NYT Magazine Poetry Editor resigns; Editor of JewishFiction.net interviewed; lit mags make $$ hundreds of thousands in sub fees; Blacklist Lit; profile of Southwest Review; markets; jobs; and more
I profoundly respect every person’s right to make their own choices according to their own values. In that vein I’d like to include my non-Zionist Jewish view that genocide committed ostensibly in my name is abhorrent to me. I have felt prejudice in Jewish writing spaces because of my views. Why do I leave a comment? I think it’s important to demonstrate that there is more than one Jewish perspective in this international conversation. (On a lighter note, the old joke is “two Jews, three opinions,” and I’d like to represent that here.)
Hope to switch out another subscription to become a paid subscriber here in the new year, Becky. In the past few years the topics we've addressed from time to time seem collect into a pretty discouraging outlook sometimes—age bias, increasing lit mags with bios that reflect higher-prestige poets (whatever that means—books out, awards, won, Pushcart noms, etc—and then finally, recently, the issue of names....and these days, all of what many things that means. Still, I persist. Why? These topics are so important to discuss in a safe place—which is what you provide. And also because whatever the obstacles that seem to be increasing, I take great joy in creating and revising my work, knowing that it's deeper and better as I go, and sending it out into the world whether it finds a home there, or not. An early mentor of mine who told me long ago that I needed to send my work out, instead of keeping it private, spoke these words: "Once you have finished a poem, it does not belong to you anymore." That, and the resilience I developed intentionally, keeps me subbing. And I am tremendously grateful to have this space, and look forward to 2024, when I will receive "the full experience."
Re: "Antisemitism:" The plot thickens when we are asking what antisemitism? What is antisemitism?There are two sets of Semites in Israel, the Jews and the Palestinians. Yes, both are Semites. Recently 3 Palestinian students were attacked and killed in the US. Was this a hate crime? the newspaper asks. Yes, this was an antisemitic hate crime. There is also the confusion of "standing with Israel." Netanyahu was only elected to office by a coalition with right-wing extremists. Like Trump, he will face court for many crimes and corruption when he leaves office. He is dishonest, greedy, corrupt, and ruthless. He is in the process of a, destroying democracy in Israel, and b, committing genocide of the Palestinian people. To oppose such policies and such a leader is not antisemitism, nor being "against Israel." I worry about my cousins in Israel, but my heart breaks with sorrow and shame for the suffering of the Palestinians.
Really interesting... Submittable has changed a lot in the past few years, focusing on large enterprise clients, and raising their rates substantially, so I imagine he had a lot to do with that. Also, when literary magazines use Submittable for submissions, they pay twice: their annual subscription for the privilege of using the platform, and then .99 + 5% of any fee they collect.
I wonder who owns this group of literary magazines now. A 500K mailing list is very impressive.
(Side note, every time I try to type "litmag" my computer tries to autocorrect to "litmus." I think there is a metaphor in there somewhere.)
The literary world is just a reflection in miniature of the rest of the world. Every Jewish writer and I'm sure every Palestinian one is hurting right now. We have every kind of feeling about these events, sometimes holding contradictory views at the same time. The rest of you need to be kind, keeping this in mind. Hate is never the right way to go, despite anger, hurt, and horror.
Becky! How did you know personal training is my day job! (How unliterary) You got all the terms and trends! Here I am sitting on the stairs convincing myself a day off will do me good to justify reading your great LM News! A wealth of wonderful info!
I dunno, if everything is sourced from the fellow’s bio, it sure seems he, at least, is being as transparent as can be expected. I don’t know what I expect in terms of financial transparency from private ventures in the literary scene. I see some of the dangers, and object strongly to some practices, but we’re not on their board or anything.
When I interrupt people who are arguing about which side to take and mention what the root cause of it is I get crickets. So I let it go.
But I guess I missed the boat when we were doing Thrice Fiction. Hell, I could have been rolling in moolah instead of letting everybody submit their stuff for nothing. What was I thinking? But yeah - that sounds shady. And we dropped Submittable because it asked for more than we ever made. I don't mind a service sustaining itself by its design, but this info above seems a little... peculiar.
On his website he boasts attracting tens of thousands of subscribers annually, to several online magazines, and not having subscriptions amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. I wonder if there is a way to check the company's financials.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS BECKY. YOUVE DONE A GREAT SERVICE. AS WE SAY IN BROOKLYN, THE LOWER EAST SIDE, KIEV, AND MANY PLACES, "YOU'RE A MENSCH!"
