How to withdraw a submission politely

Why withdrawal etiquette matters

When a magazine's editor decides to publish your piece, they may be about to offer a slot in their next issue, send you a contract, and move on to the next one. If it turns out the piece was accepted elsewhere a week ago and you didn't withdraw, their effort is wasted. A frustrated editor is unlikely to read your next submission kindly. In extreme cases — rare, but possible — a late withdrawal can lead to a rescinded acceptance from the first magazine.

Prompt withdrawal is the main courtesy sim-submitting writers owe. Done right, it takes two minutes.

The three reasons to withdraw

1. Acceptance elsewhere

The most common reason. As soon as one magazine accepts your piece, withdraw from every other magazine currently holding it. Same day if possible. If not same day, within a day or two.

2. Changed your mind about the piece

You've revised it significantly, you've realized the piece isn't right for this magazine, or you've decided the piece isn't working and want to take it back to your desk. Fine. Withdraw cleanly.

3. Life changes

You're not submitting anymore for a while, or for other reasons you want to clear your submission queue. Uncommon, but acceptable. Withdraw cleanly.

How to withdraw: Submittable and similar portals

Most literary magazines use Submittable. On your Submissions page, each active submission has a "Withdraw" link or button. Click it. Some portals will prompt you to add a short note. A single line is fine:

This piece has been accepted elsewhere. Thank you for your time and consideration.

If the magazine uses a different portal (Moksha, CLMP, direct-form submission), the mechanism is similar. Look for a withdraw option. If there isn't one, email the submissions address.

How to withdraw: email

If the magazine accepts email submissions, either reply to the original submission email or send a new email to the submissions address with a clear subject line. Suggested subject lines:

• Withdrawal: "The Last Light" — Alex Morgan
• Withdrawing submission: [submission reference number]

A working body:

Dear Editors,

I'm writing to withdraw my short story "The Last Light," submitted on [date], from your consideration. The piece has been accepted elsewhere. Thank you very much for your time.

Best,
Alex Morgan

Short version (also acceptable)

Please withdraw my story "The Last Light" (submitted [date]) from consideration — it has been accepted elsewhere. Thank you.

When you're not withdrawing because of acceptance

Dear Editors,

I'm writing to withdraw my short story "The Last Light," submitted on [date]. I apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your time.

Best,
Alex Morgan

You do not owe a reason for withdrawing beyond this. "Please withdraw this piece from consideration" is a complete sentence. Don't over-explain.

What not to do

• Don't not withdraw. Leaving a piece out to other magazines after it's been accepted is the single biggest etiquette failure in sim-subs. Withdraw.
• Don't wait for the accepting magazine to publish before withdrawing elsewhere. Withdraw the day you accept the offer. Publication can be months away, and in the meantime another magazine might accept the same piece — at which point you have a real problem.
• Don't name the accepting magazine. Not your withdrawal's business. "Accepted elsewhere" is all the information the other magazines need.
• Don't apologize excessively. One "thank you" is plenty. Long apologetic emails come across as over-the-top and waste editors' time.
• Don't pitch your next piece in the withdrawal email. The withdrawal is not a promotional opportunity. Keep it separate.
• Don't resubmit the piece later as if it were new. If the piece has been meaningfully revised and the magazine allows resubmissions, fine — but disclose that it was previously submitted. Stealth resubmissions get noticed.

When you forget

If you realize weeks later that you forgot to withdraw a piece from a magazine, withdraw now, with a brief apology:

Dear Editors,

I apologize for the late notice — I should have written sooner. "The Last Light," submitted on [date], was accepted elsewhere. Please withdraw it from your consideration, with my thanks.

Best,
Alex Morgan

Editors understand human error. A late withdrawal is not great, but a late withdrawal with a clean apology is much better than no withdrawal at all.

A small note on feelings

The first time you get to send a withdrawal-because-of-acceptance email, it feels good. It should. This is the easy etiquette: a two-minute email that is a side effect of the best news a writer can get in a given week. Do it quickly and well, and the next editor who reads your work for the first time will be reading a submission from a writer who is known — if only to themselves — as someone who handles the administrative parts of publishing like a professional.