Dearest reader and writer friends,
I’ve had quite a few requests for the how I got into the NYT Tiny Love Stories column. I decided to put all the information in one place. I hope this helps.
Xoxo,
Me ❤️
My Process
*Caveat - this information is not a guarantee of success or publication. This is just how I did it. Everyone who's submitted has a different story.*
I have been an avid reader of Tiny Love Stories for years. I had a dream goal to one day write my own. I had no idea how to get my love stories into a 100 words or less. I was determined to do it though and I saw my writerly peers doing it, so I knew it was possible.
I'm part of a community of writers and they have all been generous with how they did it, but I noticed a trend- every how was different. And every Tiny Love Story was wildly different.
Over the course of the last 2 years I've submitted several TLS pieces. And never received a response. I took a break from submitting and relooked at what I was doing wrong. I shelved my dream for a few months.
A few weeks ago, after having just completed a writing intensive with
, I had an AHA moment. During the intensive I learned how to constrain myself, how to start writing using the outside world which helps me express my inner world. (I’m not doing this lesson any justice here, so go subscribe to her and you'll see what I’m talking about.)All of this to say- I failed a lot in my attempts and I finally understood why.
I went back through some of the TLS posts from past writers and a thread emerged. Each TLS was a scene, a vignette, a snapshot of a moment infused with a larger emotional story behind it. Distilled into 100 words.
AHA! Moment. Stolen butter knife meets stolen time and memory.
My Decision to Submit
On a whim after my AHA moment I decided to try again. I didn't have anything to lose and my confidence was up, so why not?
I went back to my google search of “how to submit a tiny love story” and up popped the link to their page with the submission portal.1 I’d written my piece in Word and knew it was within the 100 words- 86 to be exact. I read it over and over again making sure it was coherent and impactful and conveyed what I wanted.
I filled out my information. Copied and pasted my piece into the box that also counts the words. I found three pictures that I felt were high quality and fit the story and attached them in their respective places.
Took a deep breath and hit submit. My gut said this was it. My brain said even if it’s not, good for you for trying again!
My acceptance
Day 7 rolled around and I had nearly forgotten I’d submitted. I saw the editor Miya Lee’s name appear in my inbox and I set my phone down. I was in shock. I took another breath and opened it.
She thanked me for submitting, she really liked it, and could she have a few more details for her edit!
I responded right away and waited. This was on a Thursday 6/20. I sent a follow up question on Friday 6/21 and waited.
Monday afternoon she responded with final edits and let me know it would be published the following day, Tuesday 6/25. She messaged me around 8 am on Tuesday to let me know it would go live around 3 pm EST. I thanked her a million times and told her how much I appreciated her, she was so kind throughout the whole process.
I heard from her as soon as it dropped, she sent me the link and told me she’d let me know if it would be in the print version.
And that’s it.
My piece2 dropped and I shared it everywhere.
Keep Going
I hope this helped. My turn around time to acceptance was a little faster than some and a little slower than others. And you definitely won't hear back if it’s a no. But keep going. Keep trying. And get yourself a writing community. If it wasn't for my writerly peers in multiple places I wouldn't have taken the chances I did.
I have to admit I was slightly hesitant to share my how, only because in the end I didn't want to be the “here’s how to do it and be successful.” I didn't want the perceived pressure of “responsibility” for another's success. But I have realized that I was an ass for overthinking that, i’m not responsible for anything anyone does. I can at the very least share the experience and information with you and you can do whatever you like with it!
I hope it helps some and that you keep going. Write and write and write some more.
Feel free to share your thoughts below and please share any publishing stories you have! I’m curious about your experiences too.
Thanks as always for being here. I’m so close to my goal of 20 paid subscribers (just one more to go)! If you're finding value here please consider upgrading to paid. Currently every recent piece is free, only archived content is paywalled now and a few other pieces for a series I am working on. Just know that every little bit helps me keep this going!! Appreciate you very much. Take care and lots of love to you! ❤️
Here is the link to the portal: Submit your Tiny Love Story here
Link to my piece - Accidental Thief (towards the bottom of page): Read me here- Accidental Thief gifted article
Thanks for so generously sharing your process, Mesa! You’ve inspired me to try. Now I just have to figure out what to write. ❤️
Mesa, this is amazing!! I would love to add your TLS to the big beautiful archive of published work by WITD writers if you're okay with it. Let me know! xoxoxo