I AM JEWISH, HAVE MANY RELATIVES SLAUGHTERED IN THE HOLOCAUST AND MANY. STORLES AS WELL OF MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES WITH ANTI SEMITISM, AND AS I GREW OLDER AND HAVE ARAB FRIENDS-PALESTINIANS, TURKISH KURDS,AND OTHERS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THIS COUNTRY'S HATREDS TOWARDS THE ARAB WORLD, NOT TO MENTION THE UNITED STATES' INCESSANT AND OFTEN LETHAL HATRED OF ASIANS AS SO BRILLIANTLY EXPLORED IN TRUONG TRAN'S MONUMENTAL POETRY BOOK LAST YEAR: THE BOOK OF THE OTHER. TWO VERY POWERFUL BOOKS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND PALESTINE ARE MICHAEL PALUMBO'S THE PALESTINIIAN CATASTROPHE, AND THE THOROUGH ANTHOLOGY- MODERN PALESTINIAN LITERATURE BY SALMA JAYYUSI, OVER FIVE HUNDRED PAGES OF FICTION,,POETRY, DRAMA, AND BIOGRAPHY. YOU COULD ADD A BOOK OFSTORIES BY
GHASSAN KANAFANI- PALESTINE'S CHILDREN, AND THE TRANSCENDENT POETRY OF MAHMOUD DARWISH ONE OF THE TOWERING POETS OF THE 20 AND 21 CENTURY IN SUCH BOOKS AS THE BUTTERFLY'S BURDEN,
TWO EXTREMELY VITAL AND IMPORTANT BOOKS ABOUT ANTISEMITISM WOULD BE MY BROTHERS BLOOD (ALSO TITLED AS AND THANE ROSENBAUM'S SHORT STORY COLLECTION ELIJAH VISIBLE. I HAVE A LONGER LIST FOR BOTH AREAS; CONTACT ME AT ERBRILL69@GMAIL.COM). SHALOM.
Sure, particular word: Jew-hatred. Hatred of Jews. There are general words, and particular words. We can generate them as we need them, edit them as we gain a greater understanding of history and dynamics. We are poets, writers. Develop words and meanings is what we do.
I do not appreciate being sent a document of insinuation and mealy-mouthed exhortations to 'reconsider choices' regarding journals and organisations with significantly more intellectual heft and moral authority than the source of the document: the unremarkable 'Practising Writing' blog.
I had enjoyed Lit Mag News for some years, but I'm not willing to put up slime and smear, especially on this issue. Unsubscribing.
Kendall Dunkelberg wrote: "The deal breaker? Finishing Line said they do NOT pay royalties. I should qualify this. They say they won’t pay royalites unless pre-sales reach 500 copies. Only then, would you be considered for a royalty contract. Prior to this, your “payment” is in copies. Prepublication sales are the only factor in this. For the book to go to press, the author must pre-sell at least 75 copies. For 75-104 copies, the press run is 300 copies and the author receives 30 as payment. ...."
Kendall Dunkelberg wrote: "The other thing on the website that could be a tip-off is that there’s NO mention of a book DISTRIBUTOR, and they appear to be primarily focused on selling books online.
Mark Danowsky wrote, quoting from a FLP author agreement: "All FLP books have a preorder sales/prepublication period in which the royalty scale is determined. This is the only way we have successfully been able to publish chapbooks. Your official prepublication/preorder period will last 9 weeks and will be determined by your editor. We determine your royalty payment by the success, or lack thereof, of the advance sales. Below you will find our preorder sales goals." ........
Mark Danowsky wrote, quoting from a FLP author agreement: "Please note: You are never required to buy copies of your book! ...."
Experiences that have been shared with me are in line with Kendall's.
Pre-orders are not optional - - - but mandatory at FLP.
And how well does FLP market the books on their own?
"Marketing" is the dirty word that's never mentioned on these forums, the s.b.d. B.O. of the literary world. But the truly filthy term must be "sales figures" - - - never ever brought up in polite conversation lest it result in a spontaneous attack of diarrhea (I suppose).
Anyway, has anyone dealt with FLP recently? Are they as bad as in Kendall described in 2019? Have they reformed?
Genuinely interested in learning more about FLP from poets who have submitted there. Thanks.
