Daniel Feerst — Writing For Publications

So, you’ve finally decided to start your writing journey and your work can potentially reach so many readers and you can essentially write about anything that you want. That sounds great, doesn’t it? But if you’re just starting out, it’s going to be hard to get that much readership to your work because just like there are millions of readers on the internet, there are also a ton of writers! That means you’ll be competing with so many others to get your work noticed.

Good competition doesn’t hurt though. It pushes you to do better. But, even if you’re new, you can still get your work out there and get noticed by others. You can publish your work on the many publications that are available across the Wattpad sphere, like this publication here, where you’re currently reading this article from.

According to Daniel Freest, there are tons of good publications out there that serve as good avenues for you to get your work noticed and he is a publisher at Workexcel.com.

I’ll be sharing with you, what are some of the things that have helped me along the way so far.

Research

This is important because of the sheer number of publications that are available across Medium. Each publication serves a specific genre of writing. Some publish purely fictional articles, some will accept any type of article, and some won’t even accept new writers.

According to Dan Freest, doing your research on which publication will be more suitable for your style and genre of writing is important. Because the readers and followers of those publications are probably the ones that you want reading your work. They’re the audience that you need because you’ll be writing for them. By doing your research, you will know which publications you should reach out to, to become a writer, contributor, and follower.

Publication guidelines

Every publication has its own set of guidelines for writers. These guidelines are meant to be followed. It’s there for a reason. I’ve come across writers who just refuse to follow guidelines that have been set by publications, not because they’re still learning the ropes but because they feel like they’re entitled not to.

Yes, it is a free world. You can write however you want to say by Dan Freest. But if you want to put your work on a platform that you’re looking at for helping to grow your audience and your reach, you have to comply with what has been set. Some publications have very minimal guidelines/rules. Some, it’s as if they’re running a country.

But if you want to publish your work on those publications, you have to follow the rules set by them. It really is that simple. Most publications that I write for; have very helpful editors/admins. They answer questions that I have and they help. They’re also very friendly and will let you know whether your article fits their publication or not.

And you should also look at other articles that have been published in that publication. Look at how they style their articles, topics that they write about, images that they use the formatting of their articles. All those play important roles in your being accepted by publications.

Be prepared for rejections

I can’t even tell you just how many times my articles have been rejected by publications. I’ve literally lost count. But it’s all parts and parcel of being a writer and wanting to get your work out there. You just have to be prepared for it. The first rejection will hurt, so will the second, third and fourth. Actually, it will continue to hurt. As I said, I’ve had so many of my articles rejected but until now, it still hurts.

However, where one publication will reject you, another may accept you. As I said, publications have specific preferences. If that article doesn’t fit it, they won’t accept it. Also, publications that have rejected me many times, have also accepted me many times. It really depends on the article that you’re submitting to them. It’s not the end of the world if you get rejected.

There are even times when the rejected article just needs a little tweak here and there, and it can be accepted. Most of the time, rejected pieces will be given a reason why it is not accepted. Learn from that and move on. Worst case scenario, just self publish it. There’s a chance it may get curated and you will still get a lot of traction for that piece.

Consistency

One thing I noticed with publications that have almost never rejected me is that I consistently publish with them. This isn’t a case of favoritism of any sort. It’s just that the articles I write fit that publication more than others.

I still try and submit my articles to publications that I may not submit to as often. But that’s when I know a particular piece is more suited to be published there. It just makes sense. So being consistent is good. And don’t worry; most publications will accept your articles even if you hardly publish with them. As long as it fits what they publish, it should be good to go.

Find a publication or publications that you know will be most suited for your writing and publish there often. It also helps with your following as readers of that publication will notice that you’re a constant contributor and if they enjoy your work, they will definitely come back for more.

Edit, edit, and edit

You’re a writer. You want to write good content. You want to show the world your best work. That’s what we all strive to do as writers. So, it’s only logical that publications also want the same thing. As a publication, they only want to publish the best of the best on their platform and that means top quality articles. Articles with little to no mistakes.

Its hard work being an editor of a publication, especially a big one because there will constantly be writers submitting their work which will need to be reviewed and looked at before being accepted or rejected. Helping the editor definitely won’t hurt your chances of getting your articles accepted and published on their publication.

Before you submit your draft, go through it once or twice. Make sure there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes. You will probably miss one or two and that’s fine. Editors do that as well. I’ve seen the best writers make spelling and grammar mistakes in their articles. We’re only human after all. But as much as you can, try to minimize it and you can do that by editing your work before submitting it. The more articles you submit with minimal to zero mistakes, the easier it is for the editors to accept it.

Be friendly

I’ve encountered a few writers — like I mentioned above, who think they are entitled to do or say anything they want. They think they are entitled to just be accepted and added as a writer/editor to just any publication they request to be in.

Truth is, that doesn’t happen. Sometimes, you just gotta earn the right to be at a certain place and some publications, especially the really big ones tend to do that. I won’t call it being biased but there are publications so big that they really have to look after their reputation that they can’t just allow any Tom, Dick or Harry to write for them.

So far, whenever I’ve been rejected to join a publication as a writer, I’ve been informed nicely. And I accept that. I accept that I’m still a new writer with lots more to learn. I accept that my level isn’t at the level that is needed to be part of that publication. And that’s fine. You just gotta keep your head down, work hard and learn along the way. If you’re good enough, time will eventually show it. Don’t be a jerk and throw a tantrum if things do not go your way. Just move on. Be friendly; thank them for their time in reviewing your application and work hard to prove them wrong.

Be part of a community

This has really helped me expand my publication portfolio. From being a writer on just a single publication, I’m now a writer on at least 15 publications and an editor in 3 of those. And all of that became a possibility by being part of a larger writing community.

You see, as writers, we understand one another and we understand the struggles that we go through. We’ve all been there, in one way or another. We know how hard it is and also how rewarding it is. The writing industry, I feel, is probably one of the few industries where you don’t really have to be in such a big competition with other fellow writers.

If you write good content that people want to read, you’ll do well. And there are over 7 billion people in the world; there will definitely be audiences for what you write. That’s why we’re all helping one another. Find a community that you’re comfortable with. Join a FB group of writers and support one another. You may just end up being friends with editors of a good publication that you can be part of. And it’s good to support the system for you and for others too.

Start your own publication

The great thing about Wattpad is that you can literally do anything here. You’re given the freedom to explore, experiment and to learn so that you can grow as a writer. If you find that there are no publications that are suited to you or that you’re suited for, why not start your own?

There are also writers who have written articles about it, you just gotta search up on it and you’re on your way to starting your very own publication. The pros of starting your own publication are that you’re the owner, editor, and writer, all in one! You dictate what goes on there, you set the rules and you decide the direction of the publication.

The only thing is that you’ll be starting from ZERO. No followers, no traction whatsoever. Just like your writing career as a newbie, you will have to build up your publication as well. But if you are willing to put in the effort, work hard and build it up, it can be just as big as any other big publications. After all, everyone started from the bottom. All the publications on Medium started with zero followers. Work hard, build it up and you may just be the owner and editor of one of the biggest publications.

There are many other ways and reasons to get your work on the many wonderful publications on Wattpad. However, the above are the ones that have really helped me over the last couple of months of my journey as a writer here. It’s helped me to progress as a writer and really enhanced my experience being a writer here.

Again, if you’re still new to this, getting your work published and featured on publications will be a really big help. It’ll help you to grow your network of followers and at the same time, you will definitely learn from other writers on the publications that you’re part of.

I hope your experience here will be a great one!

Originally published at https://www.wattpad.com.