Finding Community by Publishing With Literary Magazines and Small Presses

Publishing with literary magazines is usually the first (and second, and third) step writers take before publishing a book, and it has become easier than ever to submit. Far from the earlier days of mailing a manuscript, anyone with a computer and email address can send their writing to editors to consider. 

(5 Literary Journals Open to Submissions.)

Small presses, too, partake in this submission system. By accepting unagented submissions, they make the possibility of book publication directly accessible to writers. Because print on demand and the internet make it easier to start a publication than ever, new literary magazines and small presses are springing up all the time.

These publications are an essential part of many writers’ journey. They are where writers meet other writers and build relationships with editors. They are where the connections, before the business, first take place. They are where community flourishes. Literary magazines and small presses are the bottom of the pyramid, a foundation that holds up the literary world.

Below, I’ll share a few reasons why publishing your writing with literary magazines and small presses can help you build community and find a sense of belonging as a writer.

1. It’s a Community Outside of Academic Spaces

Much of literary belonging these days comes from MFA programs, where attendees are guaranteed to become part of a close-knit group of writers. But what if you can’t pause your life for a writing degree?

Literary magazines and small presses are the go-to communities for writers who are looking for authentic connection, with or without a creative writing degree. If you’re interested in being part of the literary world, getting involved with these kinds of publications is more than just a strategy for getting published. It’s a strategy for finding a sense of belonging beyond institutions.

Go to a bar to watch a reading hosted by a literary magazine. Visit a local bookstore/small press combination like Two Dollar Radio, Deep Vellum, or Book Moon (associated with Small Beer Press). Contribute your efforts to publications like Split/Lip Press or The Adroit Journal. The communities that form around these types of publications are open to everyone, regardless of your degrees or publication history. And they’re all the more vibrant because they usually start with writers.

2. Writers and Editors Are on the Same Footing

Like writing, running a literary magazine or small press is a labor of love. Editors often fund small presses out of their own pockets, pouring any profits back into the press. Literary magazines are usually held up by volunteer labor (even though a select few publications do have paid full-time or part-time staff).

Do I wish everyone was paid for their literary work? Yes. But given the current set-up, literary magazine and small press publishing most resembles the way writers inhabit the world. Despite the odds, we are doing the work because we really care about it. We are on the same footing: manifesting a dream by sheer force of will.

This means that when you connect with an editor at a literary magazine or small press, your connection might last beyond the bounds of a business relationship. In fact, many editors are also writers themselves. Connecting with literary magazines and small presses doesn’t just mean seeing your work in print. It means joining an interwoven ecosystem of writers who are contributing to the scene both through their own writing and through their efforts to help share fellow writers’ work.

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3. The Quality of Your Readership

Literary magazines and small presses often rely on a strong base of committed, engaged readership. Literary magazine readers are often subscribers, trusting the editors to select writing that will resonate with them. Readers of small press books tend to be in tune with the literary world. When they read your book, they’re going to think of themselves as part of the conversation that you are helping to build.

In this context, publishing your writing becomes more about building authentic connections than selling books. I still remember one of the first small press books I read, AM/PM, by Amelia Gray (published by Featherproof Books), which I found on the bookshelf of the Taipei Library when I was living in Taiwan. I couldn’t help but write an email to Gray right when I finished it, telling her how much reading the book meant to me.

She wrote back immediately. She said she had read the email while sitting next to the publishers of Featherproof at a wedding. She conveyed my kind words to them too. I was awed by the realness of that exchange, the fact that she and the editors, and now me, could all be linked by this simple act of communication.

These kinds of interactions are the norm for the writers who publish with literary magazines and small presses, and for the readers who read them. This makes for a different logic of publishing: how deeply we relate to each other, rather than the numbers of our sales.

4. The Possibilities!

As many writers and editors have argued (such as Margot Atwell in LitHub), small presses and literary magazines are able to take risks that other publishers cannot. Because they are often non-profits or run on a shoestring, their editorial decisions aren’t driven by the perceived commercial appeal of the writing they publish. This freedom allows them to pave new ways for literature, including publishing marginalized writers and prioritizing styles that aren’t yet popular.

This is good news for writers whose voice provides a corrective to existing tendencies in contemporary writing. Small presses and literary magazines provide a home for the writing that may not appear “marketable” but makes important contributions in style and content. They then connect with a meaningful audience for that writing, providing a foothold for wider recognition in the literary world.

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Talk to any published writer, and their first publication will likely be with a literary magazine. Talk to published authors, including those published with the Big 5, and many of their favorite books will likely be published by small presses. Literary magazines and small presses are where tastes form, communities grow, and writers build the roots for a long career.

These life-giving communities will support your creative trajectory and help you envision the depth of possibility in your writing. They’re also where we find belonging as writers, working together to build our literary homes.

Check out Dennis James Sweeney’s How to Submit here:

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