Whether you're are an experienced writer or just starting out, having your essay published is an opportunity to showcase your talent and craft to the world. Once you've written an essay and polished it to be in its best form, you can explore the wide range of publishing opportunities that are available. Since the world of publishing is an enormous and complicated place, it's wise to familiarize yourself with some key concepts.
First, determine the market and genre that your essay fits into. For example, if you've penned a personal essay about a life-changing experience, it will fit into a different market than one that is on an academic or literary theory.
Identify the audience that your work will speak the most to. Next, look into the publications or sites that cater towards your genre. Editors will tell you that prior to submitting your piece; it's a good idea to read the previous materials in which they've published in the past.
When you find what could be the future home for your essay, look at their writer's agreement. This will provide you with crucial information like the terms of copyright, payment and more.
Information about terms of copyright, submissions process and payment are found in the contributors guideline sections of different publications.
In the case of writing, the copyright is what gives the author exclusive rights to control the distribution of their work(s). For example, a publication may ask for the first rights of your work after they have accepted your essay.
Later, if the same essay is accepted for publication elsewhere, you may be required to cite the name of the place where your work first appeared.
A publication may also assume the first rights of your work for a specific period of time. The rights of your essay may revert back to you at the time of publication; however they can ask to retain the rights to publish your piece in a later issue or include it in an anthology, without asking your permission or paying you again.
The amount of money you receive for publishing your essay is determined by who publishes it. Some places pay per word or have a flat rate. Others don't offer monetary compensation; they give you a free subscription or a certain amount of copies of the issue in which your work appears.
You decide where you want to see your work published, at what rate, and what kind of copyright is acceptable to you.
Various publications have different submission processes as well. Some will require you to send them a query first. This serves as a proposal of sorts and a description of what you have written or plan to right. Many publications will not consider work that has been previously published or simultaneous submissions. This means that you can only submit the same essay to one place at a time.
When submitting your work, make sure that it meets all of the requirements. This may entail the inclusion of a cover letter, bio and if submitting by mail, an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).
Make sure to follow the guidelines whether you are submitting your work via email or postal. Address it to the appropriate person; different types of work (essays, poetry) tend to have different editors and contacts.
The response time can vary depending on the outlet you choose. Be sure to keep track of all your submissions and the different places that you send your essay.Remember, the publishing market can be very tough, so don't get discouraged if your piece gets rejected. Even the best authors have been turned down on many occasions. Below are some sites that you will find useful and put you on the path of publishing your essay.
A book like "Writer's Market" by Robert Brewer is useful if you plan on submitting essays on a regular basis. The book contains a list of different markets and divides them by genre, submission process, the audience they cater towards, payment and copyright. It also provides recommended links to different sites and organizations that may be helpful to you.
There are various websites that are devoted to helping writers get published. Many of them offer advice and maintain a database of outlets that are currently seeking submissions. They can also provide expert insight into the publishing industry and give you the opportunity to publish your essay on their site. See Resources below.