Where to Submit Your Poetry (besides ONE ART): Brief recap + Mark’s reflections

_ Reflections on Zoom event _ 6.24.25 _

I was hoping to share a few thoughts yesterday about the ONE ART meeting designed to focus on Lit Mags to submit to besides ONE ART … but 100 degree heat and asthma conspired to make me fairly useless. Sigh. Somewhat of a lost day. But it happens to the best of us, right?

I’ve also been recovering from a deeply troubling read about potential AI threats… I don’t really recommend reading the piece (which is why I’m not linking to it), though, perhaps it should be nominated for a speculative fiction (or creative nonfiction) award as sci-fi in the vein of all too possible near-term outcomes a la Black Mirror …

Sigh. I digress (as is so often the case).

*

The meeting was not recorded so attendees would feel they could speak freely. That was the hope at least.

As I wrote in the comments— “we're here for utility purposes and not to make enemies”.

I did encourage attendees to take notes and share as (again, I noted in the comments) “I know there are many who wanted to attend but could not and would like to hear ideas generated from this space.”

I don’t want to take away the value of those who attended in person so I’m not going to share all the details of what was covered or discussed.

I will share a few resources and thoughts that occur to me in the “post-event analysis stage” or, not in corporate speak, some sense of reflection in tranquility.

*

So, where do folks want to publish?

Some of the answers are not terribly surprising.

Several mentioned using a submission strategy that involved “tiers”. This is a commonly recommended way to submit. The basic premise is that you determine a set of tiers (let’s say three) as target markets for your work. I’d recommend being a bit idealist with a certain degree of pragmatism as well as incorporating personalized elements, but we can (and should) get into that more.

Tier 1 (aka. “Top Tier”)

Lit mags that you really want to see your work in.

You might be willing to wait for longer to get a response. How long? Some might say the most they’re willing to wait is two months. For others six months. A few might be willing to wait two years.

Tier 2 (aka. Mid-Upper Tier)

Lit mags in this section should still feel like an achievement. I hear many talk about “dream journals”. I think dream journals could be in this category, sure. Why not?

Tier 3 (aka. Lower Tier)

In this tier, probably your bottom tier, you’re willing to give your work to more “approachable” or “accessible” journals with higher acceptance rates.

+++++

The most common problem I see with the typical tiered manner of thinking is what we focus on when we think about tiers.

I’m tempted to use Duotrope’s system as an example… They list “Challenging” markets which sure sound like “Top Tier” … But no, many actually see “The Extremely Challenging” as their Top Tier goal markets. “Extremely” in Duotrope’s terminology, indicates no record of acceptances in the past 12-months. As of writing, The Paris Review is on this list for poetry. For fiction, the list is longer and includes The New Yorker, The Sun, Granta, Ninth Letter, American Short Fiction, The Yale Review, North American Review… you get the picture.

[via Duotrope]

*

Chill Subs has put together interesting lists, such as:

‘Most Submitted To Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time’

‘19 Lit Mags Agents Love To Read (We Asked)’

‘22 Litmags to Target For Social Media Exposure’

‘54 Impressive Bylines to Have in Your Literary Bio’

‘23 Top Tier Poetry Mags Who Nominate for Pushcart (and Pay)’

‘7 Underrated Poetry Lit Mags We Love to Read’

‘The 1% Club (Good Fuckin' Luck)’

‘Literary Magazines Looking for Older Writers’

‘Top Notch Lit Mags Who Accept Reprints’

‘15 Lit Mags That Publish Female Rage’

‘Lit Mags Who Pay Dumb Money for Poetry’

+

I shared this:

‘10 Journals that Publish Good, Lasting, Approachable Poetry (Editor picks from ONE ART: a journal of poetry)’

+

There are Community Favorites lists and I am thrilled that ONE ART has been included in the Top 10 two years in a row!!

+

I highly recommend subscribing to Chill Subs. Tell them ONE ART sent you.

