Welcome to our weekly column offering perspectives on lit mag publishing, with contributions from readers, writers and editors around the world. On May 17th Becky Tuch of Lit Mag News conducted one of her best interviews ever. Her guest was Paula Deitz
You are super kind Catherine. Thanks for your comment. I read to see how another writer thinks. I write to let the reader see how I think. I'm glad my thoughts found a home with you.
This reminds me of the book "The Last Intellectuals" by Russell Jacoby. The author asserts younger public intellectuals (this was pubbed in 1987!) now prefer working in universities and writing for academic outlets.
I can't remember now, but I heard from an editor of another magazine that they get more fiction and poetry than nonfiction subs in general. People also prefer to publish timely essays in newspapers or magazines. I imagine these factors and Hudson Review's mail-only and no simsub policy, and long response time all contribute to the lower number of essay subs.
Thoughtful and provocative piece. I don't agree 100% with every assertion, but overall, I really enjoyed reading this piece and thinking about it. Well done! I expect I'll be reading your essays widely before too long. (Also, I can't resist sharing that one of my short stories will be appearing in the Hudson Review, either the next issue or the issue after that. A thrill indeed!!!)
Excellent points I think Andrew. Building on your thoughts, I also wonder if the market for articles and essays by non credentialed "generalist" writers hasn't become more and more diminished over time. Maybe that is part of what is going on. I think this makes it hard for a writer to break through in the submission process. Even a short letter to the op ed editor of a major paper...look how many of them are from experts in some field. Much like the fact that these days everyone is an investor...it seems that everyone is a writer.
Scott, thanks for commenting. I don't think you're missing anything. I also observe the personal essay dominates in journals. In that regard, only Paula could say whether Hudson is different in what they seek. I try to weave a little of my experience into something with a little more pith...with a little more citation and backbone. To answer the question "what is the point?". Unvarnished feelings and memories aren't quite enough for me as a reader not as a writer. By the way, George Bernard Shaw also said he wouldn't pick up a pencil for the sake of art alone. That particular quote got cut in the interest of brevity in this essay. It was much longer. But it is a belief I also ascribe to...not for art alone. As you see, James Agee also believed it.
Great piece, Richard. It's no mystery why The Hudson Review gets only 1,500 fiction submissions a year, and a small amount of essays: they require submission by mail, which is like dropping your piece in a black hole. With Submittable and other online systems, you at least get a thank you note, and can see when your piece has moved from “received” to “in progress.” With The Hudson Review there is no response, and you may not hear back for a year. And excuse me if I take the editor’s comment about their authors getting noticed by publishers with a grain of salt. I can’t imagine why this would be more true of The Hudson Review than any other good lit mag--especially since other lit mags get 50,000 or more submissions per year.
Catherine, I just read your bio by the way and your next writing project about the Acadian expulsion sounds great. I lived in Lafourche Parish, LA back in the early 80's in deep Cajun country. The experience marked me with a deep affection for the people of that region. We've also visited Grand Pre in Nova Scotia, the site of the expulsion and the whole saga is so tragic. I am of Huguenot lineage and relate to that much earlier expulsion of French people, at the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Good luck on your book!
Fabulous essay Mr. Mullin. You should submit an essay to the The Hudson Review. You might be chosen and I'm not being facetious. Your writing is thoughtful and well well-researched and impactful. A good essay changes the reader, and makes the reader think. This did that for me. Thank you!
An eloquent call to CNF arms. Thanks for the thoughtful essay. It gives me hope that my preferred genre has room for my writing. Once more unto the breach!
Excellent piece of writing. Thank you. I need to read it again, thoroughly, when I am not scrolling through the content on my cell phone. Could this be part of the equation: There is less demand for the long form essay when many readers prefer to inhale screen-sized flash CNF instead?
