Ten Lessons from Fourteen Years on Room’s Editorial Collective

Insights for Writers on How to Publish in Lit Mags and Shine

Okay, how did the time go by so quickly that I’ve been at Room as long as it took me to grow into an awkward, sliding-down-nose-bespectacled teenager?

Anyway, brushing past that angst-filled age (angst that sadly never really went away), I’m so excited to share these lessons from my journey at Room magazine with you.

My aim here is to get to the heart of what makes writing worthwhile, the stuff that makes our words sing and connect.

Over these fourteen years, I’ve laughed and cried (for real) while poring through the luminous submissions sent our way. I have grown so much through the privilege of working with the brilliant words we had the honour of publishing in our pages.

Each submission, each story, each poem has been a window into a singular world. I have felt the magic that happens when we wrap language around our experiences and points of view.

As I take you through these, my current musings on what I have gathered over 14 years, neatly divided into ten sections, I hope you’ll remember that magic lives in you, too. Your voice matters, your experiences are valid, and your words have the power to touch hearts and change minds.

So, hop on board for this journey with me. Grab your favourite pen (you know, the one with the perfect amount of ink) or open your trusty writing notes app, get comfy, and explore these ways to make writing and submitting your work more vibrant, authentic, and you.

Because I think we might agree that writing is about connecting, sharing, and shining our unique light into the world. Ready to get started? Let’s go!

Ten Lessons from Fourteen Years of Editing Room Magazine: Insights for Writers

In my fourteen years on the editorial collective at Room, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about rejection, those magical a-ha moments in refining our writing, and simple ways to increase the odds of getting a submission accepted. (I’ve thought so much about it that I even created a course about getting published.)

Here are ten lessons I’ve learned along the way:

Lesson 1: Find Your Spark in Submission Calls

Would you be surprised as I was to learn that many contributors to our issues have told me that our themed calls for submissions were the exact spark they needed to write and submit their work?

One writer shared, “When I saw the call, it was like the key that helped me unlock my approach and unpack my experience.”

Submission calls offer a fantastic opportunity. They set you off with a clear subject and deadline.

Tip: Mark themed submission calls in your calendar. You’ll have both a deadline and a topic ready to go. That’s two fewer obstacles between you and your writing!

Remember, a theme should inspire, not limit. As an editor, I’ve seen so many surprising and wonderful interpretations of themes. For example, in our Room “Family Secrets” issue, I anticipated we’d uncover the darker side of family secrets. Instead, Deanna Partridge-David gave us “little patches of green on the tips of branches”—a reminder that some family secrets can be quite beautiful.

Tip: When you submit to literary magazines, don’t shy away from including your individual take on the theme. Editors love fresh and creative perspectives that go beyond the expected.

As Ellen Chang-Richardson, my assistant editor for the “Ghosts” issue, said when we made the issue call for submissions, “Ghosts don’t have to be scary. I’m looking for something unique—whether it’s a poem, a flash piece, a story, or even art.”

Lesson 2: Build Relationships with Publications

You might choose to publish with a particular venue because you trust they’ll handle your work with care. Many contributors choose Room for this very reason—they know we value and respect their writing.

When dealing with more vulnerable pieces, be thoughtful about where you submit. Annette C. Boehm, who contributed to our “Ghosts” issue, said, “This very personal poem should not just go anywhere.”

Tip: Find literary magazines that resonate with your work and values. Look for places that engage with a community that will appreciate and connect with your words.

Choosing the right publication also means your writing will likely be a good fit, increasing your chances of acceptance. Contrary to what many writers think, submitting to a publication repeatedly is perfectly fine! And this is, in fact, a way to build a relationship with a publication. You may even get more personalized feedback and constructive suggestions when you align with a publication and submit plenty of work that fits their style.

I love seeing new work from writers who have submitted multiple times, especially when their work aligns with what we’re looking for. It’s always a joy to finally publish someone I’ve been watching and hoping to work with for a long time.

Tip: If a publication turned you down before, don’t hesitate to submit your work again.

Persistence can pay off. If you’re worried about bothering us, remember—unless you’re submitting indiscriminately, you’re not bothering us at all.

