How to Work with Small Presses and Literary Magazines—Episode 335 with Terena Bell

<p>Listeners, you KNOW we got granular with this one because there are just plain so many links! </p><p>Terena Elizabeth Bell has been writing all her life. Her first short story was published in a literary magazine when she was in college—almost thirty years ago, and she’s published many since and won multiple awards. She’s also written for more than 100 publications, including <em>The Atlantic, The Guardian, Boston Globe, Smithsonian, Playboy, MysteryTribune, </em>and <em>Santa Monica Review</em>. Platform-o-rama, right?</p><p>But she could NOT find a publisher for her debut novel or debut short story collection. As she puts it: It wasn't for want of trying. Her novel was turned down by 64 agents.</p><p>That novel, RECURSION, and Terena’s short story collection, Tell Me What You See were both purchased within two weeks once Terena decided to turn to the small presses associated with the lit mags she’d been a part of for so long.</p><p>We talk about the glories AND problems with small presses, how to be sure you’re talking to a small press and not the kind of hybrid publisher we often warn you about (there are legit hybrids, but be careful out there, many take advantage of writers who don’t understand what they offer), finding the right small presses and literary magazines and what it’s like to be a more literary and experimental writer. It’s a great episode with a lot of information we haven’t covered before. </p><p>BONUS: Read Previous guest Joni B. Cole’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.janefriedman.com/submit-your-work-to-a-university-press/">When Is It Smart to Submit Your Work to a University Press? (You’d Be Surprised!)</a></p><p>Big Literary journals <a target="_blank" href="https://duotrope.com/">Duotrope</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/">The Submission Grinder</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/">Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.smolfair.com/">SMOL Fai