Lit Mag Chat with Erik Harper Klass of Submitit!

Submitit Founder answers all our lit mag questions

Happy Friday, everyone.

Today’s post is a bit unusual, as it is the video recording of one of our Lit Mag Chat sessions. I don’t typically record these, but a reader requested I record this one due to the expertise of our special guest. So I did! Here it is!

In this chat, which lasted over 90 minutes (!!), Erik Harper Klass shared insights into his work. At the company he founded, Submitit, Erik uses a unique algorithm to match clients’ stories and essays with the ideal literary magazines. Erik has read more lit mags than anyone I know and has a wealth of information about what’s out there.

In this session, he told us the results of putting the stories of six writers through his algorithm. He discussed the elements he looked for in the works, and then provided lists of magazines for the writers, based on those elements.

Additional insights he shared were invaluable. Questions he addressed include:

• Do the guidelines of what journals say they want to publish match what they actually publish?

• What is the number one predictor of a story’s match for a particular magazine? (Spoiler alert: It is not how suspenseful the story is.)

• What are some amazing top-tier magazines (acceptance rate less than 1%) that many of us may have never heard of?

• What does it mean that a good work of literature does two things at once?

• How can a writer objectively measure the quality of their own prose?

And so much more.

There was a great deal of interest in Erik’s submission services. Anyone who would like to learn more can visit Submitit.

You can contact Erik directly here.

This video is available only to paying subscribers of Lit Mag News. Consider signing up today to watch the video, attend future Lit Mag Chats, and join the community of people talking and learning all about lit mags!

Thanks to everyone who came out. And thanks to Erik for sharing his incredible knowledge with all of us.