TL;DR

• The Apprentice Writer publishes original research by young writers and scholars.

• Submissions require original work, proper formatting, and a cover letter.

• Review timelines vary; expect several weeks before a decision.

• Rejection is common at first; revision and resubmission are normal steps.

• Choosing the right journal before you write saves significant time later.

You finished your paper. You spent weeks on the research, the drafts, the citations. Now you want to know if it is good enough to publish. That question is the right one to ask, and the fact that you are asking it puts you ahead of most students your age.

The Apprentice Writer is one of the journals that publishes work by young researchers and writers. It is not the only one, but it is a real destination for students who want their work read beyond the classroom. Understanding how to submit to it, and what happens after you do, is the practical knowledge most students never get.

This guide walks through the full submission process, from checking whether your paper fits the journal to what to do if the answer comes back as a rejection. Every stage matters.

What The Apprentice Writer publishes and who it is for

The Apprentice Writer is a student literary and academic journal that accepts original work from young writers, typically at the high school level. It publishes essays, research writing, and literary work that demonstrates independent thinking and clear argumentation. If your paper is a personal essay, a research argument, or a piece of analytical writing, it may fit the journal's scope.

Before you prepare a single file, read the journal's current submission guidelines in full. Guidelines change between cycles. What was true last year may not be true now. The journal's official website is always the authoritative source. No blog post, including this one, replaces that.

Ask yourself three questions before you move forward. First, does your topic fall within the subjects the journal covers? Second, does your word count fall within the range they accept? Third, is your work entirely original and previously unpublished? If all three answers are yes, you are ready to prepare your submission.

Students who are also exploring peer-reviewed journals for STEM or social science research may find the guide on how to submit a research paper to a peer-reviewed journal useful alongside this one, since the underlying logic of the submission process is similar across publication types.

How to format your paper before you submit to The Apprentice Writer

Formatting is not a minor detail. Editors notice when a submission does not follow their stated requirements, and poorly formatted papers are often returned without review. Follow the journal's formatting instructions precisely, including font, spacing, margin size, and citation style.

Most student journals ask for a clean manuscript with no identifying information in the document itself. This is because many use blind review, where the reviewer does not know who wrote the paper. Your name, school, and contact details typically go into a separate cover letter or submission form, not inside the document.

Here is a standard preparation sequence for submitting to a student journal like The Apprentice Writer:

1. Read the submission guidelines from the journal's current website in full, not a summary from another source.

2. Remove all identifying information from the manuscript file if the journal uses blind review.

3. Check word count against the stated minimum and maximum.

4. Confirm your citation format matches what the journal requires, whether that is MLA, APA, Chicago, or another style.

5. Write a short cover letter that states your name, the title of your work, your school year, and a one-sentence description of what the piece argues or explores.

6. Save your files in the format the journal accepts, usually .doc, .docx, or .pdf.

7. Submit through the journal's official submission portal or email address, not through a third party.

If you are considering posting your work online before submitting, read about what a preprint is and whether you should upload before submitting, because some journals will not accept work that has already been made publicly available.

What happens after you submit to The Apprentice Writer: how to submit and then wait well

After submission, you wait. This is the part no one prepares students for. Most journals, including student publications, take several weeks to respond. Some take longer. During this time, do not send follow-up emails asking for a status update unless the journal's guidelines specifically say when it is appropriate to do so.

Use the waiting period productively. Start your next piece. Revise an older paper. Research other journals where your work might also be a good fit. Having more than one potential destination for your work is not disloyal to any journal. It is good practice. Just remember that simultaneous submission, sending the same paper to multiple journals at the same time, is not always permitted. Check the policy before you do it. The question of whether you can submit the same paper to two journals has a specific answer that depends on each journal's rules.

If you want structured support while preparing your submission, Publication Compass is building a platform that helps student researchers identify the right journals for their work and prepare their papers for submission.

When a decision arrives, it will typically be one of three things: an acceptance, a rejection, or a request for revisions. All three are normal outcomes. None of them define your ability as a researcher or writer.

