I watched a really good HBO documentary on Susan Sontag last night and she's another one who could be added to your list, Mary. All her initial essays and short stories were published in literary journals and magazines.
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this post, Mary. Like others, I love your passion for literature and never ending encouragement for others to get involved, get published.
I've noticed a few newsletters here on Substack which focus on lit mags (news, how to submit to them, etc.) Very interesting and useful information. It's very different from here in Brazil, where there's a lot of illiteracy, lack of money and lack of access to bookshops, etc. I'm amazed at the amount of lit mags in the U.S. alone!
A compendium of accomplishment that I will always remember as I continue writing and seeking my 3rd published story (in a small literary mag. You have become this octogenarian’s mentor. Thank you.
This is an important question, one I've wrestled with as more and more magazines charge a reading fee. Perhaps I'm turning into a curmudgeon, but I feel that paying for postage and supplies was not the same. The understanding was that neither writer nor editor were being paid, and the playing field was essentially level. Art was the focus.
Now that submission fees have been tied to compensation for staff, it's a different kind of relationship, one that has grown increasingly unequal as the rate of submissions has skyrocketed with the ease of paperless methods like Submittable. I read earlier this year that many aspiring writers aim for 200+ rejections from magazines every year. With the typical $3 reading fee, that's real money that MFA students don't have. I can afford it, but it makes me grumpy. It feels much more transactional, especially when the compensation for publication is typically nothing but contributor copies. Many of the writers you cite grew up in a culture that fostered relationships between writers and editors. Now it seems like editors feel besieged by submissions from writers who don't even read the publications they're submitting to. Writers feel lost in the shuffle. As a result, publication is more like a Tinder date (possibly an unfair analogy) than a mutually respectful artistic collaboration. I say this as someone who has had plenty of success with literary magazines.
I view all of this differently after leaving academia. Typically I hear nothing from an editor after an acceptance. I was not even notified recently when one of my essays went live online at the Los Angeles Review. The non-exclusive contract with them allowed me to almost immediately redistribute it through Substack, and I'm certain that more people read it and engaged with it there. I've always viewed self-publishing with some suspicion, but I'm now feeling like the authors you listed above might have been better served by a platform like this. Did they need to toil in obscurity and loneliness and self-doubt to earn their stripes? Did this make them better writers in the end? I'm not sure about that (genuinely unsure). Plenty of unresolved questions for me, but I think the world has changed significantly since someone like Malamud was cutting his teeth, and even more profoundly since T.C. Boyle broke into his own. Substack has given me an important ballast against the loneliness and alienation that comes with writing for literary magazines. I'm not sure yet if it can be a substitute for that altogether?
I enjoyed reading this, Mary. The thing that has always put me off pitching to literary magazines is the length of time it takes between acceptance and publication. I can never wait to see my work in print!
Your posts, Mary, ate like a smorgasbord of treats! Love this.
Thanks again for introducing me to John Updike's and Katrina Kenison's Best American Short Stories of the Century where I discovered extraordinary stories and authors like Pam Houston. I recently found The Best American Short Stories 1984. What a gem! I can't even give you a favourite as they were all so good.
Short stories are incredibly hard, like Flash, to write. Maybe I'm wrong, but shorts often rely, more so than the novel, on title and first lines to keep the reader reading.
Just this morning, I was reading about Jhumpa Lahiri and thinking I would love to read her work in Italian. Unaccustomed Earth, as well, seems to be something I can relate to.
I applaud all the incredible work literary magazines do, at times unpaid. They are a pivotal part of the writer's journey.
Again, thanks so much for posting, and in particular, this post today.
I watched a really good HBO documentary on Susan Sontag last night and she's another one who could be added to your list, Mary. All her initial essays and short stories were published in literary journals and magazines.
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this post, Mary. Like others, I love your passion for literature and never ending encouragement for others to get involved, get published.
I've noticed a few newsletters here on Substack which focus on lit mags (news, how to submit to them, etc.) Very interesting and useful information. It's very different from here in Brazil, where there's a lot of illiteracy, lack of money and lack of access to bookshops, etc. I'm amazed at the amount of lit mags in the U.S. alone!
A compendium of accomplishment that I will always remember as I continue writing and seeking my 3rd published story (in a small literary mag. You have become this octogenarian’s mentor. Thank you.
This is an important question, one I've wrestled with as more and more magazines charge a reading fee. Perhaps I'm turning into a curmudgeon, but I feel that paying for postage and supplies was not the same. The understanding was that neither writer nor editor were being paid, and the playing field was essentially level. Art was the focus.
Now that submission fees have been tied to compensation for staff, it's a different kind of relationship, one that has grown increasingly unequal as the rate of submissions has skyrocketed with the ease of paperless methods like Submittable. I read earlier this year that many aspiring writers aim for 200+ rejections from magazines every year. With the typical $3 reading fee, that's real money that MFA students don't have. I can afford it, but it makes me grumpy. It feels much more transactional, especially when the compensation for publication is typically nothing but contributor copies. Many of the writers you cite grew up in a culture that fostered relationships between writers and editors. Now it seems like editors feel besieged by submissions from writers who don't even read the publications they're submitting to. Writers feel lost in the shuffle. As a result, publication is more like a Tinder date (possibly an unfair analogy) than a mutually respectful artistic collaboration. I say this as someone who has had plenty of success with literary magazines.
I view all of this differently after leaving academia. Typically I hear nothing from an editor after an acceptance. I was not even notified recently when one of my essays went live online at the Los Angeles Review. The non-exclusive contract with them allowed me to almost immediately redistribute it through Substack, and I'm certain that more people read it and engaged with it there. I've always viewed self-publishing with some suspicion, but I'm now feeling like the authors you listed above might have been better served by a platform like this. Did they need to toil in obscurity and loneliness and self-doubt to earn their stripes? Did this make them better writers in the end? I'm not sure about that (genuinely unsure). Plenty of unresolved questions for me, but I think the world has changed significantly since someone like Malamud was cutting his teeth, and even more profoundly since T.C. Boyle broke into his own. Substack has given me an important ballast against the loneliness and alienation that comes with writing for literary magazines. I'm not sure yet if it can be a substitute for that altogether?
I enjoyed reading this, Mary. The thing that has always put me off pitching to literary magazines is the length of time it takes between acceptance and publication. I can never wait to see my work in print!
Your posts, Mary, ate like a smorgasbord of treats! Love this.
Thanks again for introducing me to John Updike's and Katrina Kenison's Best American Short Stories of the Century where I discovered extraordinary stories and authors like Pam Houston. I recently found The Best American Short Stories 1984. What a gem! I can't even give you a favourite as they were all so good.
Short stories are incredibly hard, like Flash, to write. Maybe I'm wrong, but shorts often rely, more so than the novel, on title and first lines to keep the reader reading.
Just this morning, I was reading about Jhumpa Lahiri and thinking I would love to read her work in Italian. Unaccustomed Earth, as well, seems to be something I can relate to.
I applaud all the incredible work literary magazines do, at times unpaid. They are a pivotal part of the writer's journey.
Again, thanks so much for posting, and in particular, this post today.
A fascinating roster... love the story about the guy going rogue... It's all good. Thank you!
Wow! Impressive list! I've heard anecdotes, but never seen anything remotely like this compilation.
Oooooooh, this post has opened up a whole world of exciting opportunities! Just what I needed to read! Thanks, Mary! :D