Lesson 3: Craft Compelling Openings

Yes, crafting a great opening might seem like basic advice, but it’s crucial and worth emphasizing. This I know not only from my experience editing several issues of a lit mag, but also from many interviews I conducted with editors for my Write, Publish, and Shine podcast. I have not met an editor who doesn’t want to be hooked from the start of a story or poem.

Tip: Start your piece with a pivotal moment that grabs and holds your reader’s attention right from the first line.

Your work needs to start strong to capture our interest. With so much to read, if your writing doesn’t hook us immediately or takes too long to get going, it might get overlooked.

Lesson 4: Craft Compelling Everything

Once you’ve got your reader’s attention, keep it. A great opening is just the beginning; your entire piece needs to sustain that level of engagement.

Tip: Engage deeply with your writing to enhance its quality and impact.

The best pieces blend surprise and familiarity. Go beyond the surface and explore your subject in depth—emotionally, intellectually, politically, otherwise.

Lesson 5: Write What Haunts You

To create compelling work, focus on what truly haunts you. This is a vestige of my editing experience with the “Ghosts” issue, where we used the word “haunts” all the time! Those persistent themes and ideas that linger in your mind are the ones that we want to hear about from you. For our “Ghosts” themed issue, we invited submissions exploring both literal and metaphorical hauntings, naturally.

When you write about subjects that resonate deeply with you, your passion shines through and makes your writing more powerful.

Tip: Write about what excites you rather than what’s trending. Your genuine passion will make your work more authentic and engaging.

Many compelling pieces come from a place of personal connection. Exploring themes that affect you deeply can make your writing more relatable and impactful.

Embrace what makes you unique. Let your individuality shine through, and readers will connect with your work on a deeper level. We genuinely appreciate your unique voice!

Writing about personal experiences can lead to broader discussions and universal themes, enriching the depth and relevance of your work.

Lesson 6: Immerse Yourself in Your Genre

Even though it might also seem like rather basic advice, I’m going to say it: immersing yourself in your genre is essential. Reading widely in your genre helps you understand what resonates with readers.

Familiarize yourself with current trends and conventions, then don’t be afraid to push boundaries.

Tip: Use what you learn about your genre and its current conventions to innovate and create something new.

The most memorable pieces often break away from traditional forms and expectations, capturing editors’ attention. The first piece I selected for publication as a lead editor with Room was a segmented lyric essay. Though not a new genre in 2011, we rarely published such works, and I sensed lingering skepticism in the literary magazine world about lyrical narrative forms. (I inferred this from the pushback I received from my mentor for that issue—until I stood firm in my decision!) “Death and the Canyon” by Elizabeth Berlin remains a piece I’m proud to have published and one I frequently reference when teaching the lyric essay.

Lesson 7: Seek (The Right Kind of) Feedback

If you know anything about me, you know that I believe engaging with a supportive writing community is invaluable. Building relationships within this community provides inspiration, encouragement, and feedback.

Before submitting your work, please share it with trusted peers who can offer honest and constructive feedback. If you don’t have those trusted peers, make it a priority to find writers who can read your work and offer mutual support.

Tip: Stand out from the many submissions that need to be revised more! Gather feedback you trust, then revise your work well.

Ensure you have had quality feedback from writers and mentors you trust, then revise your work well before submission.

Rushing this process leads to unnecessary self-doubt. If you submit unpolished pieces, you can end up in a negative feedback loop where you question your writing’s quality—but the problem is simply that you have not revised it enough.

As an editor, I enjoy working closely with writers to improve their work, especially when they are open to suggestions. So, I loved it when I worked with poet Jennifer Cox, who said of our process, “I have never had a piece of writing that wasn’t improved by someone else’s opinion.”

I will add the caveat here: working with editors who support your vision for your writing is essential. (It sounds like, fortunately, that’s been Jennifer’s experience thus far.) I think this care comes across when I work with writers.

Tip: A caring and attentive editor can help you achieve your goals and improve your work.

If you have the opportunity, work directly with an editor. Stay open, but also make sure the editor understands and respects your creative vision.

Lesson 8: Handle Rejections However You Want

If you submit writing, you will experience rejections. It’s an inevitable part of the writing process, but you can manage it in ways that help build resilience.

