One of the harder things about writing (the business, not the craft) is all the time it takes to research all the markets that might want your work. Finding them, reading them, formatting your submission just so (every time). This takes time. Depending on where you’re at in your creative arcs and cycles, that might be time away from writing and revision.
I tend not to start submitting until I’m sick of a piece, until I’ve taken it as far as I can. A good rule of thumb might be not to submit something while you’re still in love with it. Wait until you fall in love with it again.
All of this is easier said than done.
A good click-bait title for this post would be “How to Submit to Literary Journals.”
There’s submission as in here, I’ve worked hard on this, as have the 9000 other poets and writers you’ve heard from this week this month this year. Maybe you’ll like it?
Then there’s submission as in okay fine I’ll just write what I think you want to publish.
This is not a racket for instant gratification, you know?
Chris Cocca 