You did it. You finally finished the piece you’ve been working on for who knows how long. As you sit back in your chair, patting yourself on the back, a new thought comes to mind. Now what? You could dive into a new project like always. Or maybe it’s finally time to put your work out there into the world. That process can seem a bit harrowing. It may be hard to know where to publish your work and how to get started. Don’t worry, the process is super easy when you’ve got great resources at your disposal. Here are a few tips and tricks for submitting works to literary journals.

Before you even think about submitting a piece you must do the dreaded deed – editing. Though many writers despise this part of the process, it is necessary – especially when publishing. The more you edit your work, the happier you’ll be with the published product. You’re also more likely to catch a journal editor’s eye.

There are many routes you can go to edit your work. Many writers start with a few rounds of self-editing. This helps weed out the excess words and fill in gaps as they present themselves. If you find it difficult to start here, the Hemingway editor is a great online resource. This website lets you input your work and points out revisions, such as adverbs, passive voice, and hard-to-read sentences. The editor takes away some of the grammar work that bogs down the editing process.

Once you’ve done a few rounds of self-editing, it’s a good idea to get another author to read your piece. Their input is often invaluable as they catch mistakes and inconsistencies you’ve missed. They also view your work purely from a reader’s perspective, something you can’t do. Social media is a great way to connect with other authors or groups who are willing to have peer-review sessions. Try joining Facebook writing groups or look for local groups.

Each journal has its own style. Some focus on social justice issues and platforming underrepresented voices in different communities. Others are more genre-focused, publishing exclusively horror or fantasy works. Most journals have their publication interests in their About section or on their submission page. If you want to get a better sense of what a journal typically publishes, read their previous volumes.

When looking for possible journals, it’s also important to think about what type of journal it is. If you’re younger than 18, start out with journals centered around young authors. If you’re in college, look into university literary journals that publish undergraduate works. I recently had a short fiction piece published in Furrow magazine, a literary journal from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. If neither of these options work for you, look for journals that cater to new and emerging authors.

A great resource for finding literary journals is Poets & Writers literary magazine locater. This search tool scans an extensive list of literary journals and magazines. It features search filters like genres, subgenres, and reading periods that help you find journals matching your writing style and focus.

Once you’ve edited your piece and found a list of journals you’re interested in, all that’s left is submitting. Almost all literary journals have a submission page on their website with guidelines. Many journals have specific word counts and formatting guidelines you need to follow. It’s also important to make sure you are submitting poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in their respective places. Additionally, take note of the open submission period for each journal to know when they will be accepting new work.

Aside from formatting guidelines, these submission pages contain further information about your pieces and future publishing rights. If you plan to submit your work to multiple journals, it is important that the journals allow for simultaneous submissions. Even more importantly, double-check the publishing rights you’ll have for your piece if it were to be published. Most journals operate on first-publishing rights. This means they will only publish work that has never been published. Once published, the rights to the piece revert back to the author.

Another helpful tool for submitting works is Submittable. Many journals require you to create a Submittable account to receive your work. This website hosts a log of all the journals you’ve submitted to through their platform. It tracks the status of these submissions as well. Like Poet & Writers, there is also a Discover page to find publishing opportunities.

Go ahead and put yourself out there! The world is waiting for your writing.