How do I submit poetry to magazines?
- Three to five poems is the standard submission size for most journals.
- Response times commonly run three to nine months.
- Most journals accept simultaneous submissions but require immediate withdrawal on acceptance.
- Reading periods are seasonal; many journals close in summer.
- Acceptance rates at well-known journals often sit under two percent.
Submit three to five poems at a time to journals you have actually read, following their guidelines exactly. Most accept simultaneous submissions if you withdraw immediately on acceptance. Expect three to nine month response times and single-digit acceptance rates, and keep a log so withdrawals take minutes.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Poetry submission is a volume game played over years, and the writers who sustain it are the ones with a system. Without a log you cannot withdraw quickly, which is the one behavior that damages your standing with editors, and you cannot tell which poems have been rejected fourteen times and should be revised or retired.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Journals you have read at least one issue of, not just heard about.
- Three to five poems, ordered with the strongest first.
- A short, plain cover note with a two-sentence bio.
- Simultaneous submission policy recorded for each journal.
- A log of poem, journal, date sent, and outcome.
- Reading period dates, since most journals are closed part of the year.
Chapter iii·Example
A poet with 22 pieces circulating tracked every submission in one sheet. When a journal took two poems, she withdrew them from six other magazines inside fifteen minutes, and nobody had to send her a reminder.
Chapter iv·Related questions
In WriteLoom
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WriteLoom tracks every poem across every market, so a withdrawal is a filter and an acceptance updates the record automatically.
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