They Accepted My Work!

Part II - Responsibilities & Renumeration

Once an editor expresses interest in your work, you may be asked to make corrections or changes. It is important to follow up with the revisions on a timely basis. Even though some grammatical or spelling errors may be corrected for you, be sure to check the entire piece for needed corrections.

It is usually after the work is revised and acceptable for publication that a contract is sent. Be sure to read the contract, sign it, and return it to the address indicated.

Payment may be made at the time of sale, but is also sometimes made when the work is published. Just because an article is purchased in May, for example, does not mean it will necessarily appear in the next edition of the magazine. It may be four to six months before your work appears in print.

Not all markets are paying markets. Some smaller publications pay in contribution copies. However, this can be an asset to your writing career because it builds writing credits. This means that the next time you submit something to a magazine, you can tell that editor you were previously published in a former publication. Be sure to give the name of the publication and the edition in which your work appeared.

Once your work appears in print, tell everyone! Post it on your My space page, tell your friends, blog about it. Get your name out there. Again, remember to keep negative comments to yourself, but put the emphasis on the positive. The more you promote yourself and your work, the more skill and confidence you will build as a writer.

Happy writing!