How I Select Journals for My Poems

a Guest Post by Tom Barlow

First, a couple of confessions—in my twenty years as a writer, I've published a hundred or so short stories and a hundred or so poems, but I've also accumulated ten times or more that many rejections. Therefore, you might be warranted to view this tip sheet, shared with the best of intentions, as instructive but not conclusive.

Second, I no longer expect to be paid more than a pittance for my poetry, yet I continue to submit them for one reason; I'm addicted to praise, can't get enough of it, and when I see one of my works in a journal, I am not immune to praising myself when others don't jump in.

Given these, I have a list of criteria I use to choose from the roughly two thousand journals listed on Duotrope that accept poetry. First, and remember I am looking to maximize the opportunity for praise, I usually stick to online journals, rather than expect those who follow my work on Facebook and X to order and pay for a print journal. Understand, though, that by doing so I am denying myself the opportunity to see my poems in many of the most prestigious print publications, such as Poetry, Rattle or The New Yorker. I am justifiably humble in this respect.

Given my desire to inspire praise, I also skew toward online journals that  present my work handsomely, perhaps with accompanying artwork and free of ads. To make it as easy as possible for followers to access my poems, I favor journals that display them with a unique web address I can send followers to, rather than burying them in a PDF file or an Issuu issue. Editors who hope to entice readers of my poem to stay and read more might not like the unique address idea, though.

You might think that I would hammer journals that have accepted my poems in the past, certainly a wise strategy, but not so. It's a silly game I play, seeing how many different journals will accept my poems. I don't suggest this tactic; many find the best success establishing ongoing relationships with editors.

There are many other pithy criteria I use inconsistently: I favor journals that look to have a long lifetime (I'm saddened every time a link to one of my poems dies), that have titles I'm not embarrassed to send to my mother (I'm looking at you Poetry as Fuck), that fare well on the various lists that attempt to rank journals, and that appear on sites that compile opportunities, such as Duotrope and Chill Subs. I send my poems to pubs with reasonable submission policies and turn-around times, that don't charge (although I'll tip three bucks on occasion when I pity the journal), and that allow simsubs (simultaneous submissions, that is; yes, I'm deft with the submission lingo). Journals that actively promote their issues on social media also attract me.

I appreciate it when a journal allows me to record a reading of my poem to accompany it on the page (yay Rattle), that streamline the submission process (yay, Submittable), that respond in a reasonable time (FYI, The New Yorker can take two years to say no, ONE ART, hours) that doesn't embrace a political stand I can't support, and one that promotes opportunities for special recognition such as the Pushcart and Best of the Net. I don't enter contests, but if I did, I'd look for ones that have a reasonable proportion between entry fee and prize amount.

To maximize the probability of acceptance, I sometimes send my work to new journals, not yet discovered by the MFA hordes, and keep my eyes peeled for calls for special subject issues that match my work. Also, I have seen it suggested that journals that accept work via email rather than through Submittable receive far fewer entries, increasing the odds that those submitters might find success.

Finally, I would suggest if you entertain seeking publication, take the long view, accepting that rejection is part and parcel of the process. I have a hit rate of eleven percent, have kept it there for twenty years, and I'm OK with that. Take joy in the hits, laugh off the misses, be sure to reach out to your friends for praise with every success, and be liberal with your praise whenever the opportunity arises. You can do it; I love your work.

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Tom Barlow is an Ohio writer of novels, short stories and poetry whose work has appeared in many journals including Ekphrastic Review, Voicemail Poetry, New York Quarterly, Modern Poetry Quarterly, and many more. See tombarlowauthor.com.