Ginger: First, thanks for all the positive feedback about Erato. We are only truly successful if we expand the base of people interested in formal poetry, so converts like you are a mark of success.
Your first submission is always daunting, but if the people whose opinion you respect think you should try it, you should go for it--if only because it is part of raising the bar on yourself as a writer so you write better stuff.
First, do careful research about where to submit. Poets & Writers is helpful, if initially overwhelming, as a place to start. After you have a prospect list, check out as many of the journals as you can. Libraries and some bookstores carry many of them, and most journals will let you buy one copy as a sample. For formal poetry, The Formalist and The Hudson review are probably too competitive for your first few submissions, but I would look hard at The Lyric as a place to start--it publishes superb work by people like Rhina Espaillat, Deborah Warren and Tom Riley on a regular basis, but it also publishes a ton of newcomers. Look also at the subject matter of your piece and think about journals that only publish on that subject--it's much less competitive. I've published health-related poems a couple times in the Journal of the American Medical Association (circulation of 360,000 compared to something closer to 360 for the typical literary journal). I also did an accounting journal once. Len Krisak did a volleyball newsletter. Theme issues, which are sometimes hard to find out about, are also often less competitive.
Professionalism counts. A brief, polite, neatly typed cover letter is important, and always send a self addressed stamped envelope. Many journals do not accept in the summer--Poets & Writers can help you with that. Never hassle an editor about a delay or a rejection--running a magazine is tough and they face an avalanche of mail each day.
Best of luck! We'll look for you in "The Accomplished Members"!
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