Maybe I have some sort of undiagnosed personality disorder, but one of my biggest pet peeves is writers who don’t follow the submissions guidelines for Beautiful / Losers Magazine. When a writer sends us an email with their poems or stories attached as a Word document, I become visibly filled with rage. My blood pressure shoots up. My smile turns upside down. And then I delete it, but not after having soaked in my righteous anger for a bit. If you don’t believe me, just ask my fiancée.

The last thing any writer hoping to get their submission accepted for publication wants is for an editor’s face to look like the one of the man above. Chances are, if an editor has that face before even reading your submission, it’s toast.

So, how do you avoid making editors displeased? It’s simple: etiquette!

• Always read the submissions guidelines and follow them to a T.
• Find out to whom you should address your cover letter.
• Send a respectful cover letter.
• Don’t get angry if they reject your writing. Don’t respond at all in such a case.
• Read their magazine first.
• Submit work that fits with the aesthetic of their magazine. To find out what the aesthetic is, read it!
• Be patient. Sometimes it can be a spell before you hear back from a publisher.
• Don’t paste your submission in the body of an email if they want attachments.
• And, of course, DON’T SEND YOUR SUBMISSION AS AN ATTACHMENT IF THEY WANT IT IN THE BODY OF AN EMAIL 😉

How to avoid making editors displeased? Treat your submission to a magazine or publishing house with the same respect you would take to a job interview. Put your best face forward, do your homework, follow the rules, and you’ll be in the best potential situation for success.

Did I miss anything in this post? What do you think are some of the things to avoid when submitting writing to a publishing house or literary magazine?