Writers Writing About Writing
Plus, Places to Get Paid to Write About Writing
Dear writers and writing teachers,
Am I the only one who, at times, feels like I have no idea what I’m doing? Getting published feels like a mix of winning the lottery and stepping into the world of the exalted writer. The other day, I submitted an essay I thought was so profound that the Pulitzer Prize was in my near future. Instead, it was rejected in record time. This is why I continue to read about writing and take writing courses. Even with my MA in English and my MFA in Creative Nonfiction, things don’t come together unless I feel I’m in a state where mystical word and idea fairies are circling over me, sprinkling magical literary dust that helps my fingers hit the right keystrokes on my computer.
This week, I dedicate my Friday Submission List to craft essays because I apparently can’t read enough of them. I also included this stellar list of writers who teach us the right moves.
Writers Who Write About Writing and Teach Online Workshops
There are many more, but these are the ones I’ve seen in recent workshop offerings. If I missed you, send me a DM. I want to keep adding to this list!
Submission List #50-Craft Submissions
Mississippi Review– 1.6 K+followers
Deadline: June 30th
Theme: Teaching/writing/teaching writing
Fee: $4
Pay: lifetime subscription and 2 copies
Genre: Nonfiction
Word Count: up to 8,000
Medium: Digital and print
Guidelines/Submission: Submittable
Brevity Blog– 62.8K+ followers
Deadline: Open
Theme: Craft writing related to literary nonfiction and memoir
Fee: No
Pay: No
Genre: Nonfiction
Word Count: 500-1000
Medium: Digital
Guidelines/Submission: Email: brevityblogessays@gmail.com
CRAFT–15K+followers
Deadline: Open
Theme: writing craft, critical literary analyses, and interviews
Fee: No
Pay: $50-$100
Genre: Nonfiction
Word Count: 1000-4000
Medium: Digital
Guidelines/Submission: Submittable
Masters Review–15K +followers
Deadline: Open
Theme: The craft of a particular story
Fee: No
Pay: $50
Genre: Nonfiction and fiction
Word Count: 1200-2500
Medium: Online
Guidelines/Submission: Submittable
Writer’s Digest– 67.2K+followers
Deadline: Open
Theme: Write Your Book in 2027
Fee: No
Pay: 50 cents per word
Genre: Nonfiction
Word Count: 1200-2500
Medium: Digital and Print
Guidelines/Submission: Pitch with online form
Lit Hub–270.3K+followers
Deadline: Open
Theme: Literary Life and Culture
Fee: No
Pay: .07-.20 cents per word
Genre: Nonfiction
Word Count: NA
Medium: Digital
Guidelines/Submission: Pitch email to info@lithub.com.
Writers Chronicle–60K+followers
Deadline: June 15th
Theme: Craft of writing and personal essays related to the writing life
Fee: No
Pay: 18 cents per word
Genre: Nonfiction
Word Count: 1500-4000
Medium: Digital and print
Guidelines/Submission: Pitch online form
Poets & Writers–100K+followers
Deadline: Open
Theme: Literary life, practical writer, features, news and trends
Fee: No
Pay: .17–.39 cents per word
Genre: nonfiction
Word Count: 500-2500
Medium: Digital and print
Guidelines/Submission: Pitch to email: editor@pw.org
Inside Info
Mississippi Review–Mississippi Review was founded by Gordon Weaver in 1972 at the University of Southern Mississippi. Frederick Barthelme took over the editorial reins in 1977 and along with managing editor Rie Fortenberry quickly turned Mississippi Review into a literary journal of national acclaim. Since 1972, we have been publishing award-winning Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Mississippi Review is housed in the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers. We currently publish two issues a year and host an annual contest awarding prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry.
Brevity Blog–is a venue to discuss issues and craft related to the writing of memoir and literary nonfiction. The blog reaches thousands of readers at all stages of their writing lives, with 62,000+ WordPress subscribers. Though the Blog and Brevity Literary Magazine share a devotion to supporting writers and promoting excellent writing, we have distinct editorial teams and differing missions. While we don’t shy away from important issues in the writing community, The Brevity Blog can also be colloquial, personal, and at times irreverent or humorous, and our most popular posts tend to be those that are the least academic. We aim to publish not just blog posts but essays, with a beginning, a middle and an ending, with the arc and movement found in all good essays, and in which the writer comes to a recognition, a realization, or sometimes an epiphany.
CRAFT–Established in 2017 as a literary magazine for fiction, CRAFT expanded in 2020 to publish creative nonfiction as well. We explore how writing works, reading pieces with a focus on the elements of craft, on the art of prose. We feature previously unpublished creative work, as well as critical pieces including craft essays and interviews. All published creative pieces include an author’s note and an editorial introduction that both discuss stylistics in the work.
We do not charge fees for our fiction or creative nonfiction submissions, or for our craft categories, and we are a paying market.
Masters Review–Always a free way to submit. Always paid for your work. The Masters Review offers a quality platform for emerging writers. Founded by Kim Winternheimer in 2011, The Masters Review is an online and in print publication celebrating new and emerging writers. We are on the lookout for the best new talent with hopes of publishing stories from writers who will continue to produce great work. We offer critical essays, book reviews by debut authors, contest deadlines, submissions info, and interviews with established authors, all with the hopes of bridging the gap between new and established writers.
Writer’s Digest–is the No. 1 magazine for writers, celebrates the writing life and what it means to be a writer in today’s publishing environment. Through the voices of bestselling authors, buzz-worthy newcomers, and seasoned editors, we offer everything writers need to stay inspired, to improve their craft, to understand the unique challenges of publishing today, and to get their work noticed. Our pages are filled with advice and real-life experiences that go beyond the ordinary and delve deeply into what’s important to writers today.
Lit Hub–We’re looking for stories about literary life and culture. We’re interested in the ways that books or their authors fit into the culture at large, and we enjoy rigorous criticism for a general audience. We’ve published essays on craft, those that veer into criticism, and reported pieces on literary issues. If you’re pitching a personal essay on writing life, it helps to describe how an incident in your life speaks to larger issues in the literary world. We’re also looking for stories that talk about upcoming nonfiction books and address the broader cultural issues around them by adding your own analysis or reporting. Check out some of our favorite pieces from last year here.
Writers Chronicle is the bimonthly publication of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs. Since 1967, the magazine has been a valuable resource for writers at all stages of their careers. Each issue features essays, articles, news, and conversations about writing and publishing. The Writer’s Chronicle is for writers, readers, and anyone who loves books. The Writer’s Chronicle is open for pitches April 15–June 15 and October 15–December 15.
Poets and Writers–Available by subscription and on newsstands of most major bookstores, Poets & Writers Magazine reaches a national audience of 100,000 readers from emerging to established literary writers. The magazine has a strong following among both students and faculty in creative writing programs across the country. In addition, many of its readers pursue creative writing as an avocation, often pairing their literary lives with other careers.
NEXT PAID SUBSCRIBER ZOOM “PITCH PRACTICE“
FRIDAY, JUNE 26TH AT 3 PM PST/6 PM EST
Do you know of Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies? Here's the link to their submission page:
https://www.assayjournal.com/submit.html