It is a truth universally acknowledged that publishing in lit mags is hard work.
It is also a truth universally acknowledged that no one, but no one, understands your passion, investment, efforts, frustrations, hopes, disappointments, joys, sacrifices, dreams and yearnings better than your fellow writers and journal submitters.
Therefore!
Beginning today, the final weekend conversation of every month will be dedicated to all of you and your lit mag pubs.
Had something appear in a journal recently? Tell us all about it!
Share the link. Let us read it.
Please also tell us the story behind this work. How did you choose this lit mag? What was your submissions process like?
Did you work with the editors on revisions? What was your experience with this particular magazine?
If you want, tell us a bit about your craft process too. How long did you work on this piece? Did you change it as you submitted it over the course of several years? Or was it draft one and done?
How did you find the lit mag that accepted the piece? Had you heard of them before? Was it a special theme issue? Was it a contest or a specific call for submissions?
Tell us how it all happened! Let us get to know you, your work, your process. Let us get to learn about cool journals we might not otherwise find.
Share your art, my friends. Share your story.
Come on out and step right up. It’s time to brag your lit mag!
It is not bragging so much as amazement that as of this week I've had poetry published in over 100 literary magazines since I entered my 70's five years ago. I'm an old man with a shrinking brain yet I'm more creative now than my previous 7 decades. Writing, like art and music, is a transcendent act, so I suspect I am ever closer to my endless consciousness, my soul, the reality of which I discovered 51 years ago when I had an NDE whilst almost drowning in a Vermont river. Hence the titles for the 2 books a publisher has brought out : 'The Enormity of Existence' and 'Of Ether and Earth'.
Nolo, that is fabulous! We're of similar ages (I'm 73),and I also feel that I'm more creative and productive now than in all my writing years—and better yet, the work is of much higher quality. Nothing to regret, and yes, I do think if we're aware, we're closer to our deeper spirits and more. Best wishes for continuing your work and productivity!
Mine began expanding when I learned to think differently, thanks to Martin Seligman's and Barbara Fredrickson's research and writing...and it hasn't stopped growing. I doubt that yours has, either!
Well, I'm retired, so I have time to submit to a LOT of lit mags. For that 100 there are probably 900 that said 'no thanks'. A few years ago that would have bothered me but now I say, 'Your loss!' As writers we should keep in mind that Van Gogh sold only a single painting in his lifetime-- he surely knew his paintings were great, no wonder he cut off his ear! And Moby Dick--the most profound novel I've ever read, including the Russians--was a commercial failure and caused Melville to give up writing! You may want to check out Charles Bukowski's poem, 'so you want to be a writer?'. He was an atheist but this poem hints at a mystical element in creating: 'when it is truly time and if you have been chosen, it will do it by itself.....'
I want to thank everyone who's liked my comments: it may sound a bit dumb, but it's heartwarming to know souls can reach out to one another through a soulless cyber medium. I have come to realize in my old age as death sits more comfortably on my shoulder (he's quite tiny really) that the transcendence given uniquely to our species has no limits, not in this world or any other dimension.
Love this. Just started writing seriously about two years ago. Working on Creative Nonfiction. I was 71 then. I've had a few essays published and am working on the memoir.
Thank you-- I have fewer computer skills at 75 than a 5 year old. probably-- not even sure what a link is or how to make one, but a little over 1/2 of the lit mags I'm in are online: Nolo Segundo poetry should do it, but here are a few direct 'links' [?] : ROUTE 7 REVIEW [ISS.9, 2021]; POETRY FOR MENTAL HEALTH [2/22/22]; IMPSPIRED [JUNE 2022]; COMMUTER LIT [MAY 2022]; TIPTON POETRY JOURNAL [SPRING, 2022]; BRAIDED WAY [MINI-MEMOIR, SUMMER 2022] ; NEW NOTE POETRY [SUMMER 2022]; OPEN DOOR [SEVERAL ISSUES]
Thrilled to have a short story by French author Monique Debruxelles, in my translation, in the new issue of The Southern Review (digital issue available now, print edition out soon: https://thesouthernreview.org/issues/latest). I read the story in a French lit mag last summer and loved it, so I reached out to Monique to ask permission to translate it and shop it around, and I couldn't be happier about where it landed. This is Monique's first publication in English, but there's more from us on the way. :)
Laura, that is really cool. What was the French lit mag? I'm heading to France next week and was just thinking I should explore their lit mags while there. (Though I do not speak French. :)
Hi all. I wrote this CNF flash piece one morning just after waking. It was one of those that came to me quickly, I think because I had just talked to my daughter the night before. She was upset, and of course as her mother I was worried. I must have dreamt about her (and the story) because it was one of those that just came to me sort of magically. I love when that happens (and it doesn't happen often). I cried when I wrote it, and when I revised it, then I cried again when it was published (lots of crying going on). The editors at MoonPark Review were amazing, I would absolutely recommend submitting there. Anyway, I love that I have the opportunity to share it all with you, because it's a piece that's close to my heart. Thanks, Becky, for this newsletter, and for the opportunity to share!
I had my first short story published this May in The Concho River Review, a Texas State University publication focused on Texas themes. The story was based in part of memories working on a shrimp boat out of Corpus Christi, TX in my early 20s. I learned this week that another story has been accepted for publication in LitBreak Magazine in September. The story is set in San Francisco and focuses on a relationship between a privileged white female artist from LA and a Black computer programmer who grew up in a public housing project in SF. Thanks for offering us the opportunity to share!
Ha that's great! I think someone getting a postcard in the mail with just the word "Sorry" on it could be a great writing prompt for a story! (I might have to use that. :)
Well done David! I've actually been thinking that terse, tiny rejections are better than long ones that drone on and encourage re-readings and misinterpretation.
I was pleased to have BLOOM publish a small group of poems from a nonfiction poetry collection for adults that opens a conversation about patient advocacy, patient safety, and medical PTSD. BLOOM is a high-quality online lit mag that celebrates writing from authors who published their first book at age 40 or older (mine was REENI'S TURN, a middle grade novel in verse, at age 71 from Fitzroy Books).
When I had to pull the collection from Fall 2022 publication because of a "cautionary" phrase the publisher decided should be added to the book, which would have put me at financial risk, I decided to send groups of poems to lit mags that could be a good match with either current themes, or general interests. BLOOM was an ideal match, I thought, and happily, they agreed.
