thank you for the answer, your explanation is cogent, logical, and rational--and as a beginning, mature writer many of the practises in the publishing world are not obvious. There's a million things we all need to understand and if you've been out of the ballpark for a while, then the internal workings of a lit mag are mysterious. even this subtsack thing is weird to navigate for those unfamiliar. all i can say is thank you thank you thank you for this and will be reading as much as i can to try to get up to speed. and many thanks for sharing your experience about training editors and the dangers of some who seek to re-write poems that aren't theirs. my wife experienced this and she is still now reticent to write poetry and i feel bad because i was the one who told her to actually open up and share her personal poems of growing up in New York--so you bet that the editors can make or break a journal! thank you again for the very fine job you are doing and we appreciate your efforts very much. thank you.
I'm so sorry to hear about your wife's rough — and unfair — experience. My hope is she'll be able to set it aside and return to writing poems for herself even if not to share with us.
editors have a lot of power to either make or break writers at every level, whether it be high stakes poetry journals or tiny personal publications. some don't understand that and others understand it only too well. for many editors, these pursuits are done for love not money. from the roughly 30 months that i have been submitting for publication, the vast majority of editors and readers have been professional and courteous. but to be blunt, government funding models for journals in canada seem to be a problem and sadly power trips and cronyism and 'buddyism' exist. many of the journals and magazines in the USA are refreshing, in that, i feel my writing has a fighting chance because if readers and editors 'get it', they seem to give relatively new writers a shot. is the grass always greener? all i can say is that the USA has this amazing creative heft, and we just got back from a writer's event in singapore which was great, but the cultural and creative power of the US is exciting and electric. to be honest, without a few american editors(and a couple canadian contest judges), i wouldn't even know to be writing this to you now--they were that significant in my little writing endeavour.
*** How to get fewer rejections and save time: (A.) look for one key phrase in a rejection email: encouragement to submit in the future; (B.) if the rejection omits mentioning the hope / interest / desire to see your work again and (instead) wishes you well finding a home for your writing elsewhere, this is the ultimate KISS-OFF; (D.) recognize the KISS-OFF for what it is (a bad fit) & cross this lit-mag off your list forever.
As far as (D) I hasten to mention that lit mag editorial teams come and go, so maybe put a place on hold until new names appear on the masthead rather than eliminate a place forever?
What I *really* am curious about is: What is your (C) recommendation??
Ah, yes: (C.)! Thank you, Erin. My (C) would be those mass rejections, where your email is one of dozens (or hundreds), where they praise your "courage" for submitting but explain that they attract over 2,000 submissions and can only use EIGHT per issue. Another KISS-OFF. Cross that lit-mag off your list so hard that the diary page might slice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How effective is my method of dealing with lit-mags and rejections? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In 2024, I had 3 poetry books published by presses in 3 different countries. Two titles won multiple awards.
thank you for the answer, your explanation is cogent, logical, and rational--and as a beginning, mature writer many of the practises in the publishing world are not obvious. There's a million things we all need to understand and if you've been out of the ballpark for a while, then the internal workings of a lit mag are mysterious. even this subtsack thing is weird to navigate for those unfamiliar. all i can say is thank you thank you thank you for this and will be reading as much as i can to try to get up to speed. and many thanks for sharing your experience about training editors and the dangers of some who seek to re-write poems that aren't theirs. my wife experienced this and she is still now reticent to write poetry and i feel bad because i was the one who told her to actually open up and share her personal poems of growing up in New York--so you bet that the editors can make or break a journal! thank you again for the very fine job you are doing and we appreciate your efforts very much. thank you.
You are very welcome, Mike!
I'm so sorry to hear about your wife's rough — and unfair — experience. My hope is she'll be able to set it aside and return to writing poems for herself even if not to share with us.
Also, please watch for Part Two, where I'll dive into what happens when editors get their hands on your prose!
editors have a lot of power to either make or break writers at every level, whether it be high stakes poetry journals or tiny personal publications. some don't understand that and others understand it only too well. for many editors, these pursuits are done for love not money. from the roughly 30 months that i have been submitting for publication, the vast majority of editors and readers have been professional and courteous. but to be blunt, government funding models for journals in canada seem to be a problem and sadly power trips and cronyism and 'buddyism' exist. many of the journals and magazines in the USA are refreshing, in that, i feel my writing has a fighting chance because if readers and editors 'get it', they seem to give relatively new writers a shot. is the grass always greener? all i can say is that the USA has this amazing creative heft, and we just got back from a writer's event in singapore which was great, but the cultural and creative power of the US is exciting and electric. to be honest, without a few american editors(and a couple canadian contest judges), i wouldn't even know to be writing this to you now--they were that significant in my little writing endeavour.
*** How to get fewer rejections and save time: (A.) look for one key phrase in a rejection email: encouragement to submit in the future; (B.) if the rejection omits mentioning the hope / interest / desire to see your work again and (instead) wishes you well finding a home for your writing elsewhere, this is the ultimate KISS-OFF; (D.) recognize the KISS-OFF for what it is (a bad fit) & cross this lit-mag off your list forever.
Hi LindaAnn, You might want to check out #0072: Vanilla, Chocolate, Rainbow Sherbet, Raspberry: All the Flavors of Rejection (https://100rejectionsclub.substack.com/p/0072-vanilla-chocolate-rainbow-sherbet) where I talk about how we can embrace the various kinds of rejections.
As far as (D) I hasten to mention that lit mag editorial teams come and go, so maybe put a place on hold until new names appear on the masthead rather than eliminate a place forever?
What I *really* am curious about is: What is your (C) recommendation??
Ah, yes: (C.)! Thank you, Erin. My (C) would be those mass rejections, where your email is one of dozens (or hundreds), where they praise your "courage" for submitting but explain that they attract over 2,000 submissions and can only use EIGHT per issue. Another KISS-OFF. Cross that lit-mag off your list so hard that the diary page might slice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How effective is my method of dealing with lit-mags and rejections? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In 2024, I had 3 poetry books published by presses in 3 different countries. Two titles won multiple awards.