I dabble. I've studies poetry and tend to write in forms. I think it's good for the brain to be able to correctly write a sestina or whatever. I do read poetry often, but have never published any. I'm not really aiming to be a poet, but when I write it I do put a good amount of time into each poem and revise quite a bit. Sometimes I think I've got something good. Poetry Magazine would disagree.
A 418-day no response/rejection from n+1. They only respond if interested and I've probably waited long enough to say for sure this is a rejection.
We are days away from the big submission season... I've got three new stories I feel pretty good about and like five or six I don't quite feel are ready. But I'm working on them. Are there any other submitters gearing up for fall? On Sept. 1 duotrpoe will list all the places reopening their submission period. Happy to help anyone looking for markets.
If I can get stuff finished I'm going to give it a try. See what happens over the next couple of weeks.
I queried a few places to check on some old submissions that are still pending. This is sort of against my better judgement, but we'll see what happens. The thing is that if these stories are going to be rejected, I want to try them with newer stuff and don't want to miss the submission windows. One of these I want so badly to work out. I keep seeing their responses on duotrope, and my story has been out there so much longer. It always makes me wonder if I've somehow been forgotten or something. I know that's unlikely. Hopefully, something good is going on. Most likely it's being held while they see what else comes in this fall. I don't really like being in the maybe category. Of course, if it works out, than it's more than worth it. But I hate making it close for nothing. That always stings a little.
Happy submission season! I meant to post this yesterday but didn't get a chance. Here's some of the places that reopened for submissions on Sept. 1. These are only places that have just reopened their submission periods. There are other places open and places that stay open year round. Those are not included. There are also more than on this list. And some more publications will open throughout the fall. But here are some of the ones I try to keep an eye on and maybe some others that I don't know too much about, but I think what I've included on this list are at least places worth checking out. Some of them aren't open for very long. Check websites and publishing guidelines. Some of these places have submission fees or charge fees for their contests. Some of them pay their writers with money and others send contributor copies. I've divided those journals into two categories for the regular journal and magazine submissions. Still, this is a rough list of the places I plan to submit or look into a little more or thought might be helpful for some of you. If you want more information on any of these places, you can find details on duotrope (I think you can just click on them and it will bring you to a duotrope page. I know you can't see everything without an account so not sure how much detail is there for nonsubscriber.) or ask me here or through a DM and I will share what I know about them. Wishing everyone a lot of luck sending their stories out. Magazines and Journals (paying markets) Crazyhorse The Arkansas International Nashville Review Copper Nickel The Cincinnati Review Sycamore Review 50-Word Stories Southwest Review Willow Springs Southern Indiana Review Gulf Coast Ninth Letter ZYZZYVA Bellevue Literary Review New England Review Antioch Review Indiana Review Grain Magazine The Southern Review The Iowa Review AGNI The Gettysburg Review Five Points Split Lip Magazine Typehouse Literary Magazine Minerva Rising One Story (opens Sept. 3) Journals and Magazines (non-paying) The Normal School The Normal School Weekly Online Magazine The Common The Sewanee Review Passages North Booth Hot Metal Bridge The Columbia Review The Southampton Review (not sure about payment) Crack the Spine: The Year Anthology Breakwater Review The Brooklyn Review Notre Dame Review (not sure about payment) The Hudson Review New Mexico Review Contests Witness Annual Literary Awards Room Magazine Short Forms Contest The End of Our World Short Story Contest via Aftermath Online Magazine The Raven Short Story Contest via PULP Literature The Press 53 Award for Short Fiction via Press 53 (for short story collection) Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook Contest via Omnidawn The Black River Chapbook Competition via Black Lawrence Press Commonwealth Short Story Prize Book Publishers Penguin Random House Australia
I spent a little over $30 (maybe even more than $40) making submissions recently. I hate that so many places charge a fee to submit now. It's only $3 to $5, but it adds up quick. I had to stop myself before I go even more broke. Selling even one story will make up for the cost of all this, but I know most of my responses will be rejections. I sent my best story to ten places. That was the the bulk of my submission sending. Most stories I've sold have been rejected many more times than ten. But the last story I sold was rejected more than 50 times, before it sold. I've got at least two stories I believe will get picked up out of the four new ones I just put on submission. I've got a few more new ones, but they're just not where I want them to be yet. More publications will continue to open their reading periods throughout the fall so I'm trying to get at least one more really ready. For other submitters, how much do you spend on submissions? There are still really great places that don't charge anything. You can always submit to The New Yorker for free. But there are places I really want to break into that do charge so I don't really see a way around it. I've tried emailing a few place to see if they would drop the fee for me, but I've never gotten a response back from any of those emails. Are any of you jumping into the submission season, paying or not paying submission fees? I know that this is the work I after to do now to make money that will come in months or maybe a year from now. It's all part of the process. Wishing all the submitter the best. One more thing -- Duotrope has a lot of interviews with editors at these publications. I think this can really help when deciding what to send where. I believe you need a subscription to read the interviews, but you might be able to find other interviews doing a google search. If anyone needs help with this, feel free to message me. I've become a smarter submitter, and it has made a big difference. Still, I don't think it's too much to send a story out to several places at a time, given that's allowed and the places would be a good fit for your work.
