How can I get my work published?

"Preston,

Loved ALL OR NOTHING. P is so frustrating. One minute he is sweet, the next he is doing something sneaky and disgusting so that he can gamble. He is so real. It is hard to put down the book. I'm glad you have this blog up. It's like a fan page. Are you on Myspace?

I deliver pizzas and as a female in pizza delivery, I have some stories to tell. I have written three of them as essays, and my professor at SMU said that I should try to get some of them published and I have enough of them in my head to write a book. Do you have any tips in trying to get short stories published? Do I need an agent?

Pizza-girl"

Thanks, for the email, Pizza-girl. I delivered pizza when I was in college, so I think I know some of what you are going through. Do they still pay you one half the minimum wage and you make up the rest in tips? Do you still have to use your own car and they pay you nothing for wear and tear? Do they still take five percent of your tips to pay the pizza-maker? What an adventure. There is a novel in that. There are probably many novels in that. I plan to write one one day. Good luck with yours.

Yes, I am on Myspace, but I haven't done much to build up my page yet. On Myspace, I am PLAR. One day I will fix up my Myspace page--but I love blogging! Keep those emails coming.

Some tips on publishing short stories.

First of all, you do not need an agent for short stories unless you are going to publish them as a collection.

Tips:

Use the WRITER'S MARKET to locate the names and addresses of magazines to submit to. Then submit. The WRITER'S MARKET can be purchased in a bookstore or accessed online. I'm sure SMU's campus bookstore has a copy.

Submit to writing contests. Writing contests, in addition to paying cash prizes or awards and trophies, will often publish your story if you win. Writing contests often give you feedback on your stories even if you do not win. You can also be relatively sure that your story was read if you submitted it to a writing contest. Sometimes magazines reject your story without reading it because they are under tremendous time constraints.

Simultaneous submissions. Do not simultaneously submit your manuscript if your target magazines say "No simultaneous submissions" as part of their requirements. On the other hand, you might try submitting to several magazines at the same time that say "simultaneous submissions OK" as part of their requirements.

Do not write an overly long cover letter or longwinded bio in your email (if you submit online). The cover letter is not what is going to get you read; the story itself will get you read. So make your story compelling and make your cover letter brief and professional.

Finally, does your college have a student literary magazine? Submit to that. It will get you exposure and also bring you into contact with the students on campus who are into writing. Many of them have publishing contacts among the professors and in the larger writing world. Join the campus literary magazine. Help them put it together and see how much work that takes and keep making contacts. Contacts will help you get published.

Good luck,

Preston