They have many many offerings that make it worth your while including educational workshops. They even just announced that like SubmitIt, Chill Subs can help you target lit mags you may wish to submit your work to.

*

I’m sharing the info from Duotrope and Chill Subs to help you reflect on your aspirations and objectives.

Something I mentioned in the ‘Where to Submit’ discussion involved a journal that I had stopped submitting to after years of submitting because I realized my work does not align with the type of work that is published in that journal.

Why was I submitting in the first place? Well, I suppose because I thought others would be impressed and it might be a stepping stone towards the ability to publish in even more well-regarded lit mags.

In response to another recommendation, I shared how this magazine used to fairly regularly publish my work and then seemingly suddenly (or so it felt) to stop appreciating my work at all. I went from appearing regularly in issues to sending submissions to issue after issue for years without recognition. Notably, the responses went from acceptances to ice cold form rejections. Seems odd but you have to roll with the punches in this game. Best to learn that skill as early as possible.

Expectation management is essential.

Accept rejection as the norm and push forward.

Really, your default expectation should be a form rejection.

Anything that is not a form rejection is a sign of encouragement.

If you receive what appears to be a tiered rejection (you may want to consult Rejection Wiki), you should take this as direct encouragement to submit again in the next submission window or at least near future. Don’t wait years after receiving encouragement to try again. Get back on the horse.

+++++

Should I be thinking in terms of “Tiers” when submitting?

Yes and No.

Most importantly, submit to journals you actually will be pleased to see your work published in. Don’t just publish in a journal because you believe others will be impressed. Your goal is not that simple, is it?

Writers want to be read.

Artists want people to view their work.

Musicians want listeners.

You want an audience.

Who is your audience? Or, maybe the better question is—where can you establish and build on your audience?

It’s true, an audience of one True Believer matters. An impact on one person’s life makes it all worthwhile. With this in mind, we artists would all prefer to impact more than just the life of one person engaging with our work. But, we’ll settle for one person who is a real fan.

I believe this relates heavily to how we should approach submitting to lit mags and where we publish our work.

When you receive a rejection note that says, “I hope your work finds a good home” or “It’s not quite the right fit” – try to hear this for what it is – the likelihood that there is a good home for your work out there and that there is a place that will be the right fit. I know, I know, it’s frustrating and finding the right home and right fit can feel like a pilgrimage. Maybe it’s supposed to be?

+++++

Another key takeaway—

Not everyone has a Submission Database (or Excel spreadsheet or Google sheet) or related manner of keeping track of submissions.

Please, for the love of god, please keep track of your submissions. I implore you both as an editor but also for your sanity. Organization is one of the keys to success.

I don’t love the idea of aiming for 100 rejections a year if submissions are not targeted. I need to be clear about that. This being said, I do encourage regular submissions, simultaneous submissions (aka. sim subs) when appropriate (especially for lit mags that take a long time to respond and you consider somewhat equal in terms of “tier”).

I think this will be an upcoming virtual session— to do a screen share and discuss a submission database template that I honed over years. Now, I want to say that it’s important that you personalize these systems so they work for you. It’s unlikely that someone else’s system is going to be a perfect fit for you and your methods. I’d like to believe that the system I’ve come up with is close to a one-size-fits-all. It’s simple. It’s methodical. The complex part involves keeping track of your work and putting together batches to submit. That’s another issue altogether. I wish I could say that 15 years of deep reflection has solved this challenge but that is sadly not the case. Of course, I do have much to say on the issue (and it varies by genre/style/voice/goals).

+++++

We also learned that, unsurprisingly, there is lots of interest in how to put together a collection. Or, should one start with a chapbook? (Probably yes.) There will be ONE ART workshops and classes about these topics in the future. If you’d like to work with me 1-on-1 I am open to consultations.

+++++

What thoughts, reflections, feedback do you have?

I encourage you to share in the comments and keep the conversation going.