second page on my google doc template to organize the links for my online publications so that information is all in one place, and I don’t accidentally submit a poem that’s already been published. (Also usually a no-no.)

Feel free to copy my template and adjust it to your preferences. Over time, you may find you don’t need to track certain things, or want more structure around tracking other info I haven’t mentioned. Whatever works for you!