Extended Survey

How would you like to be addressed in the response email?

Paypal Transction # and any selected Add-ons *

Is this the first time using The Submission Wizard service? *

Yes

No

What type of writing are you planning on submitting? *

Poetry

Prose Poetry/Micro Fiction

Fiction/Prose

Nonfiction

Hybrid

What is the length of the piece/s you're looking to submit (Prose word count | Poetry line count)—if it varies greatly, list word/line counts of the pieces in "other" *

<200 words | >8 lines

<500 words | >16 lines

<1000 words | 16-40 lines

<4000 words | >80 lines

4000+ words | +80 lines

Other:

Does what you're submitting include any strong 'genre' elements? *

Not really, just literary

Science Fiction/Speculative

Fantasy

High Fantasy

Horror

It's more Avant-Garde/experimental than anything else

Other:

What is your experience reading and submitting to literary magazines (honesty is key to getting an accurate response, no shame at all in being new!) *

None, but I'm excited to try!

I've read a few but don't know much about any in particular

I know quite a few actually, but I'm no expert

This is what I do! I'm familiar with dozens if not hundreds and I'm always looking for more

Who are your favorite writers within the genre you're submitting (if you aren't necessarily familiar with too many writers, feel free to list individual poems/stories)? Include at least three. *

What published/famous pieces have you read that you would say are similar to the pieces you're submitting (this is no time for humility)

Would you like recommendations of authors that I think you'd enjoy reading based on these surveys?

Yes

No

Either way—only if someone really sticks out

Clear selection

What is your all-time favorite 1-3 pieces in the genre that you're submitting (either from one of those authors or another one)? *

If you were to be forced at gunpoint to say which of those authors is nearest in style and content to the piece of writing you're submitting, who would it be? *

If you were to think of writing as a spectrum from telegraph news bulletin at 1 (very straightforward/accessible) and post-avant-garde prose poetry at 10 (occluded/intentionally difficult or "academic"), where would you place the writing you're planning on submitting? *

I'd rather the reader completely understand my piece than leave anything important ambiguous *

Really Agree

Agree

Disagree

Really Disagree

Which of these words describes the tone of the writing you're planning on submitting? *

Somber/Thoughtful

Sarcastic/Witty

Exuberant/Energetic

Sad/Melancholic

Smart/Sciencey

'Of the Moment'/Witness

Documentary/Journalistic/'Just the facts'

Romantic/In Love

Anti-Romantic/Jaded

Dark/Disquieting

Other:

Required

After reading my piece I want the reader to... *

Be entertained and in a good mood

Be imagining themselves in the poem or story

Immediately reread it to see nuances they'd missed

Look back for that certain phrase or line of dialog that they keep thinking about

Send it to twenty Facebook friends who would probably enjoy reading it.

My piece includes the following (check all that apply) *

Pop culture references

Swearing

Politics

COVID-19/Pandemic

Explicit Sexuality

Gore

Formal poetry

Couplets

Irregular lines/Use of white space

End Rhymes

Minimalism

Extended Metaphor

Extensive Parataxis ('Jumping' poetry)

Conversational language (poetry)

Non-Linear Storytelling

Focused on the Quotidian ('the quiet life' or 'simpler times')

Heavy use of literary allusion

Religious imagery or references (positive)

Religious imagery or references (negative)

Slipstream/surreality

Science Fiction

Fantasy

Horror

Noir/Detective Fiction

Mythology

Other:

Required

I dream (most) of having my writing published in these 1-3 journals: *

Write a short statement that either answers 'why you wrote what you're submitting', or what you try to do with you're writing in general.

When it comes to perspective journals this is the most important to me (if it's a tie, or something else please explain in 'other') *

No Fee Submission

Print Publication

Quick Response

'Prestige' or Many year-end "Best of" appearances

LGBTQIA Authors encouraged

BIPOC Authors encouraged

Beginning Authors encouraged

Journals that publish Issues (instead of frequent postings/featured works)

Other:

Not the most important, but these things are also important in a journal *

No Fee Submission

Print Publication

Quick Response

'Prestige' or Many year-end "Best of" appearances

LGBTQIA Authors encouraged

BIPOC Authors encouraged

Beginning Authors encouraged

Journals that publish Issues (instead of frequent postings/featured works)

Other:

Required

If you have any current submissions, list which journals you have active submissions with

If you have any publications, which are you most proud of?

If you have any published pieces that are similar in tone, theme or content to what you're submitting, what journals were they in?

I like the following passage the most (Poetry) *

"She does this thing where she cooks up some turkey bacon, / makes up a bowl of berries, some toast, maybe a bagel,/ hauls it all over to the window seat, / sits with a book, The Pearl Thief, / definitely not Harry Potter, she hates Harry Potter,"

"I wonder what she’s dreaming. I ask her questions she won’t answer and for favors she won’t give: Where do you go at night? What bodies keep you suspended at their surface? Can you see me from there?"

say logic / is off-stride // x equals not-x // like a cup / tipping / for the last drops // my eye appears / at the bottom

"Everyone you love / is visiting you. Everyone you love is / with you in a house / in LA. You tell them Don’t / water the plants. No one / will know. I won’t / know. This isn’t my house."

