Editor Interview: The Commonline Journal

Accessible poetry +

I find the small DIY publications with a strong community base the most admirable. With that said, many of my favorite publications are in some stage of defunction.

The Commonline Journal acquired its reputation by publishing short pieces of dirty realism by emerging small press writers and our favorite authors tend to have influences and associations there.

Read the journal before submitting to gauge Editor proclivities. Be critical of yourself and detail oriented. Send your work in final-draft form. Lead with your best piece and skip the lengthy introductions.

The ideal submission of poetry is dramatic, graphic, succinct, thoughtful and well-crafted.

Many writers who seek to appeal to our dirty realist roots often over do the dirty and under do the realism.

Editors don’t need to know anything beyond what the submission itself reveals.

Editors read all submissions that adhere to the journal's simple guidelines. In general, it is obvious when a manuscript has been thoughtfully submitted to the journal.

We first review submissions to ensure that they adhere to our basic submission guidelines. Once a manuscript is read and accepted by the Editor considerations are made with regard to issue placement and the piece is then scheduled for publication.

Editors expect that manuscripts submitted to the journal will be in final or near final-draft form. This is especially important for submissions of poetry. The journal copy edits all the work it publishes and rarely makes substantive (content) changes to submitted manuscripts. If Editors do make substantive corrections to a work then authors must approve all changes prior to publication.