Oh wow, thank you for the very comprehensive reply. This breaks it down very clearly and I am grateful thank you took the time to do so! And yes, I'm interested in what magazines you found success with! I think I'd like to get my feet wet with tier 4, but I also want to aim high (tier2-3) if you have any suggestions ?
I know I should try and do my own research on where to publish, but so far it feels pretty intimidating. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start looking for literary sites to publish?
I ended up submitting to a contest in Vocal+ but got rejected and it made me second guess everything even when I told myself rejection will be big deal. Plus I'm not even sure if Vocal+ is a reputable publishing platform anyway...
As others have said, reading is the only thing I feel capable of doing as I wait to hear back in March.