The story behind the work is a traumatic seven and one-half week hospitalization of my husband in an ICU that went horribly, nightmarishly wrong—in a highly-ranked hospital. I wrote the first poem while sitting at a table where I'd sat during very brief absences from my husband's room; I was there again because he had a test to be done by a completely unrelated practitioner. I expected the fact that I was there again for the first time would create some visceral PTSD-type responses, and I was right. I wrote the first poem that felt almost like a "this is the house that Jack built" style, and it came straight from somewhere deep inside. I realized when it was finished that it felt like a table of contents for the whole story, which I continued to write. I wrote it not only because I needed to go through it again, but because I believed—and believe—that the collection will support and engage readers who have experienced medical trauma and/or needed to become sudden advocates for a loved one.
I look forward to the possibility of publishing the whole collection safely at some point, but for now, these are the introductory poems:
Thanks for sharing this, Carol. What a harrowing experience. I can't wait to read these poems. I like the stark photographs the magazine used to accompany the work. Your series sounds beautiful and important.
Hi Carol. Thank you for sharing your poems. Honestly, I'm speechless. They gave me chills. They are incredibly well crafted. I felt, reading them, as if I were you in those moments, and I'm sickened at what happened to your husband, and you, in that hospital. I'm glad you are sharing your experience with others in this way..I agree that many will connect with your work in very meaningful ways. Thanks again for sharing...Kelli
Great idea! My short story “The Habit of Sleep” came out online at Middle House Review in 2021 and appeared in the magazine’s anthology this summer. A slightly modified reprint will appear this summer in Ethel.
I wrote the short story to challenge myself. I have a bad habit of taking tens of hours to finish a short story, and I wanted to take something from draft to accepted in less than 15 hours. I almost made it; the story was accepted provided I revise it... and the process of working with the editor to revise it took just as long to write it.
This isn't the first time I've worked with the editor to revise something, so I knew I wouldn't make my goal when he accepted it provisionally. Still, I always grow and learn a lot when I work with him. In a way, I'm glad I failed my challenge. It's near miraculous to see how the short story transformed over the course of revising.
My CNF piece "Lima Revisited" recently came out in J Journal, the litmag of the John Jay School of Criminal Justice at CUNY. I In the story, I talk about my experience as an international telecom exec in the U.S. and Lima, Peru, with strong memories of being strung out and busted on the same streets of the Peruvian capital thirteen years before. I wonder who the reader likes worse: the druggies or the corrupt businessmen? https://www.jjournal.org/post/lima-revisited I combined two memoir pieces from different stages of my life and worked through several versions in critique groups, submitting to twenty-five or thirty journals at least before finally getting it published, Glad to see everybody else's posts, many congrats!
In the last year or so I've had poems in Verse-Virtual, Muddy River Poetry Review, Trouvaille Review, Last Stanza Poetry Review, Poetry Superhighway, MacQueen's Quinterly, Black Poppy Review (extinct, but perhaps will resurrect), Poetry Life and Times, Delta Review of Poetry, and the Knot. I've published multiple times in all of these reviews except Muddy River and and Delta and the experiences have all been good. I decided to submit to these specific reviews based on the experiences of colleagues in the Verse-Virtual Face Book group, which is a wonderful and helpful community of poets. Of course I've been rejected by many, many reviews too. Submissions have been easy, typically Submittable or email. I typically only submit to reviews that accept simultaneous subs and don't have a six month decision time. I hope this is helpful.
Thanks for asking! :) I'm all aflutter to have my little bird photo on the cover of THEMA Literary Journal's summer issue, which is filled with wonderful poetry, stories, and photographs on a "Watch the Birdie" theme. The website is https://themaliterarysociety.com and the full table of contents for this issue is at https://themaliterarysociety.com/issues/BIRDIE.htm .
Thanks!! Yes. It’s a bird I photographed in a local park blended with part of a photo I took at a gallery show and a photo I found (in public domain) of a vintage camera. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 😊
This year I have been published twice, after a three-year drought: once in "The Library Love Letter Presents: Letters One," and again in "The Journal of Undiscovered Poets."
“Farmbelt Inn, Decatur” was a good match of story location with the focus of the publication. I had to search a bit to find a home for “Trusting Jeremy.” It’s about a small boy who tries to reunite his divorced parents. Several editors liked the story but didn’t think it was a fit. New Feathers Anthology publishes a broad spectrum of stories and styles. I’ll likely submit there again.
No publication suggested or requested any revisions.
Since January, it's been mostly submission / rejection / revision / resubmission. Hoping for a better second half.
I'm mainly a fiction writer, but I had a short essay, "Ode to an Ode about Hands," pubbed in a recent issue of Vita Poetica--and had a great editing process. The editor reached out and asked if I'd consider a revision of the ending and made a great point about ending the essay with my take rather than with a quote from the Ross Gay poem I was responding to. It's a better (and published) essay for the change. The journal also does a podcast, so I was asked to record myself reading the essay (in my tiny, kids' closet I use as my sound studio). I love that readers have more than one way to enter my essay now. https://www.vitapoetica.org/nonfiction/ode-to-an-ode-about-hands
Congratulations, Rebecca! I look forward to reading the essay. It's great that you trusted yourself to end the essay the way that was 'right' for you...
My short story, Dryad, was published in this university fiction review, Valparaiso Fiction Review. A jogger has an interesting experience in the woods during fire season.
I used a service called “ Writer’s Relief”. I submitted two stories with them, and the second one is still pending, El Portal Literary Journal, out soon.
I love Submititnow.com, they’ve also helped me publish two stories. Idle Ink and Fiction on the Web published those.
I think the services, particularly Erik Harper Klaas’ editing with Submit it, gives me confidence.
Thanks for this question and the ability to share!
Jane, that's great. I've never known anyone who used Writer's Relief, but I'm glad to hear you've had a positive experience with them. Also, yes, Erik at Submitit is a terrific reader and really knows his stuff! Congrats.
I'd never heard of Submititnow--so thanks for the tip. I used Writer's Relief once years ago, when I was fresh out of my MFA and needed guidance on where to send my work. I eventually published the story, but not until years later and on my own. However, I still send to some of the journals on that early list.
Submitit uses an algorithm so that your work is sent to journals most likely to accept them. You can do 20 journals at once, and they take care of all tracking of submissions. Erik Harper Klaas is an excellent editor and one of the principals.
