Submission logs can be very quick and simple, and you’ll find that using them encourages you to keep sending out more stories.
As an editor, I get bummed sometimes when I respond to a writer who has submitted good work (but maybe just not quite what we’re looking for), and then I never hear from them again. This tells me that they’re probably just starting out, and have gotten easily frustrated with a single rejection.
Similarly, as a writer I get bummed when my own stories get rejected, but I’ve found that it’s much easier to deal with if I know that I have several more (ideally, a dozen more) stories currently waiting for responses from editors.
The key to getting published–besides having tight stories and cultivating good networks of relationships with editors and publishers–is simply to have lots of pieces going out all the time.
In order to keep all of my submission organized, I use a submission log. Above is a screenshot of the one I use. I just created it in Google Spreadsheets. Basically the stories I’m submitting go across the columns, and then I can put various markets underneath in the rows beneath each story, noting them as submitted, accepted, or rejected. This is very handy for keeping pieces straight that I’ve simultaneously submitted to multiple markets.
You can get much more organized and detailed than this, doing things like adding dates and having more info available by each post.
Here is the submission log that Matador Goods editor Lola Akinmade uses:
This is essentially the opposite of mine: it puts a single story titles in each row and uses the columns to show the status of each one, including dates of submission and editor.
Any format is fine as long as it works for you.
Feature Photo: Jake Mohan
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How do you organize your submissions? Do you use a submission log? Let us know in the comments.
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14 Comments... join the discussion!
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@ lola: that sounds fantastic. send me a screenshot and we’ll put it up here!
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Good advice, DM, thanks.
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That’s great advice! As a starting writer, I didn’t even think of something like that! Thanks
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Thanks Abbie!
Yeah, submission log is key once you start sending out stories.
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I think it’s hard to remember just how practical writers have to be–sometimes I feel like I have so much stuff floating around and I can’t ground any of it. It helps to think of writing as running or as a very tangible, concrete sort of “task” so that you can manage it. I know otherwise I end up with random notebooks everywhere and word documents buried in the depths of the computer with no home.
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I use a submission log, too, and find it to be really helpful. I also set mine up on Google docs. I suppose mine’s a combo of David’s and Lola’s styles, but I have a few extra sections: one for the name and specific contact of the editor; a field for “Notes” to document the back and forth correspondence; “Follow Up,” which includes instructions to myself about how to promote once the piece is published (especially helpful for interviews and reviews); and “Misc.,” which includes my own reflections about how I could have pitched a piece more effectively.
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Thanks for this. I’m just getting my feet wet with this writing business, so every bit helps!
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Sarah, I’m right there with you…everything just floats around in my head. Thanks for this handy tip David! And Lola, that’s a great idea with the colours!
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Thanks for the great idea. I just use a word doc and a table and even with something so basic you can see what work is still floating around and what needs to be done. Great article.
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Hard to believe you get rejected, but somehow encouraging
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I read this and immediately made one! It’s pathetically empty right now… but I think seeing it that way will motivate more submissions. It will also be super gratifying to fill it up…
Thanks, Matador editors!
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Found your article through Google while looking into fields to include in my spreadsheet.
Something handy in iWork’s Numbers is how you can have different sheets in the same document — I’ve got one sheet set up for submissions, another for prospects of a certain theme, and another for general prospects.
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This gave me some ideas about how to better organize my submission log. Thanks!
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