I can’t really recap how things went with submitting my poetry last year because not all of the submissions have come back with a yes or no yet. I do know from looking over my list that I didn’t submit as much last year as I had in years past. Was part of that due to lack of time or less writing? Both? I do know I had comments come back from quite a few places I submitted to, and some of what I’d consider “big” publishers. Although how to equate what is a “big” publisher versus a small one is somewhat subjective.
One way that Clifford Garstang went about quantifying the issue was to put together a yearly Pushcart list. Stop by his website for more details on his methodology. I have updated where I’m submitting in 2013 based on some of those rankings. I like to mix in print versus online and top tier versus lower tier each year. This isn’t the only way to make a decision about what is a good magazine versus a not so good one. I hate to even use the phrase good because what I enjoy in a lit mag might be very different from the next person.
For example, I finished an issue of Gargoyle recently and I was blown away by the essays and fiction in the magazine, but less so by the poetry. Should I continue submitting there if my poetry may not be a good fit just because of the caliber of the other work in the journal?
I also finished an issue of Kansas City Voices that had a really great variety of artwork, prose, and poetry. I wonder about submitting there? I’m not a Kansas City Voice, but they don’t require that.
How to find where you fit in? I try to read as many journals as I can, and I subscribe to several each year. Although I often have a hard time remembering which ones I have subscribed, too! I have been thinking a lot about this idea of where you fit after watching the documentary Brooklyn Boheme. Wonder what it is like to find that kind of community of like-minded artists to bounce ideas off of? Would I even be able to do that with my tendency towards introversion and constant fear that I’m just not smart enough or good enough to contribute to the conversation?
Then again, I heard Neil Gaiman say recently that that fear of not being good enough doesn’t go away. It reappears with each new project.
And, I say that is a good thing. I think if you think you are too good you are in danger of not trying new things.
One of the hardest things for me is deciding whether or not to keep submitting to places that I’ve tried numerous times with no success, and whether to continue submitting to places that have published my work before but are “smaller” journals.
The “career” side of the poetry world is a whole other conversation, but it is on my mind a lot lately. Perhaps I’ll revisit that again.
How do you decide where to send your work?
Sometimes its obvious from reading publications what they are looking for in a submission, other times it isn’t. If I like how a publication looks and like the poetry or relate to the whole concept of the publication, I often send work. I am sure there is a better way to choose Not sure what that is. I feel looking for the right publication is like looking for a needle in a haystack! Continuing to send work with no success, I guess, is about how much you want to be published in a magazine. Some people submit for years and finally get their work accepted.
Someone I know posted on Facebook that after 13 years (probably once a year submitting) they finally got into Hayden’s Ferry Review. That would be like a dream! It used to be that I had more poems to submit so sometimes I sent things willy nilly. Now I’ve kind of narrowed down what I like to send out so I’m mainly sending to places I actually read. It really is old advice, but still the best: submit to places you like to read!
After 13 years of submitting to one mag I’d say that poet deserves an acceptance or an award! That is one determined person.
Or a medal!
Hey Jessie,
This is an excellent subject to explore and excellent information. Thanks for the links and suggestions! I use a similar sort of process as you;however, I have concentrated for a long while now on electronic submission and about half of my work in online publications. I think your balanced approach makes sense. I end up with some like a three pronged approach–15% top tier; 70% mid range journals that I think have a reading audience who would like my voice and style; 15% everything else.
I submitted like a crazy person in 2011 – 2012; nothing yet this year. I got lots of rejections and have a few things out, but I found it discouraging, which means I just needed a break to find my way back to a writer’s perspective–finding the audience for your work as an act of gambling or fishing, whichever metaphor you prefer. I am now preparing (fearfully) a manuscript to submit to one contest that I think is a target audience. Hopefully I’ll “hit.”
Melissa.
Oh the whole submitting full length manuscripts is its own daunting task! Good luck with that
I like your selection of metaphors because there are so many to choose from. It does feel like a game and/or a crap shoot.
I like your approach. I was doing 50-50 on online versus print, but last year I did a lot of online journals. This year I do have a lot of print on the list because there are many I read an admire. Weird that there are a lot of online journals to submit to, but actually very few that I spend a lot of time reading. I think it is all depends on how they present the material. If it is a weekly pub or someone who puts up a small issue I’m likely to read it, but if they put out a once a month (or quarterly) issue with a ton of stuff I’m not going to read much of it. That’s what I want out of a print journal not an online.
I too, really like this post about submitting and how it can be subjective to each person, what are ‘good’ places and bad. I’m not much of a submitter, mostly due to the fact that what I’m writing is just not for most places. And I’m okay with that right now. I did eventually get too discouraged to send work to a few places that I was determined to keep trying at. oops. One was for children and I kind of miss writing those kind of things now, so maybe I’ll pick it back up this year.
Thanks Jessie!
It is good when you acknowledge that your work may not be a fit for a particular place. I think that is hard for some people to accept which can lead them to even more frustration.
The quote from Neil fits so perfectly…I have great excuses and maybe should peddle them
The Book of Great Excuses by ….