Published for the First Time

ItI was amazing to read the lines in the email, “We love your poem and will be using it in our 2025 April/May issue”. I couldn’t hardly believe I was getting published!

I’m taking a look back at how I got here and how you can get your poetry and short stories published as well. It all starts with the basics.

Here are my top 5 ways to get a small piece published

1. Write. Put in the effort to write a good product. Carve out some time each day to write. Sometimes it pours out easily and sometimes you draw a blank but you should still put pen to paper. I’m motivated by my Heavenly Father, my family, and my desire to share country life as something to appreciate. But I am also motivated by seeing my work in print. Because that feels like recognition for all my efforts. To write, you should be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated.
2. Look for opportunities. Use the search bar to seek out ways to share your writing. In my case, I found a “call out” for amateur writers to submit short stories or poems in a farming magazine I already enjoy. You can also ask fellow writers or your local librarians for any information they might have in finding a good place to share your work. Writing competitions may be a good choice as well.
3. Follow their guidelines. In my case, I was submitting under a theme idea of “spring forward”. I happened to already have a poem that would fit the theme but that’s not usually the case when I submit poems. I usually make them from scratch for the challenge and purpose of crafting a poem that is aligned with my overall writing style and goals as well as with their theme. One more thing, if submitting for a contest, realize that you usually can not use a poem is already published. If you have a blog like I do, consider not sharing all your poems. You can always share them after they have been published.
4. Wait. There may be a lot of writing that your publisher or contest judges have to look over. I submitted my poem “Orchard Path” in November but it wasn’t until February that I got the confirmation that they were using it for their issue coming out in March. (I did hear back in November that they liked the poem but it seemed to me as a “maybe”. ) Thankfully, they aren’t all long waits for a solid “yes”! For instance, one of my poems was picked up the next day after it was submitted. So, hang in there because once it’s submitted, it’s out of your hands.
5. Make Lemonade. When the rejections come, don’t give up. There have been poems I have really enjoyed that have not “made the cut” for certain things. But that can be a great opportunity to share the poem anyway. My poem “Baking Cookies with Grandma” was rejected but I still wanted to share it. It reminded me of my mother and I really liked coming up with the idea for the poem. So, don’t let the sourness of rejection keep you from sharing what’s meant to be shared. Another option could be to rewrite a piece if you think it could be improved upon. Either way, keep your love of writing.

So there you have it.

To say it was a joy to see my work in my favorite magazine is such a true statement. A complete joy to go to the mailbox and carefully pull out the issue. Then, standing in the road, too excited to go inside, thumbing through until I find the poems spot. God has given me such a blessing in this and it’s one that I will cherish for a long time to come. If you are an aspiring writer, I hope you will experience the same joy one day.

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To read the poem click here or on image below.

If you’d like to order “Mary Jane’s Farm” magazine click here. The same link will take you to the Reader’s Submissions/Keeping In Touch section were you can submit your own short story or poem. I have no affiliate agreements with them, just wanted to share where to get my favorite magazine. Until next time!