Why You Should Submit Your Writing for Publication

Every month in the Writing Toolkit I send out to my subscribers, I suggest a place to submit your writing. I do this because I believe that submitting your work is one of the best ways you can help your writing practice thrive.

Why is submitting your writing one of the most important things you can do to start creating a writing habit? I'm so glad you asked.

Reason #1: Having a writing deadline forces you to write.

The way many blogs and websites do submissions requires you to pitch them an idea before you write it. Then they will work with you to create a timeline for the project (first draft due on xx, revised draft due on xx). That means you have to write because you will have a pending deadline. It's sort of like having homework again--someone is expecting a finished product, so you have to sit down and do the work.

Reason #2: It gets you out of your "writer's head." 

You know, the one that tears you down, tells you "You're not REALLY a writer" and makes you feel miserable? Submitting your work gives you an answer to the question, "Does anyone really care what I write?" (YES! They do care! And now you have proof because strangers are reading and commenting on your words.)

Reason #3: It's amazing to see your work out there in the world.

It takes writing from a very private thing to a very communal thing--and it's always easier to keep doing something when you have a support group cheering you on. Don't let yourself keep all your words holed up in a notebook no one sees, share them. Get them out into the world like little fledgling birds.

Reason #4: Submitting my work profoundly changed my life as a writer because of all of the above reasons.

I tell you submitting writing is important because it's what gave me the strength and perseverance to finally take the step and declare "I am a writer." I didn't get essays published on major websites and it's not like I got hundreds of comments. But every single comment counts. Even just the experience of working with an editor who saw potential in my work took me from a shy writer, who never admitted to anyone that I liked to write, to someone who now casually says, "Oh I'm a writer and an editor. What do you do?"