The Everything Writing Poetry Book (42 page)

While literary magazines are a great option, other venues for publishing your work do exist. Some poetry groups have newsletters, either in print or online. Some Web sites invite poets to post their work. You may even live in an area with a daily newspaper that will print poems. However, these venues may not be as reliable, either because the editorial standard is questionable or their availability is scarce.

Editorial Vision

Literary magazines will often accept the best work that is submitted to them, regardless of the content. However, some literary magazines are governed by an editorial vision that limits what you may send. In other words, they are looking for poems written about certain topics and nothing else. For example, one magazine,
Witness
, has an issue each year dedicated to a specific theme, like aging or animals. You should inquire about such themes or other editorial requirements in a query letter, which will be explained later.

To give you an idea about what is meant by editorial vision, consider the following comments by Richard Logsdon, the senior editor of
Red Rock Review
, a literary magazine in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are his responses to two questions posed by many writers in search of a literary magazine. His answers should offer you a glimpse into the mind of a magazine editor.

Q: What is the role of a contemporary literary journal?

A
:
In a nutshell, I think the role of the contemporary literary journal is to publish the very best in fiction and poetry. To do so, of course, requires an understanding of what distinguishes a great piece of writing from something that is good or mediocre—and there's the rub. While this call to judgment may seem subjective, I do not think it ultimately so if we consider that, among the top journals, there does seem to be an agreement about what constitutes a truly great short story or a truly great poem. Thus, in a way, the aesthetic standards have already been set for the contemporary journal. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the editors to respond intelligently and creatively to these implied criteria
.

Beyond its duty to publish the very best literature, thereby reinforcing the highest of standards, I think it is the role of the contemporary journal to publish works that are timely but not trendy. That is, while avoiding works whose popularity has more to do with faddishness than aesthetic merit, the contemporary literary journal has an obligation to present those works of prose and poetry that attempt to address the question of how to live, that offer insight into some aspect of the human condition, that make some kind of an assertion. In doing so, the journal also has an obligation to rise above trendy and soon-to-be-trite themes and offer the reader something that will aesthetically, morally, emotionally, even spiritually shape his or her thoughts and perceptions
.

Q: What do you look for in poetry? What is your selection process?

A
:
The poems that I select for publication must be more than a string of words arranged in a pleasing fashion and containing pleasing sounds—although pleasing sounds are nice. Good poetry startles or surprises—and not merely for the sake of effect but to invoke upon the part of the reader a response both emotional and intellectual—and maybe even somewhat transcendent. In short, a good poem must make me think, and it must make me feel
.

Query and Cover Letters

Your initial contact with an editor will take one of two forms, the
query letter
or the
cover letter
. A writer sends a query letter to an editor to discover submission policies concerning manuscripts. And a writer sends a cover letter to accompany the submission, explaining its contents and (hopefully) attracting the attention of the editor. While these forms of contact will usually help you get published, some publications explicitly ask that writers not include letters with their submissions. The first guideline you must follow is to abide by the instructions of the publication.

Formatting Tips

Both the query and the cover letter should follow the format of a business letter. Include a heading, an inside address, a salutation, and a complimentary close. The heading, which includes your name, address, phone number (you may also add fax or e-mail), and date of correspondence, should be located in the top left-hand corner of the page.

The inside address, which includes the editor or publisher's name, title, and address, should appear below the heading. The salutation, which includes the abbreviation Mr. or Ms. before the recipient's last name, should go two lines below the inside address. The text of your letter should begin two lines below your salutation. The complimentary close should appear two lines below the text of your letter. Below the close, you will need your handwritten signature and your typed name.

The letter should be single-spaced, with two spaces between paragraphs in the text. Do not indent paragraphs. The number of lines between the heading and the inside address will vary according to need; make sure that your letter seems to fill the page even if it really doesn't. Spell out all streets, states, dates, and other words you may usually abbreviate.

Content Tips

Whichever letter is your first contact with the editor, use it to mention what you know about the editor's magazine. Did you first come across it in a bookstore? In a library? Have you read more than one issue? A good way to show that you're truly interested in the magazine is by naming the poems and the poets that it has already published.

In the query letter, ask for the magazine's submission standards for the appearance of the manuscript, for submission deadlines (since many magazines do not take manuscripts year-round), and for any themes or topics the magazine may require or prefer. In the cover letter, give a brief description of the central themes of your poetry to show the editor how it meets that magazine's vision. For both letters, name what enclosures you've included, if any, and be sure to thank the editor for her time.

Take a look at the following two sample pages to see how a query letter and a cover letter should look. The query letter comes first, followed by the cover letter.

Formatting Your Manuscript

The word
manuscript
is used to distinguish a group of poems that have been made ready for publication. The poems are no longer simply drafts. Furthermore, the poems are no longer separate entities but part of a single submission.

The following are general manuscript format guidelines commonly demanded by magazine publishers for snail mail submissions. Some magazines, particularly online “Webzines,” accept e-mail submissions. Most traditional magazines, however, accept only hard-copy manuscripts. You should learn the magazine's unique requirements before sending in a submission.

• Manuscripts should be mailed flat (with no folds) in a manila (9″ × 12″ or larger) envelope.

• All manuscripts must be legibly typed or computer-generated on 8½″ × 11″ white bonded paper.

• Avoid dot matrix printouts.

• Do not use erasable bond paper.

• Do not use colored paper in an attempt to make the manuscript stand out.

• Use standard fonts or typefaces (Courier, Helvetica, or Times New Roman) and standard font sizes (10 point on typewriters, 12 point on computers).

• Manuscripts should not show any signs of wear; send freshly typed or printed manuscripts.

• Above all, do not send the only copies of your poems. Print extra copies to keep for your records.

Specific Manuscript Guidelines for Poems

In addition to these general guidelines, you should follow a few more that pertain just to poems. These extra guidelines will give editors contact information, layout requirements, and estimations of length that will make their job easier. And making an editor's job easier can only help your purpose.

• Set the top and bottom margins at 1 inch; you can set the left and right margins and line breaks at your discretion.

• Center the title and byline at the top of the poem.

• Do not center your poems on the page; it is the editor's first sign that the submission comes from an amateur.

• Include your name, address, and phone number (single-spaced) at the top left-hand corner of every page. Your real name appears at the top of the page and your pen name—if one is used—appears in the byline.

• Include page numbers and a keyword from the title at the top right-hand corner of subsequent pages if a poem goes over one page.

• Lines of text may be single- or double-spaced.

One thing you should remember is that if your submission runs onto a second page, you should include your heading on the second page as well. This way, if the pages get separated somehow, the editor will still know that this page contains your work.

Final Submission Tips

As you engage in the process of contacting editors, there are four rules you should keep in mind. First, don't make the editor angry. If this person says that the deadline for submissions is June 1, get your manuscript there before June 1. If this person wants poems about rainwater and squash, then go to your garden and get inspiration from your vegetables. Missing deadlines or giving an editor poems on a topic not in line with the magazine's vision will guarantee that your poems never see print.

Second, always follow manuscript submission guidelines. The guidelines listed earlier should satisfy most editors, but some magazines may have other requirements. Learn these guidelines before you send your work. Editors have manuscript guidelines to make things easier for you both.