I think it's because essays are less in need of institutionalized stamps of approval than fiction. Substack is filled with essays galore, but not as much with fiction. Essays are more "useful" in that compared to fiction, it's relatively easy to tell if an essay sheds any meaningful insight or knowledge to its reader. In contrast, it's harder to tell if a given work of fiction is even any good, with many readers reading a fictional work merely because a prestigious author wrote it. Those readers may even pretend to like it when they were either indifferent to it or even hated it.
In short, anybody who writes fiction knows how hard it is to get attention for it without the backing of something like The New Yorker, The Hudson Review, or other literary journals. In contrast, a good essay has a better chance of standing out and being recognized on its own, even if it's by just some internet guy/gal, so there's less of a drive to get it published by prestigious magazines. Why not just put it on Substack where you don't have to hope for acceptance and deal with edits?
Ooph. Interesting. I've been working on my first "essay" since freshman English, and I'm writing on "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, for at least three weeks now...hoping to finish "one of these days".
Intriguing post that inspires me to go in search of the interview (which I missed)! On the matter of essays: I'm curious for additional insights about both Paula Deitz's and this post's author's thoughts about how many "essays" (taught/written in classes, and received at journals such as Hudson Review) tend to be memoiristic. The question of the range of "creative nonfiction," as perceived/taught/read/written seems important here, too. It seems, to me, to be somewhat embedded within this post, but perhaps something that could be further discussed.
Well done! This essay beautifully models what you describe. Your argument (via the Stanford interview) for reading complex texts resonated with me. This reminds me of a post I published on Monday recommending literature classes for Gen Z. One person Restacked it with the correction: good for any generation. True! I wonder how many literary journals would welcome essays about ideas. If there are many, then a whole genre (without the timeliness of a Huff Post or Conversation essay) may be waiting for a rebirth. Inspiring!
I'm pleased to read that the Hudson Review is seeking excellent essays that make a point - as distinct from a merely personal essay. But how many other literary journals are looking for such content? When I think of "point-making essays," what comes to my mind are The Atlantic, The New York Review, etc. Not literary journals. Many essays I encounter today in literary journals are, broadly considered, memoir of some sort. Which is great. But they don't necessarily make a "point" beyond "this is what I experienced and what I've learned." Am I missing something?
You are super kind Catherine. Thanks for your comment. I read to see how another writer thinks. I write to let the reader see how I think. I'm glad my thoughts found a home with you.
This reminds me of the book "The Last Intellectuals" by Russell Jacoby. The author asserts younger public intellectuals (this was pubbed in 1987!) now prefer working in universities and writing for academic outlets.
I can't remember now, but I heard from an editor of another magazine that they get more fiction and poetry than nonfiction subs in general. People also prefer to publish timely essays in newspapers or magazines. I imagine these factors and Hudson Review's mail-only and no simsub policy, and long response time all contribute to the lower number of essay subs.
Thoughtful and provocative piece. I don't agree 100% with every assertion, but overall, I really enjoyed reading this piece and thinking about it. Well done! I expect I'll be reading your essays widely before too long. (Also, I can't resist sharing that one of my short stories will be appearing in the Hudson Review, either the next issue or the issue after that. A thrill indeed!!!)
Excellent points I think Andrew. Building on your thoughts, I also wonder if the market for articles and essays by non credentialed "generalist" writers hasn't become more and more diminished over time. Maybe that is part of what is going on. I think this makes it hard for a writer to break through in the submission process. Even a short letter to the op ed editor of a major paper...look how many of them are from experts in some field. Much like the fact that these days everyone is an investor...it seems that everyone is a writer.
Scott, thanks for commenting. I don't think you're missing anything. I also observe the personal essay dominates in journals. In that regard, only Paula could say whether Hudson is different in what they seek. I try to weave a little of my experience into something with a little more pith...with a little more citation and backbone. To answer the question "what is the point?". Unvarnished feelings and memories aren't quite enough for me as a reader not as a writer. By the way, George Bernard Shaw also said he wouldn't pick up a pencil for the sake of art alone. That particular quote got cut in the interest of brevity in this essay. It was much longer. But it is a belief I also ascribe to...not for art alone. As you see, James Agee also believed it.
