Submissions & Publishing
1. Submit to Three Journals at Once, Not Thirty
The shotgun approach to submissions is a waste of time and money. When you submit to thirty journals at once, you're essentially admitting you haven't done your homework. You're hoping something will stick rather than targeting places that actually want your work.
Instead, research three journals thoroughly. Read their recent issues, understand their aesthetic, and submit work that fits their vision. This focused approach leads to higher acceptance rates and builds meaningful relationships with editors. You'll also save money on submission fees and avoid the emotional roller coaster of twenty-seven rejections arriving in the same week.
The three-journal rule forces you to be strategic. You can't just fire off your latest poem everywhere—you have to think about where it belongs. This makes you a better editor of your own work and a more thoughtful participant in the literary community.
2. Read the Damn Magazine Before You Submit
This seems obvious, but most poets skip this step entirely. They look at a journal's name, maybe scan their website, and hit submit. Then they wonder why their confessional narrative poems keep getting rejected by experimental journals.
Reading the magazine tells you everything you need to know: what length poems they prefer, whether they like formal verse or free verse, if they're interested in political work or prefer the personal. You'll also discover poets you didn't know about and get a sense of the conversation you're trying to join.
If you can't afford to buy every journal, most have sample poems online, or you can read them at your local library or university. The point isn't to imitate what they publish—it's to understand whether your work fits their mission. An hour of reading can save you months of inappropriate submissions.
3. Your Bio Should Be One Sentence If You're Starting Out
New poets often write biographical paragraphs listing every workshop they've attended and every local reading they've participated in. This screams amateur. Editors care about your publication history, not your MFA status or your day job (unless it's directly relevant to the poems).
If you're just starting out, keep it simple: "Jane Smith writes poetry in Cleveland" or "This is John's first publication." There's no shame in being new. Editors would rather see honesty than inflated credentials.
As you build a publication history, you can expand your bio to include your most impressive credits. But even established poets should keep bios concise. Three sentences maximum. Your poems should speak for themselves.
4. Simultaneous Submissions Are Your Friend
Most journals now accept simultaneous submissions, which means you can submit the same poem to multiple places at once. This dramatically speeds up the publication process and increases your chances of acceptance.
The key is being organized and ethical about it. Use a spreadsheet or Submittable's tracking features to keep track of where you've sent what. When a poem gets accepted, immediately withdraw it from everywhere else. Most journals make this easy with a simple email or button click.
Some poets worry that simultaneous submissions are somehow disrespectful, but journals expect it now. The alternative—waiting six months for a rejection before submitting elsewhere—is inefficient for everyone involved.
5. Rejection Is Good Data, Not A Personal Attack
Every rejection tells you something useful, even if it doesn't feel that way. Generic rejections might mean your work doesn't fit that journal's aesthetic. Personal rejections with feedback are gold—they mean an editor saw something worth responding to.
Keep track of your rejections. If three different journals reject the same poem for being "too abstract," maybe the poem needs more concrete imagery. If formal journals love your work but literary magazines don't, you're learning about your strengths and your audience.
The most successful poets I know treat rejection as market research. They adjust their submission strategy based on patterns they notice, not based on how the rejections make them feel.