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Duosuma® Duotrope's Submission Manager

Guide to Managing Projects

Project Basics

How do I manage my projects?

The Manage Your Projects page is where you can see lists of your active projects (and inactive projects, if applicable), and also where you can manage the settings for each active project. To access this page, you must be the Account Owner or have "Manage Projects & Calls" privileges.

What is a Project?

A project is a publication, publishing company, competition, anthology, literary agent, or other entity that accepts submissions. If you have more than one publication, press, or contest, each one should be listed as a separate project. Whenever possible, each project should correspond to a Duotrope listing. (This will help ensure that our Duotrope listing links properly to the Duosuma Project page; otherwise, we may not be able to.)

Literary Agencies: Depending on which works best for you, you can have a single project for the agency itself, or you can have a separate project per agent. We recommend the former if you have a single point of contact for all queries/submissions, or the later if each agent accepts direct queries or submissions independently. (What we do not recommend is having a single project for the agency and then separate calls for submissions for each agent. If you want separation by agent, please set up separate projects for each agent.)

Important!
The Projects and Calls you list must allow submissions through the Duosuma platform. You may not create Duosuma projects and/or calls that instruct people not to submit through Duosuma but through other means.

Also, Duosuma is not a storefront. You may not create projects or calls for the purpose of selling physical or digital products or for selling services (such as editing or self-publishing services). Projects can currently only be vessels for Calls for Submissions.

If you aren't sure about the best approach for setting up your Projects and Calls, read our guide to organizing your projects and calls. If you still aren't sure and would like our advice, feel free to contact us.

How do I add projects to my Duosuma account?

When you create your account, the primary project will automatically be added to the account.

If you have any related listings on Duotrope, they should be in your Inactive Projects list. You will be able to add those projects to the account by selecting the checkbox(es) in that list and using the Move selected to Active list function. If any of those projects should not belong to the account, please let us know.

To add a project that isn't in your Active or Inactive Projects lists:

Start by clicking I need to add a project that's not listed below.

Then, please double-check whether the project is listed in the Existing Inactive Projects section (if one appears). If it does, use the Set Up button for that project.

If you have a project that isn't listed by Duotrope or doesn't qualify for a Duotrope listing, use the Add Unlisted Project option. (If the project meets our listing criteria, please request a Duotrope listing! Whenever possible, we will create a Duotrope listing and link it to your official web page and public submissions page.)

Project Settings

Basic Information

Project Name: (Required.) This should be the name of the publication, publishing company, anthology, contest, agency, or agent. This should not be the title of a theme, issue, or special call. (Please list themes, issues, and special calls as Calls under their main Project. If you only use the title of an issue or special call for the project itself, it may not be clear to people what publication they are submitting to.) Also, please do not use ALL CAPS.

Project Type: (Required.) The options are:

  • Publishing,
  • Representation (for literary agencies and agents), or
  • Other (for other types of projects that accept submissions but don't offer publishing or representation; e.g., fellowships, residencies, or retreats).

Status: (Required.) Projects can be Active or Inactive. If you set a project to "Inactive," all information will be removed from the public page, and all calls for that project will also be deactivated. If you are either currently accepting submissions or plan to accept submissions in the future for this project, the project status should be set to "Active." You can set individual calls under the project to open/closed as needed.

Homepage: (Required.) The web page for this project on your official website. By default, it is the same as the Website for the account, but you may change it.

Reply Email: (Required.) This is the email address for the project. By default, it is the same as the Contact Email for the account, but you may change it. The address must be valid and functioning. Submission responses sent by your team for this project will use this address as the "reply to" address.

Reply Name: (Required.) This is the name that will be used in the \"From\" field in responses for this project. By default, it is the same as the Account Name, but you may change it. We recommend using the project's title rather than a person's name.

Project Twitter: (Optional.) If this project has a different Twitter account, enter that. Otherwise, it will use the Default Twitter for the account, if one has been set.