Writers Relief is similar ( but their website and email approach isn’t to my taste). Good luck! And please post a link to your work if you’d like. Thanks for commenting.
What a great thread--it's been so much fun reading other people's pieces. So far this year, I've had two short stories, three micros, and two poems published, with five more publications expected between now and November. The piece I'm highlighting today is my short story "Extra Credit," published by Cleaver Magazine in March 2022. You can read it here:
(I also have a link to it on my website, which is coletteparris.com.) This is one of my funniest pieces, and I find that funny can sometimes be hard to place, especially when racial issues are at the forefront. I received several personal rejections from well-regarded journals all saying basically the same thing: "We really enjoyed the story but are wondering if it detracts from 'the message.'" I am so grateful to Cleaver (which I submitted to after a story in one of their issues--"Lab Rat Vengeance"--had me laughing out loud) for taking a chance on this piece, which in fact has multiple messages. Also, Cleaver had a quick turnaround time (less than a month between submission and acceptance), and the editors were lovely to work with.
I am happy to have my translation of a short story, Penance, by Colombian writer Octavio Escobar Giraldo, alongside my essay "Translating Violence and Silence" in the latest edition of World Literature Today. This is a particular joy because this is Octavio's first publication in English!
I'm so impressed and moved by everyone's response. Thank you, Becky, for the rich opportunity to share and also learn.
On July 4th, THE WRATH-BEARING TREE published my "heart" nonfiction narrative on loss and resilience. And they wanted photos! This piece took five years and more than a few rejections to evolve to its present form. https://www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2022/07/new-nonfiction-live-oaks-by-carol-ann-wilson/ WBT (name from a T.S. Eliot poem) was founded by combat veterans and focuses on issues of social justice and human resilience. The editor was incredibly supportive and responsive in all matters.
Also, an essay published in THE WRITE LAUNCH in 2021 won the 2022 Colorado Authors League award. https://thewritelaunch.com/2021/04/fireworks-in-hong-kong/ I love submitting work to these journals. Another excellent one is UNDER THE GUM TREE, which is both print and online.
My short story, “Lucky Charm,” was recently published in Big City Lit. I believe I found them in the Poets & Writers database. They had a 3-month turnaround time, so I gave it a shot. Here’s the link:
Over the last 18 months or so, I have worked a great deal in the tanka format - a few a bit more traditional in nature and a few coming from a much more difficult and troubled place. I had offered one of the darker poems a few times to literary journals with little success but largely was waiting for an opportunity to submit to Ribbons, the journal of The Tanka Society of America. Editor Susan Weaver selected one of the poems and worked with me to move away from the traditional syllable sequence in order to open up the poem a bit more. She encouraged me to revise the others in the same way. As I looked at the others, I saw a set of them came from a similar emotional place and began to play with them as a tanka sequence. The images were similarly dark, focused on grief and had the same 3 a.m. feel to them. That made me think of Acropolis Journal which I had heard about and sampled. I packaged them together and sent to editor Louise Mather who quickly sent a warm and positive acceptance. Here is that sequence. https://acropolisjournaluk.wixsite.com/acropolisjournal/issue-four
So . . . just had 3 poems turned down by a publication in which I had high hopes of placing those pieces. I’ve worked a long time in book publishing, as an editor, so I know that the acceptance rate for book manuscripts tends to be in the range of 3 to 5 or maybe 6 percent. And as someone who has had to make such decisions, I also know that excellent manuscripts are declined all the time, for all kinds of reasons. I know that my most recently rejected poems are good, and I will keep trying to place them. After sitting in on yesterday’s Submissions Study Hall, I finally made a spreadsheet of my submissions from the last 5 years. My acceptance rate has been about 50 percent. That’s because I really haven’t sent much work out. Now I’m inspired to send out more work and bring my acceptance rate down to the industry standard. See you next time.
If anyone's interested, they can see the complete list at:
link
I have a submissions workflow established, using Excel and keeping each story , poem, or novel manuscript out at three journals, publishers, or agents, till someone caves in and takes it.
I find most the entities I send to at Poets & Writers or Newpages, but I also subscribe to the Authors Publish newsletter, which I love because they tell you whether journals they are listing are open for submissions right now, or not. Saves time and (especially) frustration.
They say a helicopter needs five hours of maintenance for every hour of flight time. Likewise, I spend much more time sending work out than I actually do writing it. And it seems to be working.
Of course I wish I had an agent to do that for me. But I don't, so...it's all up to me.
At 74 I recently discovered the benefits and excitement of literary magazines. I had one acceptance yesterday with Withintentions.com and a couple of other short stories in OpenDoor magazine and Carmina next year. My reasons for self-publishing my books is that I belong and live at The Erasmus Foundation in the UK, a spiritual teaching and healing centre, and this is how I can share the wondrous information we receive about the structure of Man , where we come from, what happens when we return Home, etc., etc. We do not force our beliefs on anyone but if I write a book and carry some wisdom we have been given within the story, then it is for others to accept or reject. It is rewarding to have your work accepted but I am always conscious of ego, and don't wish to inflate mine. Thank you for all your endeavours.
I was thrilled also because this was the first time an editor actually took the time to give me some feedback besides being encouraging and then publishing my story.
I’ve been writing for a few years but this is the first year that I’ve started submitting seriously.
I submit to get published - obviously- but what I mean is that I want my work read, and not necessarily because I want the reflected prestige of the LJ. I’m in my 50s and onto my 4th innings (work wise) so being read is more important to me.
Having said that I’m not above wondering if an LJ is “good enough” as soon as they’ve accepted my work :-). But I laugh and get over it and celebrate the small victories and feel especially happy when someone writes to say they liked my story.
Thanks for this newsletter and for your fabulous content! It’s hugely helpful.
Like many on this thread, I am over 70 and only started regularly writing and submitting 3 years ago. Since then I've submitted over 400 times though Submittable (obviously most pieces many times), for a hit rate of 9. My Duotrope hit rate is 7 out of 29. Submission by email and other methods accounts for the rest. (Note: It was 10 months before I received my first acceptance and then a further 6 months to the next. Clearly practice and listening to feedback improves your hit rate over time. I have now had 40 stories published and 20 poems.
I spend a lot of time trawling through the opportunities lists on Submittable and Duotrope, various newsletters and writer groups online to find places that may take my work.
