I see you, you with the ragged notebook of poems clutched to your chest. There are hundreds of poems in those 60 lined pages, each one a tiny piece of your heart scribbled and erased and rewritten dozens of times until the wording is just right. This is a part of you as much as drinking water is, and yet...
No one you know has read a single one. The lingering doubts are there, because what if… What if they aren’t as good as you think they are?
Literary journals confirm the poet (or writer, or artist) and allow the world to see your work. Writer’s Relief, in a very detailed blog post on literary journals, says something similar: “They exist to showcase writings (and artwork) that would otherwise not find an audience in mainstream, commercial publishing.”
What you write is powerful.
It’s easy for you to visit your grandma and show her a sweet poem you wrote when you were seven about her chocolate chip cookies uplifting your soul. It is an entirely different story to show someone you love an intimate and personal piece on your identity, especially without any context beforehand.
Literary journals provide creatives with a home for their work. Any journal worth its salt is going to provide each piece a context in which it can be best understood. In fact, that is the hardest part of making a journal, because it has to be done right. There is no point in creating a journal if it does not allow the contributors to speak loudest of all.
We exist to serve the people and let them read enriching pieces that have the power to change our day, our outlook, and maybe even our lives. It just depends on the verse.
The blog I mentioned earlier, Writer’s Relief, has some helpful tips to get your work published in their frequently updated blog. Check them out if you’re interested in their musings.
If you are thinking about submitting to a journal, we would be honored to read your work. And so would the three following journals, just to help you widen your search. Each has its own niche, but we’ve linked to their calls for submission pages so that you can find which one best suits your work. All are currently accepting submissions as of this publication date.
F(r)iction: Short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry
Zone 3: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
Anastamos: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, visual art, and academic writing