Comments on: How to Use a Submission Log to Publish More of Your Travel Writing

By: Heather Carreiro

Heather Carreiro — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:07:48 +0000

This gave me some ideas about how to better organize my submission log. Thanks!

By: Anthony

Anthony — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:52:20 +0000

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.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:57:07 +0000

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!

By: Angela Corrias

Angela Corrias — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:41:59 +0000

Hard to believe you get rejected, but somehow encouraging

By: Kaitlin Mills

Kaitlin Mills — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:00:30 +0000

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.

By: Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:51:02 +0000

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!

By: Eman

Eman — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:35:10 +0000

Thanks for this. I’m just getting my feet wet with this writing business, so every bit helps!

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:55:56 +0000

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.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:22:52 +0000

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.

By: David Miller

David Miller — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:19:04 +0000

Thanks Abbie!

Yeah, submission log is key once you start sending out stories.

By: Abbie

Abbie — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:11:59 +0000

That’s great advice! As a starting writer, I didn’t even think of something like that! Thanks

By: Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:50:39 +0000

Good advice, DM, thanks.

By: David Miller

David Miller — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:04:23 +0000

@ lola: that sounds fantastic. send me a screenshot and we’ll put it up here!

By: Lola

Lola — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:05:33 +0000

I totally use Google Spreadsheets for managing submissions. My spreadsheet includes the editor’s name/email and publication as well as the pitch title, date submitted, and it also automatically calculates a 2-week follow up date for me.

By marking rejections in red and acceptances in green, I can visually monitor progress and also see how pitching has improved over time based on the ratio of reds to greens, etc

Its been a time saver and sanity manager!