I've had some interaction with editors regarding proposed changes, which usually end well but not when they demand US spelling or other forms of linguistic imperialism. I was also recently asked to re-write a line that the editor interpreted as a stereotype about lesbians. Let's just say we had an interesting discussion resulting in a mutually acceptable version.
Finally, thank you to all on this thread for some great leads and information.
Good afternoon. July has been a wonderful month in this poet's world! My first poetry collection, FULL MOON FIRE, has appeared, and a second volume, MOONCHILD, is to appear for Christmas. From these two collections and individual submissions, my work has found a home with Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, Open Skies Poetry (August), Sweetycat Press (October), Panoplyzine (September), Ravens Quoth Press (August) and Syncopation (November) ... I'm a member of many Calls for Submission groups on FB, and I try to make it a point to submit at least a few poems every week. ... I can recommend all of these publications and the professionalism and supportiveness of their editors most whole-heartedly! ... I've not had the experience of working closely with a lit-mag editor to shape a poem, and I haven't really expected that, given what I understand to be the demands of a job that is most often a labor of love ... For me, it's been either a kind "no, thank you," or an enthusiastic "yes" ... As I aim to develop as a writer, I also try to pick up on prompts from editors and writing groups, creating poems that are "outside the box" for me ... . I welcome members of Lit Mag News to connect with me on FB at Marianne Tefft - Poet & Wordsmith (or Marianne Tefft)! ... Happy Saturday, all!!
Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I'm 71, have been writing and art making since my 20's. This is my 6th publication this year. Working on novel, sending it out daily.
Jul 30, 2022·edited Jul 30, 2022Liked by Becky Tuch
Recently my piece Home Is Where was published by ChangeSeven. This piece was published about 5 times before by different magazines, I lose track. I have a different piece coming out end of the month at Sad Girls Club Lit Mag called Pandemical Perspectives. No editing process other than ChangeSeven, changed the title of my piece which was weird. A different piece, That Pesky Pesto was published a few months ago in Grande Dame Literary which specializes in older women writers. Honestly, I don't have any submission method other than I query "personal essay" on Submittable and will submit to just any lit mag that falls into my WORD count or close to the subject matter. My favorite though is my Three Women piece published in May by The Grit and Grace Project and then again by a few other mags. Grit & Grace were different in that I got an author's dashboard I had to sign in on and you can see editing process here, so that was fun, although they never did change anything. The rest just basically published as is. https://thegritandgraceproject.org/life-and-culture/do-you-have-strong-women-like-this-in-your-life?fbclid=IwAR2zoZW_EDjr3MOs5-c2bpAEyLSbvucOqx_emZrYwtHu4lUQ3KGezsOJghc
Although I have to say this weird thing where mags have to put another 'heading' before every few paragraphs I find strange. A lot of them do that now. My pieces are all on my blog site, about 70 of them now, not all very good. But the 3 I mentioned above aren't yet because I actually payed attention to "no previously published" annoying rule which includes your own blog site.
I was lucky to have one of my newest stories accepted by the pacificREVIEW (that's how they spell it; don't ask me why). Apparently, they publish a yearly themed anthology and this year's theme is "Loss." It seemed like a good fit for my story and I guess they agreed. The printed anthology comes out in August.
The story has a bit of a macabre twist to it, so I wasn't sure where to send it—or if anyone would be interested in it because of that twist. But I happened to stumble across the pub on Duotrope, which linked me to the pub's site, which described the theme of loss in some detail and I thought, "Why the hell not?"
I've never submitted to an anthology before but am weirdly thrilled to actually show up in one next month. This will be my third published story. It's a start!
It is not bragging so much as amazement that as of this week I've had poetry published in over 100 literary magazines since I entered my 70's five years ago. I'm an old man with a shrinking brain yet I'm more creative now than my previous 7 decades. Writing, like art and music, is a transcendent act, so I suspect I am ever closer to my endless consciousness, my soul, the reality of which I discovered 51 years ago when I had an NDE whilst almost drowning in a Vermont river. Hence the titles for the 2 books a publisher has brought out : 'The Enormity of Existence' and 'Of Ether and Earth'.
Nolo, that is fabulous! We're of similar ages (I'm 73),and I also feel that I'm more creative and productive now than in all my writing years—and better yet, the work is of much higher quality. Nothing to regret, and yes, I do think if we're aware, we're closer to our deeper spirits and more. Best wishes for continuing your work and productivity!
And you as well, Carol-- am curious, why do you think this is so when they tell us our brains are shrinking, yet my mind seems to be expanding....
Mine began expanding when I learned to think differently, thanks to Martin Seligman's and Barbara Fredrickson's research and writing...and it hasn't stopped growing. I doubt that yours has, either!
God willing, it won't until the day I go though that door we call death-- and hopefully our minds expand--and our souls deepen in the next world.....
Wow! I just had my fourth acceptance yesterday, so 100 is mind boggling.
Well, I'm retired, so I have time to submit to a LOT of lit mags. For that 100 there are probably 900 that said 'no thanks'. A few years ago that would have bothered me but now I say, 'Your loss!' As writers we should keep in mind that Van Gogh sold only a single painting in his lifetime-- he surely knew his paintings were great, no wonder he cut off his ear! And Moby Dick--the most profound novel I've ever read, including the Russians--was a commercial failure and caused Melville to give up writing! You may want to check out Charles Bukowski's poem, 'so you want to be a writer?'. He was an atheist but this poem hints at a mystical element in creating: 'when it is truly time and if you have been chosen, it will do it by itself.....'
I want to thank everyone who's liked my comments: it may sound a bit dumb, but it's heartwarming to know souls can reach out to one another through a soulless cyber medium. I have come to realize in my old age as death sits more comfortably on my shoulder (he's quite tiny really) that the transcendence given uniquely to our species has no limits, not in this world or any other dimension.
Love this. Just started writing seriously about two years ago. Working on Creative Nonfiction. I was 71 then. I've had a few essays published and am working on the memoir.
Any links? I'd love to check out your work.
