Happy Wednesday, folks!
Here’s what I have for you today:
Housekeeping
Random tidbits
Shoutouts
Formatting your submission
Call to action
Tweets
Housekeeping:
I have a new (old) poem out!
Grateful to have a Best of the Net nomination.
I’ve started an online marketplace
(it’s still in progress!) & you can shop for gay & feminist gifts for yourself & friends right here.
Shoutouts:
Thank y’all for all the love on Twitter. I’m grateful to be in a community with you.
Despy Boutris @itsdbouts
poem out in dream mag @CincinnReview today 💘 https://t.co/hVBo8ivSYH
Random tidbits:
Ricky Martin is yikes, to say the least.
Stop platforming predators! And pedophiles! Within the poetry world, too!
What started as hurt (& again) had a really happy ending, actually. If you’re a writer of color, you might consider submitting to The Willowherb Review ($100 for poetry & $250 for prose).
On formatting your poems:
Lately, this newsletter has focused quite a bit on how to maximize your chances for publication.
First, we talked about the art of the cover letter:
& then, we talked about the art of the short bio:
Today, we’re talking about what editors see next: the actual document.
Here are my tips:
Your strongest poem should be the first one in the packet.
Your poems should be single- (or 1.15-) spaced, unless the poem is formatted in monostiches.
Don’t list your name or contact information on the document itself unless the journal specifically asks you to (as many prefer anonymous submissions).
Use a readable font such as
Garamond
EB Garamond
Adobe Garamond
Times New Roman
Arial
Use the page-break feature rather than pressing enter-enter-enter-enter until you reach the first line of the next page. (This will almost certainly show up differently on editors’ computers, leaving them frustrated that your poems appear to start within the middle of the page.) Here’s a guide on how to do page-breaks.
One final (important!) note, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer:
Don’t add a copyright/trademark symbol to each page of your submission.
In many editors’ minds, copyright notices signal the work of amateurs who are distrustful and paranoid about having work stolen.
Listen. Editors aren’t going to steal your work. And if they do I will punch them for ya.
Call to action:
See if there’s any way you might “clean-up” your submission documents. Can you make any changes to maximize your chances of journal acceptance?
Tweets:
Final notes:
My birthday is in less than a week
and I love presents always. Here’s my Amazon wishlist. Please buy me gifts, if you want. Love you.
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