Hello all, it's been a while -- postgraduate exams placed my writing career on an inadvertent hiatus for a while there, but I've back in the game having gone on a manic submission spree with material I've written anywhere from the last few weeks to six years ago. I've got some publications this year, the last time I was published was in June I think. So I hope to keep the momentum up. I should be hearing from a journal I really want to get published in shortly so that is exciting. I've also started pitching non-fiction articles to journals and one of international repute has asked for a full draft of my proposed essay which is an extremely exciting prospect. I just have to write it now, haha. For everyone who is awaiting a response from me, I haven't forgotten you and will get back to you in due course. Good to see you're still grinding away and keeping the dream alive. This thread is a constant source of motivation and inspiration for me.
It's all going to depend on the publisher and their plans for it. Also, do a little research on the publisher before entering. A chapbook is something you can usually submit without an agent. Sure, you won't get the big prize money, just something to keep in mind. But I believe, from what I've seen, the range tends to be between $10 and $30 entry fee for this sort of contest.
Or maybe you're asking how many poems? I think most places that publish chapbooks expect between 30 and 50 pages of work. How many poems that breaks down to would depend on your poetry.
Ya, I'd probably be looking at twenty to thirty-five poems so (I tend to err on the minimalist side of things). Thanks! Might be a little while longer before I submit then, I only want to submit to a chapbook contest if all of the poems are previously published.
That's fie for collection, but I think it might be a little different for chapbooks. This might not be true for all places, but the one publisher that I've been in contact with about a chapbook wants unpublished material. I have only talked to the publisher about a fiction chapbook. I had always thought chapbooks were for poetry, but I'm seeing more want to put out fiction chapbooks too. I have a close friend who is also a writer and much more successful than I am. She was in talks with a publisher about a chapbook. Her agent was the one who told her to back out because if your chapbook doesn't do well, it doesn't look that good to some publishers you might want to sell something full-book length, and she doesn't want to risk anything when it comes to her novel which is currently being shopped around by her agent. I don't have an agent or a novel ready to even show anyone. So, if things work out, I will go forward with a chapbook. I really like the small press that would put mine out. We've been talking, but I haven't sent in anything yet. However, this publisher is aware of my work and did approach me about it. I also have no idea how much money a writer makes off a chapbook. I don't imagine it's very much at all. But I think it kind of cool.
Chapbook? I did look that up, kind of a pamphlet over here. Not sure you could make money from that could you? Wouldn't it be better to put together a collection of shorts to make a small book?
The thing is that places that publish chapbooks still buy rights. I believe it's just a set amount regardless of how the chapbook does. And I imagine that it's a similar amount to what you would sell a story for, but I'm sort of guessing with that. Anyway, I don't have anyone asking me for a collection. I do have someplace that might put out one of these little pamphlets with my work. And it's a place a would like to be associated with. Anyone can self publish anything, but that's not what it's about for me. I'm not sure, maybe a lot of places don't even pay you when they put out a chapbook. But who puts it out might matter a bit if you are trying to get recognized more.
That's fair enough but I actually wasn't thinking about, I was thinking about the writers that put together several of their shorts and get it published. I'm reading an writer called Ken Liu who does that. Of course you could do it either conventionally or digitally, depends on what you want. But Liu, and Chiang, they do it conventionally as far as I know.
You could still publish the story or stories from a chapbook in a collection. You would just have to mention where it was first published like any other story. I think the whole chapbook thing for fiction is kind of new (new to me). But there is a journal called One Story which has been publishing one story at a time basically in chapbook form. And they seem to be doing well and have been around a long time.
I have forgotten what a chapbook is. Wasn't it some kind of 'not book,' yet a book nonetheless said the author/prose-poet surrounded by his so many critics: 'That's not a book!' 'It is a chap-book!' 'Pathetic! How many sales?' 'SIXt... ... ...een...and, and, and how many books have you sold? Aha...I win.'
You might actually want to give One Story a try. They look for stories that can hold their own in a way I think yours do. They are open now and there is no fee to submit. I think they pay around $500. There's a lot of competition, but I'm thinking about one of your stories I read that I've never been able to forget. I'll message you, but I think it's worth a try with them. I was a subscriber for years. I sort of love One Story. They've put out some pretty cool stuff.