Thank you-- I have fewer computer skills at 75 than a 5 year old. probably-- not even sure what a link is or how to make one, but a little over 1/2 of the lit mags I'm in are online: Nolo Segundo poetry should do it, but here are a few direct 'links' [?] : ROUTE 7 REVIEW [ISS.9, 2021]; POETRY FOR MENTAL HEALTH [2/22/22]; IMPSPIRED [JUNE 2022]; COMMUTER LIT [MAY 2022]; TIPTON POETRY JOURNAL [SPRING, 2022]; BRAIDED WAY [MINI-MEMOIR, SUMMER 2022] ; NEW NOTE POETRY [SUMMER 2022]; OPEN DOOR [SEVERAL ISSUES]
Great. Thank you!
Wow, I love this story. And congrats!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, and congrats :-)
Thanks Kelli, y vaya con Dios siempre!
Gracias, y tu también
Thrilled to have a short story by French author Monique Debruxelles, in my translation, in the new issue of The Southern Review (digital issue available now, print edition out soon: https://thesouthernreview.org/issues/latest). I read the story in a French lit mag last summer and loved it, so I reached out to Monique to ask permission to translate it and shop it around, and I couldn't be happier about where it landed. This is Monique's first publication in English, but there's more from us on the way. :)
Laura, that is really cool. What was the French lit mag? I'm heading to France next week and was just thinking I should explore their lit mags while there. (Though I do not speak French. :)
Thanks, Becky! It was in Brèves. Bon voyage and happy hunting for revues littéraires! :)
Congratulations, Laura! And what a wonderful opportunity you created for ongoing translations! I look forward to reading...
https://moonparkreview.com/issue-twenty-summer-2022/800-fill/
Hi all. I wrote this CNF flash piece one morning just after waking. It was one of those that came to me quickly, I think because I had just talked to my daughter the night before. She was upset, and of course as her mother I was worried. I must have dreamt about her (and the story) because it was one of those that just came to me sort of magically. I love when that happens (and it doesn't happen often). I cried when I wrote it, and when I revised it, then I cried again when it was published (lots of crying going on). The editors at MoonPark Review were amazing, I would absolutely recommend submitting there. Anyway, I love that I have the opportunity to share it all with you, because it's a piece that's close to my heart. Thanks, Becky, for this newsletter, and for the opportunity to share!
Beautiful piece, Kelli!
Thanks so much, Rebecca!
Congratulations, Kelli! Thanks for sharing your process and reactions to the flash piece!
Thank you, Carol!
I had my first short story published this May in The Concho River Review, a Texas State University publication focused on Texas themes. The story was based in part of memories working on a shrimp boat out of Corpus Christi, TX in my early 20s. I learned this week that another story has been accepted for publication in LitBreak Magazine in September. The story is set in San Francisco and focuses on a relationship between a privileged white female artist from LA and a Black computer programmer who grew up in a public housing project in SF. Thanks for offering us the opportunity to share!
Oh, that's great, David. Congratulations!
Congrats, David!
Congrats, David!
Congratulations, David!
Congrats, David! My first published story also appeared in Concho River Review!
I want to read your shrimp boat story! Congratulations
I had a micro piece published about rejection- I think most other writers can relate.
http://fiftywordstories.com/2022/07/18/david-holloway-rejection/
Ha that's great! I think someone getting a postcard in the mail with just the word "Sorry" on it could be a great writing prompt for a story! (I might have to use that. :)
Well done David! I've actually been thinking that terse, tiny rejections are better than long ones that drone on and encourage re-readings and misinterpretation.
Loved this. Can totally relate :-)
I have had a few recent poetry pubs: https://www.lighthouseweekly.com/post/three-curses
https://newworldwriting.net/julie-benesh-as-told-to/
https://www.skyislandjournal.com/issues#/issue-21-summer-2022/ (scroll for it, alpha by first name)
I have six more coming out next month/week, three in Sept, and at least one in October. And a 48-poem chapbook coming out in the fall. And countin'!
I was pleased to have BLOOM publish a small group of poems from a nonfiction poetry collection for adults that opens a conversation about patient advocacy, patient safety, and medical PTSD. BLOOM is a high-quality online lit mag that celebrates writing from authors who published their first book at age 40 or older (mine was REENI'S TURN, a middle grade novel in verse, at age 71 from Fitzroy Books).
When I had to pull the collection from Fall 2022 publication because of a "cautionary" phrase the publisher decided should be added to the book, which would have put me at financial risk, I decided to send groups of poems to lit mags that could be a good match with either current themes, or general interests. BLOOM was an ideal match, I thought, and happily, they agreed.
The story behind the work is a traumatic seven and one-half week hospitalization of my husband in an ICU that went horribly, nightmarishly wrong—in a highly-ranked hospital. I wrote the first poem while sitting at a table where I'd sat during very brief absences from my husband's room; I was there again because he had a test to be done by a completely unrelated practitioner. I expected the fact that I was there again for the first time would create some visceral PTSD-type responses, and I was right. I wrote the first poem that felt almost like a "this is the house that Jack built" style, and it came straight from somewhere deep inside. I realized when it was finished that it felt like a table of contents for the whole story, which I continued to write. I wrote it not only because I needed to go through it again, but because I believed—and believe—that the collection will support and engage readers who have experienced medical trauma and/or needed to become sudden advocates for a loved one.
I look forward to the possibility of publishing the whole collection safely at some point, but for now, these are the introductory poems:
https://bloomsite.wordpress.com/2022/07/26/bloom-creative-writing-poetry-by-carol-coven-grannick/
Thanks for sharing this, Carol. What a harrowing experience. I can't wait to read these poems. I like the stark photographs the magazine used to accompany the work. Your series sounds beautiful and important.
Hi Carol. Thank you for sharing your poems. Honestly, I'm speechless. They gave me chills. They are incredibly well crafted. I felt, reading them, as if I were you in those moments, and I'm sickened at what happened to your husband, and you, in that hospital. I'm glad you are sharing your experience with others in this way..I agree that many will connect with your work in very meaningful ways. Thanks again for sharing...Kelli
Wow, Carol, beautiful, sorrowful, powerful work. This stanza, whew!:
I didn’t notice
my sharp teeth
my fur
my howling at the invisible moon.
Great idea! My short story “The Habit of Sleep” came out online at Middle House Review in 2021 and appeared in the magazine’s anthology this summer. A slightly modified reprint will appear this summer in Ethel.
https://www.middlehousereview.com/stocker-sleep
MHR had a call for speculative work on Twitter. The editors were easy to work with and they are happy to publicize your subsequent publications, etc.
Congratulations, Stanley!
