I started writing seriously about five years ago when I signed up for two online writing classes, which threw me headlong into the world of Internet studies and relationships. Upon completing the two classes, I was burning with desire to write. I wrote about everything and anything. One-liners inspired me to complete the thought; two words could send me into writer’s oblivion. I joined several writing groups, and after eighteen months, I had a plethora of stories, articles and even a poem or two to my credit, but only one piece had been published.

Then I came across an article, “The Rule of Thirteen” by Sue Marquette Poremba, Copyright 2002. The “Rule” is that if you have at least 13 pieces submitted for possible publication at all times, you are sure to begin receiving acceptance letters.

I set out to test her theory. I perused the Internet and Writer’s Market for writer’s guidelines that might be receptive to my work. After submitting thirteen, I received three acceptances, five rejections and was awaiting word on the others – a 23% acceptance rate. At that point, I was even more motivated, but my stories were strewn all over my hard drive. In some cases, there were multiples of revisions, and I had also stored many on floppy disks. I was constantly scrounging around, looking for the updated version of a story I wanted to submit. I needed organization, badly!

So I created a spreadsheet on Excel, a Windows program, with the following column headings: Story, Publication, Address (website and/or street address), Date of submission, Response Time, Accepted/Rejected, Confirmation number, Fee Paid, Date of Publication, Comments, Location of Story (that is: hard drive, #1 red floppy disk, etc.).

Under “Story”, I entered all of my titles. Thus, when I find a publication that might be the appropriate venue for one of my stories, I can quickly look at my spreadsheet to see if it is out for publication. If not, I can concentrate on finding it a home. It takes no time at all to enter the information. I know approximately when to expect a response, which prevents a great deal of angst. Now, upon receipt of an acceptance or rejection, I enter the result in the column. If it is an acceptance, I highlight it in yellow. If it is a rejection, I highlight it in blue and review the story, rework it if necessary and resubmit to a different publication. I highlight the item where I have yet to get a response in pink, so I can quickly glance and see where things stand.

As I searched for places to submit, I found that many publications accept only hard copy manuscripts by snail mail – no submissions by email. I had almost forgotten how to correspond in any form other than email, so I quickly skipped past those thinking they were too much trouble. However, I began to realize that they were usually the ones that paid real, hard cash. If accepted, my stories would also begin to appear in print, which is far preferable to appearing on a website. If it is in black and white for the entire world to see and easy to pull out and show my family and friends, it helps my ongoing effort to reaffirm that I am a “real” writer. Again, I needed organization.

I noted that all publishers seem to want the same things. 1) a cover or query letter 2) a printed manuscript 3) a self-addressed, stamped envelope and (4) a SASE return postcard. So, I traveled to one of those gargantuan office supply stores and purchased postcard paper (the kind that comes 4 to a sheet), blank envelopes, 9×12 envelopes and some “bright-white” paper for printing the stories.

I printed the postcards with my name and address on one side and stamped them. On the other side, I typed, “Yes, we received your submission titled____________” and printed a dozen. I write the name of the publication under this acknowledgment in case the editor does not think to do so and fill in the name of my story or article. This makes it easy for the editor to drop the card in the mail with no extra work, and I’m assured that my submission was received. I printed a dozen of the SASEs and applied postage. I use www.Stamps.com, an Internet postage service, which allows me to professionally print postage, addresses and return addresses with ease. I also put a return address label on a dozen of the large envelopes. Finally, I clipped the envelopes and postcard together and made a stack of them so I would have quite a few on hand.

Now I needed both a cover letter and a query letter. I had never done a query letter and was a little intimidated at the thought. Many books discuss query letters, but few actually show one in print. I searched and discovered some examples in Writer’s Market. I completed and saved it so I could change the elements as necessary.

I did the same thing with my cover letter, including the short, 3-4 line autobiography requested by many publications. Now, when I spot a publication that might be appropriate for one of my stories, I go to the spreadsheet, and:

1. I make sure it is not accepted or out to another publisher (unless simultaneous submissions are permitted).
2. I determine where I have it saved and open it for editing.
3. Then I print the story, rework the cover letter or query letter if necessary and print it.
4. I already have my envelopes on hand.
5. At that point, I print the mailing label and apply postage.
6. I stuff the cover letter, manuscript, postcard and SASE inside, still clipped together. It takes all of the pain out of the process.
7. Then I enter the submission on my spreadsheet so I can track it.
8. I also save all responses from editors in a regular file folder and/or in a document file on the computer.

Another little tip: I found that if I contact an editor by email with a simple question, he usually responds. If I can then develop a dialogue, mention my story, ask if it seems suitable for their publication, etc., they might remember me when my story arrives and possibly be more inclined to publish it.

One last thing: I purchased Writer’s Market in paperback form, but due to an affliction that seemed to strike me at about age 45, I can barely read the fine print. I read it with great difficulty, highlighting possible publications, then set the book aside all but forgotten. So, since ninety-nine percent of the markets listed do not apply to me, I decided to use a razor blade to remove the pages that did. I made notes in the margin and stapled them together so I could have them handy at the computer. Now, Writer’s Market is accessible via the Internet, which makes it so much more convenient.

Now, I find that my submissions are systematic and going out the door much faster. My newfound organization allows me no excuses for not submitting. I have also learned that these editors are just people. They may or may not like my piece, but it is strictly a biased opinion. Another editor might just fall in love with it, so I do not let rejections stop me from sending out the same story again and again. However, if the same story keeps coming back, I realize I may need to rework it. I have had about thirty stories and articles published now, and I feel I’m on the road to success. I wish you the greatest success (and a little luck), too.