What you need to submit your writing for publication in a literary magazine
Let’s just pretend this is the exact predicament you are in: You’ve gotten really serious about your poetry recently, and finally feel like you have a small base of poems (at very least 5, though you can start submitting with as few as 3) that you feel are publishable, and you’re feeling lucky, punk. You should be at least mildly familiar with the journal you’re submitting to. Most literary publications have a website, and the majority of them have sample poems from recent issues. You’d be surprised what some people consider good poetry. That goes both ways, either it’s so weird or unintelligible, or it’s more plainspoken/prosey than an anecdote told at the bar after last call. There’s definitely a home for both in the various literary magazine world. Anyway, you have the faith in your work, and a thick enough skin to accept the inevitable string of rejections. There are very few stories that involve “published on first submission” that didn’t involve some sort of nepotism. The physical items you need are as follows:
9×12 Manila envelopes. Most drug stores sell 3 or 5 packs for a couple bucks. If you think you’ll remain serious about writing, I suggest you make a trip to an Office Depot or Staples or some other big chain of office supply stores. I just got a 100 pack at Staples for $7.29 so it won’t exactly break
the bank.
Business sized envelopes. Every submission needs an SASE.
Stamp. OK, here’s the breakdown. Your SASE gets a $.41 stamp, a submission of 7 sheets of paper (don’t forget to include your cover letter in that count) and your SASE is one $.41 stamp, and one $.17 stamp. If your submission is more than 13 pages you need to add another $.17 stamp. If the submission is more than 19 pages add another $.17 stamp. You can usually get the $.17 stamps, as well as the $.41 stamps from a post 
office’s little stamp vending machine After that rates go up quite a bit. Consult USPS about it. There’s a postage calculator there, just add an ounce for every 6 pages.
Poet’s Market. OK, this is more of a strong suggestion. I haven’t had a chance to see 2008, but 2006 has almost everything that the 2007 has, minus a couple journals you can find on duotrope.com (which is a tremendous resource once you get used to the whole process) and when you get the slightly older version you get it for under $2.50 instead of $25. If money is not an issue, go here and get the brand spanking new version. The reason I suggest Poet’s market so strongly is they have great stuff like sample cover letters, round table conversations with editors, clear categorizations, and it’s all in the same place, and one you can have on the coffee table to read on South Park commercial breaks.
OK, to summarize, a typical submission (of mine at least, because I generally write one page poems) includes:
1 9×12 manila envelope with one $.41 stamp and one $.17 stamp.
1 SASE (business sized envelope and $.41 stamp)
1 Cover letter with some sort of proof that you’re familiar with the magazine, if applicable. If you flip through a journal at Barnes and Noble even, and liked a poem or story, try to remember that in case you submit. Editors like to know that the people who submit care, even just a little bit, about those struggling to put new journals and books into the world.
5 poems, usually one 2-pager and four 1-pagers. If I think that two 2-page poems would fit the magazine especially well, I may include another one or two of the two page poems that don’t get submitted quite as often. If you write more specialized stylistic stuff that has more of a specific audience, then definitely spring on the extra $.17 stamp to send the poems that are most appropriate.
Other things in formatting of individual poems: Make sure to have your address and phone number (and email if you want to be really hip) on all of your poems and your cover letter. If a poem is more than one page, be sure you have page numbers at least… some editors say they want a header to pages with “continued from” then the last line on the first page. Some say not to staple submissions.
Also, you need to track your submissions. What poems go to what magazine, when is helpful, and what its status is (don’t delete the rejected submissions so you can make sure you don’t accidentally submit the same poem to the same journal twice). This way if a submission’s been at a journal for well after the response time quoted on the website (or in Poet’s Market) you can send an email to the editors with all the information to make their lives easier.
Be sure to check out the journal’s website for specific instructions they may have. For instance, Blue Mesa Review needs 2 copies of each poem with no personal info on them, but only in a cover letter. Concho River Review doesn’t like to get manila envelopes, and prefers folded submissions in a regular business size. The website is also the best place to find out the current position on simultaneous submissions. Hope this helps you with your first submission and thereafter. Soon I’ll have some sample cover letter and submission tracking sheet to help.