Banner Image: (Optional.) If you'd like to set a banner image for the public project and submission pages, you can upload one. Otherwise, it will use the Default Banner for the account, if one has been set. NOTE: For best results, use an image that is wider than it is tall. Also, it will be displayed on a white background, so keep that in mind if it uses transparency.

Twitter Image: (Optional.) If you'd like a to use a different image for this project any Twitter posts (either Twitter posts by Duosuma or when someone tweets a link to your public Duosuma page), you can upload an image. NOTE: For best results, use an image with a square size ratio.

Custom Color: (Optional.) You can set the highlight color that will appear on buttons and other elements of your public project and submission pages. Otherwise, it will use the Default Color for the account, if one has been set. If you don't select a Custom Color and you don't have a Default Color, your public Project and Submit pages will use the default Duosuma color scheme. If you do select a color, we highly recommend that you select a mid-tone color that is not a red or gray (because people associate red with errors and gray buttons with "grayed out" or disabled controls). The system will take light, medium, and dark tones of that color and use those to generate the highlight elements with appropriate contrast so that the text is still legible.

Submission Cap: (Optional.) If you'd like to set a cap (or quota) on the maximum number of submissions that you can receive for the project per billing period, you can set that here. Once you receive that number of submissions across all calls for this project, submissions will automatically close until the start of your next billing period, when the counter will reset and submissions will resume. If you would rather set an Account-level cap or a Call-level cap, do that on those respective pages. (Note that caps count the number of submissions, not the number of submission credits, so plan accordingly.)

Description

Project Info: (Recommended.) Enter information about the project here. While you can leave this section blank (by checking the box under the text box), we highly recommend filling in this section to provide information about the project to potential submitters who might not be familiar with it.

This section allows the following formatting elements: bold, underline, italics, links, blockquotes, and lists. (If you are comfortable with HTML, you can manually use those tags. Otherwise, you can use the interface.)
We highly recommend not including any time-sensitive information in this section, unless you are disciplined about checking the information regularly to make sure it's still up to date.
Also, note that if you cut-and-paste from Microsoft Word, it might add unwanted formatting, such as extra paragraphs, line breaks, and blockquotes. We recommend cutting-and-pasting from a plain text editor.
Finally, if you add any links, be sure to test them.

Submission Settings

Postal Submissions: If you accept postal submissions for this project, check the box. Then, enter text instructions for sending postal submissions.

Multiple Calls: Indicate whether you will allow people to submit to different calls at the same time (such as submitting to both your Poetry call and your Flash Fiction call).

Require Legal Name: If you require the full legal name of the submitter (such as for legal contracts), check this box. Otherwise, the submitter will be able to use their preferred name, if different from their legal name.

Allow Pseudonyms: Set whether you allow submitters to request publication under a pseudonym (pen name). If you do allow this, they will still be required to provide their name.

Request Address: Select what contact information, if any, you will require from your submitters. The options are: None, Email Only, or Full Address (email and physical).
If you select "None," you will still be able to reply to the submitter; you just won't have a record of their email address. All communication regarding a submission – from receipt to sending a final decision — should be done through the Duosuma system. Using the Duosuma system logs the communication history and updates the status for each submission for both you and the submitter, who can check it in their account even if the email bounces. Obviously, we cannot log any communication that takes place outside the Duosuma system.
Only request addresses if you need them for your legal/financial records (for example, contact information for accepted authors under contract), or if you collect them for a mailing list (in conjunction with Mailing List permission described below).

Important! If you do decide to request contact information from your submitters, per the Duosuma Account Terms of Service, you may not ever sell or share this information, and you may not add them to your mailing list without their explicit permission.

Mailing List: Request permission to opt-in to your Mailing List. The submitter will be able to choose not to opt in and still proceed with their submission.
If you run a contest that provides a copy of a book or issue to all submitters, please make it clear in your Project Description or Call Description that only submitters who choose to opt-in will be able to get their copies.

Note: Members of your team at Manager or Owner level who have "Can See Address" permissions can generate mailing list files in CSV format from the "Mailing List" link on the Control Panel page.