Great piece, Richard. It's no mystery why The Hudson Review gets only 1,500 fiction submissions a year, and a small amount of essays: they require submission by mail, which is like dropping your piece in a black hole. With Submittable and other online systems, you at least get a thank you note, and can see when your piece has moved from “received” to “in progress.” With The Hudson Review there is no response, and you may not hear back for a year. And excuse me if I take the editor’s comment about their authors getting noticed by publishers with a grain of salt. I can’t imagine why this would be more true of The Hudson Review than any other good lit mag--especially since other lit mags get 50,000 or more submissions per year.
Catherine, I just read your bio by the way and your next writing project about the Acadian expulsion sounds great. I lived in Lafourche Parish, LA back in the early 80's in deep Cajun country. The experience marked me with a deep affection for the people of that region. We've also visited Grand Pre in Nova Scotia, the site of the expulsion and the whole saga is so tragic. I am of Huguenot lineage and relate to that much earlier expulsion of French people, at the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Good luck on your book!
Fabulous essay Mr. Mullin. You should submit an essay to the The Hudson Review. You might be chosen and I'm not being facetious. Your writing is thoughtful and well well-researched and impactful. A good essay changes the reader, and makes the reader think. This did that for me. Thank you!
I only write essays, don't know how to write anything else, nor do I want to
An eloquent call to CNF arms. Thanks for the thoughtful essay. It gives me hope that my preferred genre has room for my writing. Once more unto the breach!
Excellent piece of writing. Thank you. I need to read it again, thoroughly, when I am not scrolling through the content on my cell phone. Could this be part of the equation: There is less demand for the long form essay when many readers prefer to inhale screen-sized flash CNF instead?
I think it's because essays are less in need of institutionalized stamps of approval than fiction. Substack is filled with essays galore, but not as much with fiction. Essays are more "useful" in that compared to fiction, it's relatively easy to tell if an essay sheds any meaningful insight or knowledge to its reader. In contrast, it's harder to tell if a given work of fiction is even any good, with many readers reading a fictional work merely because a prestigious author wrote it. Those readers may even pretend to like it when they were either indifferent to it or even hated it.
In short, anybody who writes fiction knows how hard it is to get attention for it without the backing of something like The New Yorker, The Hudson Review, or other literary journals. In contrast, a good essay has a better chance of standing out and being recognized on its own, even if it's by just some internet guy/gal, so there's less of a drive to get it published by prestigious magazines. Why not just put it on Substack where you don't have to hope for acceptance and deal with edits?
Ooph. Interesting. I've been working on my first "essay" since freshman English, and I'm writing on "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, for at least three weeks now...hoping to finish "one of these days".
Intriguing post that inspires me to go in search of the interview (which I missed)! On the matter of essays: I'm curious for additional insights about both Paula Deitz's and this post's author's thoughts about how many "essays" (taught/written in classes, and received at journals such as Hudson Review) tend to be memoiristic. The question of the range of "creative nonfiction," as perceived/taught/read/written seems important here, too. It seems, to me, to be somewhat embedded within this post, but perhaps something that could be further discussed.
Well done! This essay beautifully models what you describe. Your argument (via the Stanford interview) for reading complex texts resonated with me. This reminds me of a post I published on Monday recommending literature classes for Gen Z. One person Restacked it with the correction: good for any generation. True! I wonder how many literary journals would welcome essays about ideas. If there are many, then a whole genre (without the timeliness of a Huff Post or Conversation essay) may be waiting for a rebirth. Inspiring!
I'm pleased to read that the Hudson Review is seeking excellent essays that make a point - as distinct from a merely personal essay. But how many other literary journals are looking for such content? When I think of "point-making essays," what comes to my mind are The Atlantic, The New York Review, etc. Not literary journals. Many essays I encounter today in literary journals are, broadly considered, memoir of some sort. Which is great. But they don't necessarily make a "point" beyond "this is what I experienced and what I've learned." Am I missing something?