#139 How to Submit Your Writing to Literary Magazines and Get Published Featuring Dennis James Sweeney

Submitting your work doesn’t have to feel like a mystery. In this episode, Estelle Erasmus is joined by Dennis James Sweeney, author of How to Submit: Getting Your Writing Published with Literary Magazines and Small Presses (New World Library). Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, this conversation offers a grounded and empowering look at how to navigate the literary submission process.

In this episode:

• How to find the right literary magazines and small presses for your work [5:56]

• How platforms like Substack are changing the publishing landscape [7:21]

• The differences between consumer/mainstream and literary publishing [11:15]

• The role of vulnerability, validation, and a curated community [16:16]

• Why positive rejections are invitations, not failures [25:38]

• How to build a submission strategy that makes sense [27:40]

• What makes a cover letter stand out (without overthinking it) [28:22]

• The importance of aligning submissions with the write intention [30:06]

• Creating a joyful writing space [32:55]

Dennis James Sweeney is the author of How to Submit: Getting Your Writing Published with Literary Magazines and Small Presses, a guide for writers. His first book, In the Antarctic Circle, won the Autumn House Rising Writer Prize and was a Debut Poetry Book of 2021 in Poets & Writers. You’re the Woods Too, his second book, was a Small Press Distribution bestseller and a finalist for the Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Prize. Most recently, The Rolodex Happenings won the Stillhouse Press Novella Prize.  Sweeney's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in Ecotone, Ninth Letter, The New York Times, The Southern Review, and Witness, among others. 

 He has an MFA from Oregon State University and a PhD from the University of Denver. Originally from Cincinnati, he lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he teaches at Amherst College.

Connect with Dennis

 Website:  https://www.dennisjamessweeney.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dennisjsweeney

 Substack https://dennisjamessweeney.substack.com/ 

Get How to Submit on Estelle’s Bookshop

https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-submit-publishing-your-writing-with-small-presses-and-literary-magazines/21264529?aid=98827&ean=9781608689361&listref=authors-who-have-appeared-on-freelance-writing-direct 

Podcast Episodes Mentioned

Casey Mulligan Walsh, Episode #137  https://estelleserasmus.com/137-writing-through-rupture-finding-belonging-after-loss-with-casey-mulligan-walsh/

Rachel Kramer Bussel, Episode #128

https://estelleserasmus.com/128-crafting-cathartic-personal-essays-with-rachel-kramer-bussel-of-open-secrets-magazine/

 

Watch Estelle’s TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond

In her widely shared TEDx Talk, Estelle Erasmus reveals how to command attention in a noisy world—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. It’s bold, funny, and packed with real-world strategies for writers who want to be seen and heard.
🎥 Watch, comment, and share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ

About Estelle:
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a “Best Book for Writers” by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer’s Digest and adjunct instructor at NYU, she’s written for over 150 outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine, and has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.