I profoundly respect every person’s right to make their own choices according to their own values. In that vein I’d like to include my non-Zionist Jewish view that genocide committed ostensibly in my name is abhorrent to me. I have felt prejudice in Jewish writing spaces because of my views. Why do I leave a comment? I think it’s important to demonstrate that there is more than one Jewish perspective in this international conversation. (On a lighter note, the old joke is “two Jews, three opinions,” and I’d like to represent that here.)
Hope to switch out another subscription to become a paid subscriber here in the new year, Becky. In the past few years the topics we've addressed from time to time seem collect into a pretty discouraging outlook sometimes—age bias, increasing lit mags with bios that reflect higher-prestige poets (whatever that means—books out, awards, won, Pushcart noms, etc—and then finally, recently, the issue of names....and these days, all of what many things that means. Still, I persist. Why? These topics are so important to discuss in a safe place—which is what you provide. And also because whatever the obstacles that seem to be increasing, I take great joy in creating and revising my work, knowing that it's deeper and better as I go, and sending it out into the world whether it finds a home there, or not. An early mentor of mine who told me long ago that I needed to send my work out, instead of keeping it private, spoke these words: "Once you have finished a poem, it does not belong to you anymore." That, and the resilience I developed intentionally, keeps me subbing. And I am tremendously grateful to have this space, and look forward to 2024, when I will receive "the full experience."
Re: "Antisemitism:" The plot thickens when we are asking what antisemitism? What is antisemitism?There are two sets of Semites in Israel, the Jews and the Palestinians. Yes, both are Semites. Recently 3 Palestinian students were attacked and killed in the US. Was this a hate crime? the newspaper asks. Yes, this was an antisemitic hate crime. There is also the confusion of "standing with Israel." Netanyahu was only elected to office by a coalition with right-wing extremists. Like Trump, he will face court for many crimes and corruption when he leaves office. He is dishonest, greedy, corrupt, and ruthless. He is in the process of a, destroying democracy in Israel, and b, committing genocide of the Palestinian people. To oppose such policies and such a leader is not antisemitism, nor being "against Israel." I worry about my cousins in Israel, but my heart breaks with sorrow and shame for the suffering of the Palestinians.
Really interesting... Submittable has changed a lot in the past few years, focusing on large enterprise clients, and raising their rates substantially, so I imagine he had a lot to do with that. Also, when literary magazines use Submittable for submissions, they pay twice: their annual subscription for the privilege of using the platform, and then .99 + 5% of any fee they collect.
I wonder who owns this group of literary magazines now. A 500K mailing list is very impressive.
(Side note, every time I try to type "litmag" my computer tries to autocorrect to "litmus." I think there is a metaphor in there somewhere.)
The literary world is just a reflection in miniature of the rest of the world. Every Jewish writer and I'm sure every Palestinian one is hurting right now. We have every kind of feeling about these events, sometimes holding contradictory views at the same time. The rest of you need to be kind, keeping this in mind. Hate is never the right way to go, despite anger, hurt, and horror.
Becky! How did you know personal training is my day job! (How unliterary) You got all the terms and trends! Here I am sitting on the stairs convincing myself a day off will do me good to justify reading your great LM News! A wealth of wonderful info!
I dunno, if everything is sourced from the fellow’s bio, it sure seems he, at least, is being as transparent as can be expected. I don’t know what I expect in terms of financial transparency from private ventures in the literary scene. I see some of the dangers, and object strongly to some practices, but we’re not on their board or anything.
When I interrupt people who are arguing about which side to take and mention what the root cause of it is I get crickets. So I let it go.
But I guess I missed the boat when we were doing Thrice Fiction. Hell, I could have been rolling in moolah instead of letting everybody submit their stuff for nothing. What was I thinking? But yeah - that sounds shady. And we dropped Submittable because it asked for more than we ever made. I don't mind a service sustaining itself by its design, but this info above seems a little... peculiar.
On his website he boasts attracting tens of thousands of subscribers annually, to several online magazines, and not having subscriptions amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. I wonder if there is a way to check the company's financials.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS BECKY. YOUVE DONE A GREAT SERVICE. AS WE SAY IN BROOKLYN, THE LOWER EAST SIDE, KIEV, AND MANY PLACES, "YOU'RE A MENSCH!"