Thank you, Carol!
My new short story, "The Heebie-Jeebie Beam", came out yesterday in Metaphorosis Magazine!
https://magazine.metaphorosis.com/story/2022/the-heebie-jeebie-beam-e-c-fuller/
I wrote the short story to challenge myself. I have a bad habit of taking tens of hours to finish a short story, and I wanted to take something from draft to accepted in less than 15 hours. I almost made it; the story was accepted provided I revise it... and the process of working with the editor to revise it took just as long to write it.
This isn't the first time I've worked with the editor to revise something, so I knew I wouldn't make my goal when he accepted it provisionally. Still, I always grow and learn a lot when I work with him. In a way, I'm glad I failed my challenge. It's near miraculous to see how the short story transformed over the course of revising.
Congratulations, Erin!
My CNF piece "Lima Revisited" recently came out in J Journal, the litmag of the John Jay School of Criminal Justice at CUNY. I In the story, I talk about my experience as an international telecom exec in the U.S. and Lima, Peru, with strong memories of being strung out and busted on the same streets of the Peruvian capital thirteen years before. I wonder who the reader likes worse: the druggies or the corrupt businessmen? https://www.jjournal.org/post/lima-revisited I combined two memoir pieces from different stages of my life and worked through several versions in critique groups, submitting to twenty-five or thirty journals at least before finally getting it published, Glad to see everybody else's posts, many congrats!
Congratulations, Finn! Sounds fascinating....
In the last year or so I've had poems in Verse-Virtual, Muddy River Poetry Review, Trouvaille Review, Last Stanza Poetry Review, Poetry Superhighway, MacQueen's Quinterly, Black Poppy Review (extinct, but perhaps will resurrect), Poetry Life and Times, Delta Review of Poetry, and the Knot. I've published multiple times in all of these reviews except Muddy River and and Delta and the experiences have all been good. I decided to submit to these specific reviews based on the experiences of colleagues in the Verse-Virtual Face Book group, which is a wonderful and helpful community of poets. Of course I've been rejected by many, many reviews too. Submissions have been easy, typically Submittable or email. I typically only submit to reviews that accept simultaneous subs and don't have a six month decision time. I hope this is helpful.
Congratulations on all the great publications, Gary!
Thanks for asking! :) I'm all aflutter to have my little bird photo on the cover of THEMA Literary Journal's summer issue, which is filled with wonderful poetry, stories, and photographs on a "Watch the Birdie" theme. The website is https://themaliterarysociety.com and the full table of contents for this issue is at https://themaliterarysociety.com/issues/BIRDIE.htm .
Linda, that is so cool! Is that a digital collage? I love it!
Thanks!! Yes. It’s a bird I photographed in a local park blended with part of a photo I took at a gallery show and a photo I found (in public domain) of a vintage camera. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 😊
Congratulations, Linda!
Thank you! 😊
This year I have been published twice, after a three-year drought: once in "The Library Love Letter Presents: Letters One," and again in "The Journal of Undiscovered Poets."
Congratulations, John!
2021 was a decent year for publication. I managed eight acceptances. In December, Flyover Country published “Farmbelt Inn, Decatur.”
https://flyovercountryliterarymagazine.com/2021/11/13/farmbelt-inn-decatur/
In January, 2022 New Feathers Anthology published “Trusting Jeremy.”
http://www.newfeathersanthology.com/trusting-jeremy.html
“Farmbelt Inn, Decatur” was a good match of story location with the focus of the publication. I had to search a bit to find a home for “Trusting Jeremy.” It’s about a small boy who tries to reunite his divorced parents. Several editors liked the story but didn’t think it was a fit. New Feathers Anthology publishes a broad spectrum of stories and styles. I’ll likely submit there again.
No publication suggested or requested any revisions.
Since January, it's been mostly submission / rejection / revision / resubmission. Hoping for a better second half.
Congratulations, John!
This year published hybrid work forthcoming in Mason Jar, print edition, BigBlackBook, guest editor for issue #7, Randomsamplereview.com, and UndertheGumtree.com.
Congratulations, Debra!
I'm mainly a fiction writer, but I had a short essay, "Ode to an Ode about Hands," pubbed in a recent issue of Vita Poetica--and had a great editing process. The editor reached out and asked if I'd consider a revision of the ending and made a great point about ending the essay with my take rather than with a quote from the Ross Gay poem I was responding to. It's a better (and published) essay for the change. The journal also does a podcast, so I was asked to record myself reading the essay (in my tiny, kids' closet I use as my sound studio). I love that readers have more than one way to enter my essay now. https://www.vitapoetica.org/nonfiction/ode-to-an-ode-about-hands
I love everything about this story behind the essay, Rebecca. Congrats.
Thanks for asking, Becky. It's so important to remember and publicize the good publishing experiences. Love what you are doing here!
Rebecca,
I listened to the recording. Incredibly beautiful. Thank you for sharing ❤️
Thank you, Kelli! I appreciate that!
Congratulations, Rebecca! I look forward to reading the essay. It's great that you trusted yourself to end the essay the way that was 'right' for you...
Thank you, Carol!
https://scholar.valpo.edu/vfr/vol11/iss2/8/
My short story, Dryad, was published in this university fiction review, Valparaiso Fiction Review. A jogger has an interesting experience in the woods during fire season.
I used a service called “ Writer’s Relief”. I submitted two stories with them, and the second one is still pending, El Portal Literary Journal, out soon.
I love Submititnow.com, they’ve also helped me publish two stories. Idle Ink and Fiction on the Web published those.
I think the services, particularly Erik Harper Klaas’ editing with Submit it, gives me confidence.
Thanks for this question and the ability to share!
Jane, that's great. I've never known anyone who used Writer's Relief, but I'm glad to hear you've had a positive experience with them. Also, yes, Erik at Submitit is a terrific reader and really knows his stuff! Congrats.
I'd never heard of Submititnow--so thanks for the tip. I used Writer's Relief once years ago, when I was fresh out of my MFA and needed guidance on where to send my work. I eventually published the story, but not until years later and on my own. However, I still send to some of the journals on that early list.
Submitit uses an algorithm so that your work is sent to journals most likely to accept them. You can do 20 journals at once, and they take care of all tracking of submissions. Erik Harper Klaas is an excellent editor and one of the principals.