"Hummingbirds hover / while orange Chinese lanterns quake / spring yet continues"

the graven images on your forehead / are the browbeaten tattoos of another dimension / as you thrust time into a whisky bottle / nothing remains but the clockwork reflections / of the barmaid who sold you poison with a laugh

Which of these is most important to you *

That the piece provides many surprises on the language level.

Clarity, clarity, clarity.

Universal appeal, I want everyone to read this, understand it and 'feel' it.

I want that 'Ah-ha!' moment when it all clicks together in the end

Everyone loves to laugh, so I want the reader to be amused by the humor in my piece

I want them to be totally immersed in the world alongside my characters

Ruminate Ambiguity—I write puzzles for my readers to figure out

Not 'most' important, but this is second most important to you *

That the piece provides many surprises on the language level.

Clarity, clarity, clarity.

Universal appeal, I want everyone to read this, understand it and 'feel' it.

I want that 'Ah-ha!' moment when it all clicks together in the end

Everyone loves to laugh, so I want the reader to be amused by the humor in my piece

I want them to be totally immersed in the world alongside my characters

Ruminate Ambiguity—I write puzzles for my readers to figure out

Other:

I DISLIKE the following passage the most (Poetry) *

"She does this thing where she cooks up some turkey bacon, / makes up a bowl of berries, some toast, maybe a bagel,/ hauls it all over to the window seat, / sits with a book, The Pearl Thief, / definitely not Harry Potter, she hates Harry Potter,"

"I wonder what she’s dreaming. I ask her questions she won’t answer and for favors she won’t give: Where do you go at night? What bodies keep you suspended at their surface? Can you see me from there?"

say logic / is off-stride // x equals not-x // like a cup / tipping / for the last drops // my eye appears / at the bottom

"Everyone you love / is visiting you. Everyone you love is / with you in a house / in LA. You tell them Don’t / water the plants. No one / will know. I won’t / know. This isn’t my house."

"Hummingbirds hover / while orange Chinese lanterns quake / spring yet continues"

the graven images on your forehead / are the browbeaten tattoos of another dimension / as you thrust time into a whisky bottle / nothing remains but the clockwork reflections / of the barmaid who sold you poison with a laugh

I like the following passage the most (Prose) *

I look up to find his eyes on me. He looks at me like he looks at the floor. / “We only have a few more minutes left in our session,” I say, breaking the silence. “Is there anything you want to talk about before we’re done for today?” / He’s still. I click my pen open, then closed, then open again.

Four hands join together. From a parent and child out to soil for a while and stop when going deeper is unnecessary. They plant a seed inside a skull. Then discard leaves on top.

Stickers from local hardcore bands and chewed gum are all over the rocket ship outside the Winn-Dixie. “I wanna go for a ride,” my little brother says. I had to put him in a t-shirt with the least amount of holes in it to make him presentable. “Only if you’re gonna agree to behave when we go inside,” I say. His head bobbles up and down to show he agrees; I know from us getting banned from the Publix up the street that making him wait never works.

For many years, Claire had dreamed of visiting Valletta, the capital of Malta. But it wasn’t her dream. It had been slipped into her consciousness like a card in an envelope.

Even in her kitten heels, Susan O’Leary swayed softly like the couples on the dance floor, as Etta James’s “At Last” blared from the sound system. She walked across the lawn from the dessert station, holding a tiny napkin with the hashtag #BeccaBecomesABradshaw and two mini red velvet cupcakes, her manicure smeared with cream cheese frosting.

I DISLIKE the following passage the most (Prose) *

I look up to find his eyes on me. He looks at me like he looks at the floor. / “We only have a few more minutes left in our session,” I say, breaking the silence. “Is there anything you want to talk about before we’re done for today?” / He’s still. I click my pen open, then closed, then open again.

Four hands join together. From a parent and child out to soil for a while and stop when going deeper is unnecessary. They plant a seed inside a skull. Then discard leaves on top.

Stickers from local hardcore bands and chewed gum are all over the rocket ship outside the Winn-Dixie. “I wanna go for a ride,” my little brother says. I had to put him in a t-shirt with the least amount of holes in it to make him presentable. “Only if you’re gonna agree to behave when we go inside,” I say. His head bobbles up and down to show he agrees; I know from us getting banned from the Publix up the street that making him wait never works.

For many years, Claire had dreamed of visiting Valletta, the capital of Malta. But it wasn’t her dream. It had been slipped into her consciousness like a card in an envelope.

Even in her kitten heels, Susan O’Leary swayed softly like the couples on the dance floor, as Etta James’s “At Last” blared from the sound system. She walked across the lawn from the dessert station, holding a tiny napkin with the hashtag #BeccaBecomesABradshaw and two mini red velvet cupcakes, her manicure smeared with cream cheese frosting.

If you'd like, paste some of the work that you're looking to submit that you feel is indicative of your submission (an excerpt or a full piece)

Do you have any questions about the submission process that you'd like answered?

Do you have any questions about editing strategies, finding inspiration or anything else regarding writing?

Is there anything else you think I should know about you or your writing that would help me find the ideal journals for you?