How to handle rejection and revise for resubmission

Rejection from a student journal does not mean your paper is without value. It means the paper did not fit that journal's needs at that moment. Editors reject strong work for reasons that have nothing to do with quality, including topic overlap with recently published pieces, word count constraints, or a theme mismatch for a particular issue.

When you receive a rejection, follow this sequence:

1. Read any feedback the editor provided. Student journals do not always give detailed notes, but when they do, treat those notes as a resource.

2. Wait at least 24 hours before you respond or revise. Distance from the disappointment leads to clearer thinking.

3. Identify whether the feedback points to a structural problem, an argument problem, or a fit problem. Each requires a different response.

4. Revise the paper based on what you learned, even if you plan to submit it elsewhere rather than resubmit to the same journal.

5. Research your next target journal before you resubmit. A paper that did not fit one journal may be exactly right for another.

Students who want to explore other journals that publish high school research can look at detailed guides for publications like the Journal of Student Research or the Curieux Academic Journal, both of which accept student submissions across a range of disciplines.

Revision after rejection is not starting over. It is the normal path that published researchers follow. The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which sets standards for academic publishing conduct, recognises revision and resubmission as a core part of the scholarly process, not an exception to it.

Building a submission strategy beyond a single journal

Submitting to one journal and waiting is a slow strategy. Students who publish regularly think about their work in terms of a submission pipeline. They identify two or three journals where a paper might fit, understand the sequential submission rules of each, and plan their timeline accordingly.

For a paper that fits The Apprentice Writer's literary and essay focus, consider also looking at journals that publish student humanities and social science writing. For STEM-oriented work, journals like the STEM Fellowship Journal serve a different but overlapping audience of student researchers.

Publication Compass is designed to help with exactly this kind of strategic thinking. The platform helps researchers match their work to appropriate journals and prepares them for the submission process, without replacing the intellectual work of the research itself.

A submission strategy does not need to be complicated. It needs to be intentional. Know your paper's argument. Know the journals that publish work like it. Know the timeline each journal operates on. Work within those constraints rather than against them.

Frequently asked questions about The Apprentice Writer: how to submit

Does The Apprentice Writer charge a submission fee?

Many student journals do not charge submission fees, but policies vary and can change between submission cycles. Always check the journal's current guidelines directly on their official website before submitting. Do not rely on third-party summaries for fee information, as these may be outdated.

Can high school students outside the United States submit to The Apprentice Writer?

Most student journals that publish in English accept submissions from international students, but eligibility criteria differ by publication. Review the journal's submission guidelines for any geographic restrictions. If none are stated, international submissions are typically welcome.

How long does The Apprentice Writer take to respond to submissions?

Response times for student journals typically range from a few weeks to several months, depending on submission volume and review cycles. The journal's submission guidelines usually state an expected timeline. If no timeline is given, a follow-up after eight to ten weeks is generally considered reasonable.

What should a cover letter for a student journal include?

A cover letter for a student journal should include your name, the title of your submission, your current school year or grade, and one to two sentences describing what your paper argues or explores. Keep it under 150 words. Do not summarise the entire paper. Let the work speak for itself.

Is it acceptable to submit to The Apprentice Writer and another journal at the same time?

Simultaneous submission is permitted by some journals and prohibited by others. Check the submission guidelines of every journal you are considering before sending your paper to more than one at a time. Submitting to two journals that prohibit simultaneous submission is a violation of their policies and can affect your standing with both publications.

The next step after reading this guide

The submission process for The Apprentice Writer follows a clear sequence: confirm your paper fits the journal's scope, format it to their exact specifications, write a focused cover letter, submit through the correct channel, and then use the waiting period to keep working. If the answer is a rejection, revise and move to the next journal on your list. That is the full cycle, and it is repeatable.

The students who get published are not always the ones who wrote the best first draft. They are the ones who understood the process and kept submitting. Start with the guidelines, follow the steps, and treat every submission as a step forward regardless of the outcome. For more guidance on the publication process and journal options for student researchers, visit the Publication Compass blog.