Writers Relief is similar ( but their website and email approach isn’t to my taste). Good luck! And please post a link to your work if you’d like. Thanks for commenting.
Congratulations, Jane!
Thank so much, so kind of you to comment. Hope your writing is going well!
My latest publication is "Evergreen Promises," a brief story about the power and ache of traditions, in Palooka #12. I had a wonderful experience working with the editor. This was a healthy reminder that acceptance doesn't imply publication. Lots can happen in between. I chronicled the story's journey to publication here: https://arsenalofwords.com/2022/04/03/acceptance-isnt-always-publication-or-how-evergreen-promises-got-published/
What a great thread--it's been so much fun reading other people's pieces. So far this year, I've had two short stories, three micros, and two poems published, with five more publications expected between now and November. The piece I'm highlighting today is my short story "Extra Credit," published by Cleaver Magazine in March 2022. You can read it here:
https://www.cleavermagazine.com/extra-credit-by-colette-parris/
(I also have a link to it on my website, which is coletteparris.com.) This is one of my funniest pieces, and I find that funny can sometimes be hard to place, especially when racial issues are at the forefront. I received several personal rejections from well-regarded journals all saying basically the same thing: "We really enjoyed the story but are wondering if it detracts from 'the message.'" I am so grateful to Cleaver (which I submitted to after a story in one of their issues--"Lab Rat Vengeance"--had me laughing out loud) for taking a chance on this piece, which in fact has multiple messages. Also, Cleaver had a quick turnaround time (less than a month between submission and acceptance), and the editors were lovely to work with.
This is great, Colette, congrats! So clever. I love Cleaver!
Thanks Becky!
I am happy to have my translation of a short story, Penance, by Colombian writer Octavio Escobar Giraldo, alongside my essay "Translating Violence and Silence" in the latest edition of World Literature Today. This is a particular joy because this is Octavio's first publication in English!
I'm so impressed and moved by everyone's response. Thank you, Becky, for the rich opportunity to share and also learn.
On July 4th, THE WRATH-BEARING TREE published my "heart" nonfiction narrative on loss and resilience. And they wanted photos! This piece took five years and more than a few rejections to evolve to its present form. https://www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2022/07/new-nonfiction-live-oaks-by-carol-ann-wilson/ WBT (name from a T.S. Eliot poem) was founded by combat veterans and focuses on issues of social justice and human resilience. The editor was incredibly supportive and responsive in all matters.
A month earlier, my invited review of THE 1619 PROJECT: A NEW ORIGIN STORY was published by bookscover2cover.com an online journal of books reviews and author interviews. https://bookscover2cover.com/reviews/nonfiction/the-1619-project-a-new-origin-story/
Also, an essay published in THE WRITE LAUNCH in 2021 won the 2022 Colorado Authors League award. https://thewritelaunch.com/2021/04/fireworks-in-hong-kong/ I love submitting work to these journals. Another excellent one is UNDER THE GUM TREE, which is both print and online.
My short story, “Lucky Charm,” was recently published in Big City Lit. I believe I found them in the Poets & Writers database. They had a 3-month turnaround time, so I gave it a shot. Here’s the link:
https://nycbigcitylit.com/author/natividad/
Over the last 18 months or so, I have worked a great deal in the tanka format - a few a bit more traditional in nature and a few coming from a much more difficult and troubled place. I had offered one of the darker poems a few times to literary journals with little success but largely was waiting for an opportunity to submit to Ribbons, the journal of The Tanka Society of America. Editor Susan Weaver selected one of the poems and worked with me to move away from the traditional syllable sequence in order to open up the poem a bit more. She encouraged me to revise the others in the same way. As I looked at the others, I saw a set of them came from a similar emotional place and began to play with them as a tanka sequence. The images were similarly dark, focused on grief and had the same 3 a.m. feel to them. That made me think of Acropolis Journal which I had heard about and sampled. I packaged them together and sent to editor Louise Mather who quickly sent a warm and positive acceptance. Here is that sequence. https://acropolisjournaluk.wixsite.com/acropolisjournal/issue-four
My creative non-fiction piece "Cede the Day--or How to Age Unconstructively in a Pandemic" was published in the most recent issue of Gertrude.
https://www.gertrudepress.org/
Thanks for this, and for the newsletter, which I find very helpful though I've been quiet up until now.
Congratulations, Shelley! I'm looking forward to reading this piece....: )
So . . . just had 3 poems turned down by a publication in which I had high hopes of placing those pieces. I’ve worked a long time in book publishing, as an editor, so I know that the acceptance rate for book manuscripts tends to be in the range of 3 to 5 or maybe 6 percent. And as someone who has had to make such decisions, I also know that excellent manuscripts are declined all the time, for all kinds of reasons. I know that my most recently rejected poems are good, and I will keep trying to place them. After sitting in on yesterday’s Submissions Study Hall, I finally made a spreadsheet of my submissions from the last 5 years. My acceptance rate has been about 50 percent. That’s because I really haven’t sent much work out. Now I’m inspired to send out more work and bring my acceptance rate down to the industry standard. See you next time.
Two recent publications (though I've published over eighty stories and a few poems since around 2018). They are:
"Limes" in Marrow Magazine
https://marrowmagazine.com/limes/
And "The Lizard Incident" in Modern Literature
https://www.modernliterature.org/the-lizard-incident-by-richard-risemberg/
If anyone's interested, they can see the complete list at:
link
I have a submissions workflow established, using Excel and keeping each story , poem, or novel manuscript out at three journals, publishers, or agents, till someone caves in and takes it.
I find most the entities I send to at Poets & Writers or Newpages, but I also subscribe to the Authors Publish newsletter, which I love because they tell you whether journals they are listing are open for submissions right now, or not. Saves time and (especially) frustration.
They say a helicopter needs five hours of maintenance for every hour of flight time. Likewise, I spend much more time sending work out than I actually do writing it. And it seems to be working.
Of course I wish I had an agent to do that for me. But I don't, so...it's all up to me.
At 74 I recently discovered the benefits and excitement of literary magazines. I had one acceptance yesterday with Withintentions.com and a couple of other short stories in OpenDoor magazine and Carmina next year. My reasons for self-publishing my books is that I belong and live at The Erasmus Foundation in the UK, a spiritual teaching and healing centre, and this is how I can share the wondrous information we receive about the structure of Man , where we come from, what happens when we return Home, etc., etc. We do not force our beliefs on anyone but if I write a book and carry some wisdom we have been given within the story, then it is for others to accept or reject. It is rewarding to have your work accepted but I am always conscious of ego, and don't wish to inflate mine. Thank you for all your endeavours.
