Publishing Submitting Advice

[angiatcokiepop]

Hi all,

Do you all have any submitting advice for publications?

I have soooo many questions. - - - -

Do you only photograph with a white background?

Do you make something completely new?

Do you submit projects already on your blog?

Is there a method you use? Thanks a bunch! ;D

[imcrafty]

I am so glad to see you all getting stuff out there for publication consideration!!

Every publication is different and they usually have their guidelines published on their websites. The only two I submit to are Cards and Paper Crafts. Cards is okay with stuff that has been seen on a blog (you just have to remove it once you get the acceptance notification) but for Paper Crafts it is a no-no. They will only accept brand new stuff that hasn't appeared anywhere online - blog, flickr, challenge site, etc.

I usually make brand new cards for submission but if I have something that I think would be a good fit for a category that month (for example, the Aug Cards issue was looking for "Fashion", "Summer", "Kid's Cards", etc), I'll submit it. I have to keep really good track of where things are posted online just in case they get accepted (why I only, generally, submit net-new stuff.)

You'll see that most want things photographed "straight on with a neutral background" and Paper Crafts won't accept any submissions with a watermark.

I've only had a handful of cards published but they have always been my very best work. Like I told Kim, if you make a card that has that "special something", you'll usually know it. I set those aside and submit them without blogging about them first. You'll know within a week or so of the deadline whether they've been picked up so you can always blog about it quite soon afterward.

I try to submit a couple of things for each call and plan ahead so I have a few things ready a couple days before the deadline. The submission process can be lengthy (Paper Crafts has an online for that takes a while to fill out) so I try not to do it an hour before the deadline.

One last thing - don't get discouraged! I submit every month and have only had a fraction picked up. There was a great article on the Paper Crafts blog a week or so ago about their process. There are a lot of factors that go into what they look for so you can't really take it personally. Just keep honing your craft and try again!

How's that for a novel? This is only my experience and I'd love to hear about others!

[Kimberly Anne]

Well I am obviously a rookie being that this is my first time even submitting, but since it got picked up I will share the experience.

Everything Jen shared is exactly what I did! I looked at the submissions for Cards magazine and saw the August issue has a "Summer Time" theme. Being that I had just recenlty created the card for PCS with a Summer theme, I used the same photo that I had posted on the PCS blog, removed my watermark, and resized it a little smaller so they would be able to open it quickly.

When you submit, you have to include all the products and supplies you used to create your card. Since I always post the supplies I use on my blog, I had the information handy and available for the submission.

My photograph was on a neutral, cream colored background and face on. Although my card was gently angled so you could see the back side opened up just ever so slightly.

The sublission closed on Saturday and I received a response on Wednesday. So it was less than a week before I heard the news that they picked up my card. In their email, they tell you that you must remove any exisitng photos of your card from any blogs, galleries, etc. right away. This took a little group effort because my card was posted in four different blogs! I had to ask everyone to remove it. lol Lucky for me everyone was happy to assist.

Anyway, just like Jen said, it is so cool to hear everyone talk about getting published. I just love how helpful and encouraging everyone has been in the crafting community. They truly are the most friendly folks around!

Go for it, Angi!

[angiatcokiepop]

Great advice. Thanks for all the tips. You guys are so encouraging. That's why I love it here on the team. I'm off to submit.

[emoradesigns]

Great tips! I just recently started submitting and this is super helpful! Thank you!