When that “no” comes at you, you can feel however you want to feel. It’s perfectly okay to take rejections personally and have a brief meltdown. These feelings are a natural part of the process.

But after the initial emotion, you can get back up off the floor sooner with a few tricks.

One effective strategy is to keep a wins folder or notebook where you record positive feedback from trusted mentors, friends, and editors.

Tip: Go over past “wins” to remind yourself of your accomplishments and the positive aspects of your writing journey.

In that notebook, you might also write these sage words from my former Room colleague and friend, Tamara Jong: “Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with your writing when it’s rejected.”

Let me repeat that. “Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with your writing when it’s rejected.”

I have turned down work I absolutely loved because it didn’t work for the issue or we ran out of room in Room. (Ironic, I know.)

All a rejection means is that your submission didn’t fit the specific needs of an editor at that moment. It provides no information about flaws in your work.

Plus, unless you get a personalized rejection, you will often never know how far along your piece went. (And that’s why a personal rejection is such a big deal; it means that someone took the time to engage with your work more deeply despite the overall volume of submissions, and you got to see how far it went.)

Writers in my community play a game called Sink or Submit, wherein you “win“ the game by having the most active submissions out, and get more points for rejection, but then go back to zero when you have work accepted. Their lovely game highlights how submitting and rejection are reasons to celebrate and claim rewards (which they bestow upon themselves by declaring it).

Tip: Gameify rejection to help you keep your focus on what matters to you. (Hint, what matters is not wallowing over rejections.)

Lesson 9: Don’t Rush

Please don’t rush to submit your work before it’s truly ready! I know this is hard when you have a gem, or maybe you’ve taken my first lesson to heart and finished writing at midnight on the day of your deadline.

But so many writers I have published later tell me the pieces I selected evolved over years, transforming from initial drafts into something entirely different.

Give your work this same chance to grow and find its true form.

Tip: Submit a piece when you’ve done all you can with it and feel proud of your work.

As my Room colleague Lue Palmer once said of their submissions practice and the work that didn’t get accepted at first, “I didn’t realize how many drafts I had to go through or even just let it marinate longer.”

Tip: Be okay with being patient. Another submission period will open up again.

Refraining from rushing also means prioritizing your well-being over the pressure to be consistent. No one can maintain consistency if unwell. You can establish a writing routine that fits your lifestyle and inspires you. Whether you write daily, monthly, or during specific moments that resonate with you, choose whatever helps you stay healthy and motivated.

Lesson 10: Stay Organized

I’m not surprised when I talk to the writers I have published and find that they take a methodical approach to submissions.

Tip: Develop a submission system that works for you.

Use tools like Chill Subs or create personal documents to track submission opportunities. One writer I work with has a calendar that they put up on the wall with all of the deadlines. (A physical calendar in this day and age—imagine that!)

Community really helps here, too. Once a writer in my course community has published in a particular venue, several other writers will follow suit! This is not only because they’re discovering the journal but also because their peers’ experience was positive, and they know they can trust the literary magazine with their writing.

That’s It!

These ten lessons from my fourteen years on Room’s editorial collective encapsulate the essence of successful writing and submission practices. From understanding publication needs to crafting compelling work, handling rejections, and staying organized, each lesson, I hope, will contribute to your growth as a writer. Maybe these are things you are already doing or things you want to think a little more about.

Remember, the journey of a writer is ongoing. Embrace these lessons, but also trust your unique voice and experiences. Your persistence, coupled with continuous improvement and a deep connection to your work, will ultimately lead to success in the literary world. (I believe this!)

As you navigate the sometimes challenging terrain of submissions and publications, don’t forget that every writer—even every editor and every publication, started somewhere. Your dedication to your craft and your willingness to learn and adapt will set you apart.

So, write boldly, submit wisely, and never lose sight of the passion that drives you to put words on the page. Your voice matters, and there's a place for your stories and poems in this literary landscape. Keep writing, keep submitting, and keep shining.

If you want to develop your submission plan with my support and feedback on your writing, you might want to join my upcoming Lit Mag Love course.

Learn more + Join Lit Mag Love »