We know you can find all types of advice on how to get published. Indeed, a whole genre of books, the insidious “How to Write” genre, testifies to the fact that we are all desperate to be published. The books feed our insatiable thirst for someone to tell us the ONE real secret to being published. We believe that secret is out there, and we think our favorite authors, whether they be Anne Lamott or Terry Brooks, will tell us how to do it.

We have news for you. There is NO secret. Getting published takes hard work, perseverance, a smart and systematic game plan, efficient targeting of venues, sometimes a little luck, and always, always a tough, thick skin. You will be rejected. Many times. Good writers know this, and most good writers see the rejections as opportunities. They either seek other places to publish, knowing from experience and having taken constructive criticism seriously that the work will eventually find a home, often after some revision, or they cut their losses and move on to the next project, learning what will work better next time.

The good news, of course, is that there are things you can do to IMPROVE your chances to get published. Basic things. Professional things. In the coming months, we want to share those with you, and one of the main things we want you to remember is that WHAT you want to publish determines HOW you go about seeking publishers. So, our advice will be geared around different types of publishing, and for our first suggestions, we have decided to focus on what many of you probably most want to know:

How To Get Your Short Fiction Published

1. Find Journals that Publish Your Type of Work: This takes homework and is probably the thing that journal and magazine editors talk about most. Frequently, writers send stories that are simply unsuitable for a venue. A writer may send a horror story to the New Yorker, cluelessly expecting good news from them, even though the New Yorker would never even consider the genre. Most journals have statements about their purpose on an editorial page or on the “about us” page of their website. Read it. Carefully. Make sure the journal even wants short fiction. If you don’t understand what they want, buy two different issues of the journal and read through them. If your work doesn’t look like what you’re reading, you are, very simply, wasting your time, energy, and postage. Find another venue.

2. Proofread: This is easily the second most noted pet peeve among editors, just behind getting work that has nothing to do with their journal. You are writing a SHORT story. If you can’t be bothered to be perfect in your proofing of an eight to fifteen page document, why should the journal bother with you? Your work should be flawless. Period. No errors. No typos. No exceptions.

3. Your Opening Paragraph Makes or Breaks Your Work: This is not always hard and fast, but typically, it is the case. If you want to get published, put yourself in the position of the editor. He/she receives between 500 and 2,500 submission per issue. He/she simply doesn’t have time to read them all, so he/she makes gut calls. They read that first paragraph (sometimes just the first sentence), and if it grabs them, they keep reading. If not, you get (if you’re lucky) a polite little form letter in the mail about six months later rejecting your work. Write your story. Revise. Let it sit. Then, look at that opening paragraph again and make it better. Make it irresistible.

4. Be Brief in Your Cover Letter: We have only one thing to say about this: cover letters for short fiction submissions that are longer than, say, three or four sentences (maybe five), smack of desperation. You simply look like an amateur if you send a lengthy one. Don’t do it.

5. If You Get Advice from an Editor, Believe It: I know this is hard to do, and there are bad editors. But that’s not the point. The point is this: even if the editor is bad, he/she will know what audiences are reading. He/she will know HOW to get you published. Quit holding desperately to the reins of your literary high-horse, galloping from journal to journal believing that your brilliance simply isn’t understood. Let go of the notion that you’re compromising your own integrity if you change a paragraph to fit the suggestion of an editor. Hogwash. Faulkner wrote for Hollywood. Poe created the detective story to make money. Surely you can make allowances. The editor wants his journal to be successful, so his/her suggestions may even make your work better. Often, if an editor takes the time to give you advice, it means he/she sees real potential in your work. Journal and magazine editors RARELY respond to anyone in person, especially in the world of short fiction, so if one does, LISTEN. Once you get published a few times, you can start to be selective and start to ascend your literary ivory tower once again and glare at us mortals down below. Until then, though, take the editor’s advice. Usually it’s well-meaning. Often—very often—it’s right.

Okay, one final word: publishing short fiction is VERY difficult. Publishing a novel is probably the only thing more difficult. So, be patient. Take advice. Target wisely. And, most importantly, keep writing. Always, always keep writing.