on poetry & being human

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the art of formatting your submission
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the art of formatting your submission

& resources, reading recs, tidbits, a call to action, etc.

Despy Boutris
Jul 20
1
Share this post
the art of formatting your submission
despyboutris.substack.com

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!

Twitter avatar for @itsdboutsDespy Boutris @itsdbouts
out now 💘
Image

July 20th 2022


Grateful to have a Best of the Net nomination.

Twitter avatar for @YIVJournalYour Impossible Voice @YIVJournal
Feast your eyes on this — an untitled collage by @itsdbouts and one of our nominations for @SundressPub's Best of the Net!
bit.ly/3uYB0hR
Best of the Net Nominee Untitled by Despy Boutris

July 19th 2022

3 Retweets14 Likes

I’ve started an online marketplace

(it’s still in progress!) & you can shop for gay & feminist gifts for yourself & friends right here.

SHOP NOW


Shoutouts:

Thank y’all for all the love on Twitter. I’m grateful to be in a community with you.

Twitter avatar for @kris10simentalKristen Simental @kris10simental
Former @fivesouthlit contributor Despy Boutris' @itsdbouts writes in her Substack this week helpful advice on writing your professional bio.
the art of the bio& round-updespyboutris.substack.com

July 20th 2022

2 Retweets7 Likes
Twitter avatar for @FestCreativityLincoln Festival of Creativity 2022 @FestCreativity
Don’t forget about Issue 3 of The Lincoln Review! This work has been created by Despy Boutris! #festivalofcreativity #art #unioflincoln @unilincoln @lincoln_review
Image

July 12th 2022

8 Retweets9 Likes
Twitter avatar for @BullCityPressBull City Press 🐂 @BullCityPress
"And I am just a forest / burning long and red" 🔥@itsdbouts #BCPfam #Inch #Burials

Despy Boutris @itsdbouts

poem out in dream mag @CincinnReview today 💘 https://t.co/hVBo8ivSYH

July 14th 2022

1 Retweet2 Likes
Twitter avatar for @CRRLitMagCumberlandRiverReview @CRRLitMag
Excited to announce Issue 11.3! New work by Thomas Belton, Despy Boutris, Batnadiv HaKarmi, Daniel Johnson, A. Molotkov, John A. Nieves, Lee Peterson, Michael Phillips, Austin Segrest, Katherine Smith, and Joannie Stangeland.
crr.trevecca.edu
Image

July 16th 2022

3 Likes

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:

on poetry & being human
the art of the cover letter
Happy Tuesday, all! Here’s what I have for you today: Housekeeping Resources The art of the cover letter What I’m reading Quotations Tweets Final notes…
Read more
8 days ago · Despy Boutris

& then, we talked about the art of the short bio:

on poetry & being human
the art of the bio
Happy Monday, folks! Here’s what I have for you today: Housekeeping Opportunities The art of the bio Call to action What I’m reading Quotations Tweets…
Read more
2 days ago · 1 like · Despy Boutris

Today, we’re talking about what editors see next: the actual document.

Here are my tips:

  1. Your strongest poem should be the first one in the packet.

  2. Your poems should be single- (or 1.15-) spaced, unless the poem is formatted in monostiches.

  3. Don’t list your name or contact information on the document itself unless the journal specifically asks you to (as many prefer anonymous submissions).

  4. Use a readable font such as

    • Garamond

    • EB Garamond

    • Adobe Garamond

    • Times New Roman

    • Arial

  5. 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:

Twitter avatar for @gothgoofAndrothony Sluton @gothgoof
I don’t know where this “you don’t have to read to be a writer” discourse came from but being a writer who only reads their own work sounds like a circle of hell.

July 19th 2022

1 Retweet16 Likes
Twitter avatar for @DrakeGatsbyjon drake @DrakeGatsby
People love to hate on Mondays but Tuesdays? Also bad. Wednesday is no prize either

July 19th 2022

4,392 Retweets58,074 Likes
Twitter avatar for @helpmeskeletorDavid Lo Pun-ch Nazis @helpmeskeletor
Lol the idea that fascists can be shamed once they know that their actions cause death. Babe why do you think they do them.

July 18th 2022

381 Retweets1,748 Likes

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.

& stay healthy, sane, & keep looking out for each other—

-Despy Boutris
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