I AM JEWISH, HAVE MANY RELATIVES SLAUGHTERED IN THE HOLOCAUST AND MANY. STORLES AS WELL OF MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES WITH ANTI SEMITISM, AND AS I GREW OLDER AND HAVE ARAB FRIENDS-PALESTINIANS, TURKISH KURDS,AND OTHERS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THIS COUNTRY'S HATREDS TOWARDS THE ARAB WORLD, NOT TO MENTION THE UNITED STATES' INCESSANT AND OFTEN LETHAL HATRED OF ASIANS AS SO BRILLIANTLY EXPLORED IN TRUONG TRAN'S MONUMENTAL POETRY BOOK LAST YEAR: THE BOOK OF THE OTHER. TWO VERY POWERFUL BOOKS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND PALESTINE ARE MICHAEL PALUMBO'S THE PALESTINIIAN CATASTROPHE, AND THE THOROUGH ANTHOLOGY- MODERN PALESTINIAN LITERATURE BY SALMA JAYYUSI, OVER FIVE HUNDRED PAGES OF FICTION,,POETRY, DRAMA, AND BIOGRAPHY. YOU COULD ADD A BOOK OFSTORIES BY
GHASSAN KANAFANI- PALESTINE'S CHILDREN, AND THE TRANSCENDENT POETRY OF MAHMOUD DARWISH ONE OF THE TOWERING POETS OF THE 20 AND 21 CENTURY IN SUCH BOOKS AS THE BUTTERFLY'S BURDEN,
TWO EXTREMELY VITAL AND IMPORTANT BOOKS ABOUT ANTISEMITISM WOULD BE MY BROTHERS BLOOD (ALSO TITLED AS AND THANE ROSENBAUM'S SHORT STORY COLLECTION ELIJAH VISIBLE. I HAVE A LONGER LIST FOR BOTH AREAS; CONTACT ME AT ERBRILL69@GMAIL.COM). SHALOM.
Sure, particular word: Jew-hatred. Hatred of Jews. There are general words, and particular words. We can generate them as we need them, edit them as we gain a greater understanding of history and dynamics. We are poets, writers. Develop words and meanings is what we do.
What the duck is going on, indeed.
I do not appreciate being sent a document of insinuation and mealy-mouthed exhortations to 'reconsider choices' regarding journals and organisations with significantly more intellectual heft and moral authority than the source of the document: the unremarkable 'Practising Writing' blog.
I had enjoyed Lit Mag News for some years, but I'm not willing to put up slime and smear, especially on this issue. Unsubscribing.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. And happy workouts!
RE: conflicting information on Finishing Line Press.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kendall Dunkelberg wrote: "The deal breaker? Finishing Line said they do NOT pay royalties. I should qualify this. They say they won’t pay royalites unless pre-sales reach 500 copies. Only then, would you be considered for a royalty contract. Prior to this, your “payment” is in copies. Prepublication sales are the only factor in this. For the book to go to press, the author must pre-sell at least 75 copies. For 75-104 copies, the press run is 300 copies and the author receives 30 as payment. ...."
Kendall Dunkelberg wrote: "The other thing on the website that could be a tip-off is that there’s NO mention of a book DISTRIBUTOR, and they appear to be primarily focused on selling books online.
Book distribution is important to me, .... "
Source: https://kendalldunkelberg.com/2019/03/27/why-i-bailed-on-a-book-deal/
Date: March 27, 2019
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mark Danowsky wrote, quoting from a FLP author agreement: "All FLP books have a preorder sales/prepublication period in which the royalty scale is determined. This is the only way we have successfully been able to publish chapbooks. Your official prepublication/preorder period will last 9 weeks and will be determined by your editor. We determine your royalty payment by the success, or lack thereof, of the advance sales. Below you will find our preorder sales goals." ........
Mark Danowsky wrote, quoting from a FLP author agreement: "Please note: You are never required to buy copies of your book! ...."
Source: https://markdanowsky.substack.com/p/is-finishing-line-press-an-mlm
Date: November 14, 2023
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Experiences that have been shared with me are in line with Kendall's.
Pre-orders are not optional - - - but mandatory at FLP.
And how well does FLP market the books on their own?
"Marketing" is the dirty word that's never mentioned on these forums, the s.b.d. B.O. of the literary world. But the truly filthy term must be "sales figures" - - - never ever brought up in polite conversation lest it result in a spontaneous attack of diarrhea (I suppose).
Anyway, has anyone dealt with FLP recently? Are they as bad as in Kendall described in 2019? Have they reformed?
Genuinely interested in learning more about FLP from poets who have submitted there. Thanks.