If you want to get something published in print, do NOT post any of it online -- here or on a blog or on a Web site of any type. Publishers count that as being published. E-mailing your work to a friend for, say, proofreading and editing help, is okay.

Make sure your writings ("pieces") are grammatically correct with correct spelling and punctuation before you submit them anywhere.

Warning: Your first pieces might get published, but you might not get much (or any) money for them. That's okay. The publishing of any of your work means you have been "approved" by the print world, and you are building up credits or clippings as they are called. My first non-fiction article earned me only $100, but that gave me a "name" and the start of a good reputation, so that I earned thousands of dollars later in advances and royalties when I published other non-fiction stuff. And I've gotten stories published, yet didn't earn a cent. That's okay. I now have a good "name" or "brand." Future publishers know they can count on me for good writing. That's what you want in the world of publishing--a good reputation, a solid brand.

If you start submitting to literary magazines, there are many of them to check out. You may want to request sample copies or even subscribe or go to your public library to get some through interlibrary loan if your library doesn't own them. Some literary magazines will be a better fit for your work than will others. For instance, you won't want to send a horror poem to a literary magazine for new parents or to one that publishes cooking stories (unless you are horrified that you burned the meatloaf).

The same is true for submission to ANY magazine. The fit with your writing is extremely important! Check out the magazine first by reading about it in Writer's Market or at the magazine's Web site, and even take the time to get your hands on a real copy/issue. Follow the writer's and submission guidelines online or in Writer's Market.

If you need more help or have questions, please post on the Writing board. Best wishes!

ADDED -- When looking for a publisher, remember, it depends on what you are writing. I wouldn't send my family cookie recipes to a fashion magazine or ask a publisher of children's books to publish my book on how to make wine.

During a year's time, I wrote two articles about autism and approached an autism magazine to publish them (which they did). A magazine on parenting might have accepted them too, but I didn't try that.

Many publishers prefer to publish books on certain topics. That's the first thing to research--who publishes what.

The current edition of Writer's Market is what you need to look at to identify some publishers that might publish what you wrote. Your public library should have that book. Then you need to put together a terrific, well-edited proposal and direct it to a specific editor at an appropriate publisher.