Hedley Griffin
Wow, thanks for sharing this, Hedley!
My most recent micro “Dead Horse” is up at The Journal of Radical Wonder. 👉https://medium.com/the-journal-of-radical-wonder/dead-horse-fe5ba3d588e2
Great idea Becky! I had a short story published in 433 Magazine earlier this year and the link is here: https://www.fourthreethree.org/blog/colors-of-ownership
I was thrilled also because this was the first time an editor actually took the time to give me some feedback besides being encouraging and then publishing my story.
I’ve been writing for a few years but this is the first year that I’ve started submitting seriously.
I submit to get published - obviously- but what I mean is that I want my work read, and not necessarily because I want the reflected prestige of the LJ. I’m in my 50s and onto my 4th innings (work wise) so being read is more important to me.
Having said that I’m not above wondering if an LJ is “good enough” as soon as they’ve accepted my work :-). But I laugh and get over it and celebrate the small victories and feel especially happy when someone writes to say they liked my story.
Thanks for this newsletter and for your fabulous content! It’s hugely helpful.
Like many on this thread, I am over 70 and only started regularly writing and submitting 3 years ago. Since then I've submitted over 400 times though Submittable (obviously most pieces many times), for a hit rate of 9. My Duotrope hit rate is 7 out of 29. Submission by email and other methods accounts for the rest. (Note: It was 10 months before I received my first acceptance and then a further 6 months to the next. Clearly practice and listening to feedback improves your hit rate over time. I have now had 40 stories published and 20 poems.
I spend a lot of time trawling through the opportunities lists on Submittable and Duotrope, various newsletters and writer groups online to find places that may take my work.
Recent successes have included:
https://spillwords.com/now-i-lay-me-down-to-sleep/
https://worthingflash.blogspot.com/2022/07/a-dollars-worth-of-destiny.html
I've had some interaction with editors regarding proposed changes, which usually end well but not when they demand US spelling or other forms of linguistic imperialism. I was also recently asked to re-write a line that the editor interpreted as a stereotype about lesbians. Let's just say we had an interesting discussion resulting in a mutually acceptable version.
Finally, thank you to all on this thread for some great leads and information.
Good afternoon. July has been a wonderful month in this poet's world! My first poetry collection, FULL MOON FIRE, has appeared, and a second volume, MOONCHILD, is to appear for Christmas. From these two collections and individual submissions, my work has found a home with Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, Open Skies Poetry (August), Sweetycat Press (October), Panoplyzine (September), Ravens Quoth Press (August) and Syncopation (November) ... I'm a member of many Calls for Submission groups on FB, and I try to make it a point to submit at least a few poems every week. ... I can recommend all of these publications and the professionalism and supportiveness of their editors most whole-heartedly! ... I've not had the experience of working closely with a lit-mag editor to shape a poem, and I haven't really expected that, given what I understand to be the demands of a job that is most often a labor of love ... For me, it's been either a kind "no, thank you," or an enthusiastic "yes" ... As I aim to develop as a writer, I also try to pick up on prompts from editors and writing groups, creating poems that are "outside the box" for me ... . I welcome members of Lit Mag News to connect with me on FB at Marianne Tefft - Poet & Wordsmith (or Marianne Tefft)! ... Happy Saturday, all!!
Gregg Williard
Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I'm 71, have been writing and art making since my 20's. This is my 6th publication this year. Working on novel, sending it out daily.
Gregg Williard
Just had my essay, "Dim Bulbs" with thirty-five of my drawings published in The Ground Up. They did a fantastic job with lay-out and presentation!
Recently my piece Home Is Where was published by ChangeSeven. This piece was published about 5 times before by different magazines, I lose track. I have a different piece coming out end of the month at Sad Girls Club Lit Mag called Pandemical Perspectives. No editing process other than ChangeSeven, changed the title of my piece which was weird. A different piece, That Pesky Pesto was published a few months ago in Grande Dame Literary which specializes in older women writers. Honestly, I don't have any submission method other than I query "personal essay" on Submittable and will submit to just any lit mag that falls into my WORD count or close to the subject matter. My favorite though is my Three Women piece published in May by The Grit and Grace Project and then again by a few other mags. Grit & Grace were different in that I got an author's dashboard I had to sign in on and you can see editing process here, so that was fun, although they never did change anything. The rest just basically published as is. https://thegritandgraceproject.org/life-and-culture/do-you-have-strong-women-like-this-in-your-life?fbclid=IwAR2zoZW_EDjr3MOs5-c2bpAEyLSbvucOqx_emZrYwtHu4lUQ3KGezsOJghc
Although I have to say this weird thing where mags have to put another 'heading' before every few paragraphs I find strange. A lot of them do that now. My pieces are all on my blog site, about 70 of them now, not all very good. But the 3 I mentioned above aren't yet because I actually payed attention to "no previously published" annoying rule which includes your own blog site.
Had 4 poems published in April by Terror House Magazine. And a poem in Rattle a couple of years ago. https://terrorhousemag.com/prologue/
https://www.rattle.com/pink-mountain-by-x-p-callahan/
I was lucky to have one of my newest stories accepted by the pacificREVIEW (that's how they spell it; don't ask me why). Apparently, they publish a yearly themed anthology and this year's theme is "Loss." It seemed like a good fit for my story and I guess they agreed. The printed anthology comes out in August.
The story has a bit of a macabre twist to it, so I wasn't sure where to send it—or if anyone would be interested in it because of that twist. But I happened to stumble across the pub on Duotrope, which linked me to the pub's site, which described the theme of loss in some detail and I thought, "Why the hell not?"
I've never submitted to an anthology before but am weirdly thrilled to actually show up in one next month. This will be my third published story. It's a start!
Btw the meme of the dancing man you used is of a Bollywood star - Ranveer Singh :-)
https://instagram.com/ranveersingh?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Oh! Thank you so much for this info, Reena! That's awesome.
So true. I love when this medium can serve to connect people in meaningful ways.
Congrats Michael! Which edition?
Woo hoo!
Congratulations on the whole group of wonderful publications, Kerry!
Can't wait to read this, Flo! Sounds like the fun we could all use!