A fellow poet told me about your substack. I’m a very beginner at all this. I find most of your posts overwhelming, long and too chatty. I do not want a story, I want the facts in a simple concise order. And it would really be good if you separated the styles of writing. Just a poetry info posts. And short stories and any thing else as separate posts. Or a beginners section.
I have found some helpful info, and thank you for that! Simple direct thoughts from a beginner poet!
Hah! True. I am chatty. Sorry, can't help it. Unfortunately with the limited number of lessons, I can't focus on one genre over another. But in lesson 1 there is a much clearer defining line. Hm, maybe at the end I could cook up three no-bullshit simple steps for submitting by genre. That shouldn't be too bad. I have written something similar in the past that is very point-by-point but I was much less experienced and a few things were wrong, I think. But if you'd like to take a look. This was before Chill Subs, and mostly focuses on short stories: https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/my-6-step-no-bs-guide-to-submitting. But yeah, I think you make a great point, because I do bounce around genres. Because I'm taking it by stages in the submission process rather than genres (cause those lessons would be even longer). So I can pull the genre specific stuff from each lesson and put them into concise guides. Thank you for the idea. Won't be for a couple weeks. Anything I can help you answer now?
Well, pros and cons. I like the "chatty" quality; makes it feel more personable. I agree there's a LOT of material and it can be overwhelming. Question about that: will your content remain open to reading "forever?" Because I can see coming back to different parts as necessary.
Something related...remember when you listed I think 6 mags and their guidelines and asked for comments? I looked at the first 4 and to me, some of them are too wordy. With info that could make or break your chances, I far prefer Write or Die's list format. Although I wasn't sure what "3 (submissions) per period" meant because I don't know what's considered a period.
Ah so if you look at the video for, I think, lesson 4. The arc browser has a built in AI reader that can answer questions for you about any guidelines page your own. But we also try to pull all of it and make it digestible on Chill Subs. Ah so for fiction only there are periods (the dates they are open) and you can submit up to three times within that period.
Linda, I respect your comment, but I actually love the chatty aspect of this course and appreciate how long the posts are. I'm bummed out when I get to the bottom, because I don't want them to end! I think that since this course is free to all, it's a miracle Ben has put so much time and effort into it. I get how a simple, more concise approach could be helpful, but for a free course, this level of information is incredible! Maybe a more specialized guide as you've suggested could be possible, but it would probably need to be paid for. I don't mean any harm by this comment -- just want to acknowledge that a lot of hard work went into this for a free guide, and I appreciate it how it is! Hope you have a good day, good luck to you in your poetry!
What about headshots? A few magazines I'm trying to get published in are requiring a headshot. I don't have one and they are expensive to get. Why do I have to do that to be considered?
Ah, so I've had this asked several times and I do not have a headshot in the traditional sense. Just a photo of you works in the dimensions they ask for. I usually use the same one I have for socials and my website. I've never had a lit mag put certain standards on the "professionalism" of a photo
I'm late to the mid-course Q&A, but if you happen to see this @benjamindavis —have you already covered the term "previously published?"
I really want the skinny on whether it is typically acceptable to have, for example, posted a poem on your socials or a story on your blog, and then take it down if it gets picked up— or if this is not as big a deal I've seen people make it out to be. If that's the case, do your poems just not see the light of day until they make it into a lit mag?
On the same note, once a piece makes it in, is it okay to post a screenshot of the whole piece with a link to the mag? I've seen this done, but also seen people say it's a no-no. What gives?? Thank you!!
Stellar February course so far, I can't wait to carry the torch for March!
I am excited to take yours. Haha one of the best perks about doing this is I can take a breather and learn a bunch after.
A fellow poet told me about your substack. I’m a very beginner at all this. I find most of your posts overwhelming, long and too chatty. I do not want a story, I want the facts in a simple concise order. And it would really be good if you separated the styles of writing. Just a poetry info posts. And short stories and any thing else as separate posts. Or a beginners section.
I have found some helpful info, and thank you for that! Simple direct thoughts from a beginner poet!
Hah! True. I am chatty. Sorry, can't help it. Unfortunately with the limited number of lessons, I can't focus on one genre over another. But in lesson 1 there is a much clearer defining line. Hm, maybe at the end I could cook up three no-bullshit simple steps for submitting by genre. That shouldn't be too bad. I have written something similar in the past that is very point-by-point but I was much less experienced and a few things were wrong, I think. But if you'd like to take a look. This was before Chill Subs, and mostly focuses on short stories: https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/my-6-step-no-bs-guide-to-submitting. But yeah, I think you make a great point, because I do bounce around genres. Because I'm taking it by stages in the submission process rather than genres (cause those lessons would be even longer). So I can pull the genre specific stuff from each lesson and put them into concise guides. Thank you for the idea. Won't be for a couple weeks. Anything I can help you answer now?
Well, pros and cons. I like the "chatty" quality; makes it feel more personable. I agree there's a LOT of material and it can be overwhelming. Question about that: will your content remain open to reading "forever?" Because I can see coming back to different parts as necessary.
Something related...remember when you listed I think 6 mags and their guidelines and asked for comments? I looked at the first 4 and to me, some of them are too wordy. With info that could make or break your chances, I far prefer Write or Die's list format. Although I wasn't sure what "3 (submissions) per period" meant because I don't know what's considered a period.
Ah so if you look at the video for, I think, lesson 4. The arc browser has a built in AI reader that can answer questions for you about any guidelines page your own. But we also try to pull all of it and make it digestible on Chill Subs. Ah so for fiction only there are periods (the dates they are open) and you can submit up to three times within that period.
Linda, I respect your comment, but I actually love the chatty aspect of this course and appreciate how long the posts are. I'm bummed out when I get to the bottom, because I don't want them to end! I think that since this course is free to all, it's a miracle Ben has put so much time and effort into it. I get how a simple, more concise approach could be helpful, but for a free course, this level of information is incredible! Maybe a more specialized guide as you've suggested could be possible, but it would probably need to be paid for. I don't mean any harm by this comment -- just want to acknowledge that a lot of hard work went into this for a free guide, and I appreciate it how it is! Hope you have a good day, good luck to you in your poetry!
Hear, hear.
What about headshots? A few magazines I'm trying to get published in are requiring a headshot. I don't have one and they are expensive to get. Why do I have to do that to be considered?
Ah, so I've had this asked several times and I do not have a headshot in the traditional sense. Just a photo of you works in the dimensions they ask for. I usually use the same one I have for socials and my website. I've never had a lit mag put certain standards on the "professionalism" of a photo
I'm late to the mid-course Q&A, but if you happen to see this @benjamindavis —have you already covered the term "previously published?"
I really want the skinny on whether it is typically acceptable to have, for example, posted a poem on your socials or a story on your blog, and then take it down if it gets picked up— or if this is not as big a deal I've seen people make it out to be. If that's the case, do your poems just not see the light of day until they make it into a lit mag?
On the same note, once a piece makes it in, is it okay to post a screenshot of the whole piece with a link to the mag? I've seen this done, but also seen people say it's a no-no. What gives?? Thank you!!
Really useful course so far! Thank you! Looking forward to the rest.
Oo this is good to know. I was unaware of this. I'll ask some editor friends who use submittable.