Cover Letter: Set whether the Cover Letter text field will be: Required, Optional, or None (hidden). If it is Required or Optional you can opt to provide brief instructions.

Note: The Cover Letter field is a text box. Submitters cannot provide a file using this option. If you need to request a Cover Letter in a specific file format, set the Project's setting for Cover Letter to "None," and then set up a required Custom Question that requests a Cover Letter file.

Bio: Set whether the Bio field will be: Required, Optional, or None (hidden). If it is Required or Optional, also set the maximum length: 25 words, 50 words, or 100 words.

Allow New Files: This sets whether the submitter can initiate sending new files and when. The options are: Never (default), Before file review has started, or Any time.
Note that anyone on your team with "Can Update" permissions can initiate a request for new files for any Pending or Accepted submission at any time. This setting only affects when the submitter can initiate sending new files.

Allow Messages: This sets whether the submitter can send you messages (for pending or accepted submissions only). The options are: Never (default), Any time, or after a specific number of days (from the date the submission was sent).

Defaults for Calls for Submissions

Multiple Entries: Set whether you will allow multiple submissions per call. If you do, people will be able to send multiple submissions without waiting for a reply between submissions. This will be set as the default for all Calls under this project, but can be overridden on individual calls. (The number of pieces per submission is a different setting.)

Simultaneous Submissions: Indicate whether you will allow simultaneous submissions. This will be set as the default for all Calls under this project, but can be overridden on individual calls. (Simultaneous submission refers to the practice of having a piece under submission at several different publishers at the same time.)

Reprints: Set whether you will allow reprints (previously published work). If you do, you may optionally set a brief Reprints Policy. This will be set as the default for all Calls under this project, but can be overridden on individual calls.

Anonymous Submissions: Indicate whether you require all submissions to be anonymous (no identifying information in manuscripts). This will be set as the default for all Calls under this project, but can be overridden on individual calls.

Initially Assign To: This sets the number of people who should be assigned each submission when it is received (default is one), if the Account is set up for one of the Automatic Assignment options. This will be set as the default for all Calls under this project, but can be overridden on individual calls.

Team Settings

To be able to manage the Team Settings from the Manage Project page, the person accessing the page needs to have "Manage Team" privileges, and the team needs to have more than one active member.

The Team Settings section has information about the team members who are assigned to the project. You'll see a checkbox list with all of your active Team Members.

For accounts with Automatic Assignment, the members of your team who are checked and marked with an asterisk are in the Assignment Pool and are eligible to be automatically assigned submissions; those checked but not in the Assignment Pool are eligible to be manually assigned submissions.

For accounts with Predetermined Assignment, the members of your team who are checked are eligible to be manually assigned submissions. You set who is initially assigned to new submissions in your Project and/or Call settings.

For accounts with Manual Assignment, the members of your team who are checked are eligible to be manually assigned submissions.

For all accounts, keep in mind that to be eligible to be assigned submissions, each person also needs to be assigned to the Categories (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.) relevant to them. You can check people who need to be added to the project (or uncheck to remove them from the project) and then click the Manage Team for this Project button.

For more information, please read our in-depth guide to Submission Assignment.

Requesting Review BETA

If you are an Account Owner or Manager, you can request review of your open or "test" submission calls. There is a link to Request review of open/test calls on the main Manage Projects page.

Why request review?

It can always be helpful to have another person review your submissions process to make sure it is set up to be the best that it can be. We Duotroopers have decades of experience with submissions, and we have a good understanding of what works and what doesn't. We'd be happy to review the submission calls that you've set up and let you know if there's anything we think can be improved. There's no obligation to make any of the changes we might suggest. Any advice we provide can be accepted or discarded as you see fit.

What is the process?

We will review your submission process from start (your website) to finish. We will only run "test" submissions, so no submission credits will be charged to your account and no submissions will be added to your queue. This process can take some time, but we will aim to complete the review and send your our report within one week, schedule permitting. (Note that we can only review "open" or "internal testing only" submission calls.)


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