Editor Interview: Dishsoap Quarterly

eye-catching, funky

Okay Donkey continues to have great, voice-y flash, Gone Lawn is my go-to for prose poetry and micros. HAD is so wonderful and strange and the pieces are often exactly what I'm looking to read and publish. Silly Goose Press is so fun. I could keep going for ages, but those are a few that I consistently read and look to.

Favorites? That's so difficult and arbitrary. It really depends on the day and my mood. I do really remember and return to every piece I publish. I thought 104 would be too many, and some would get lost in the muddle, but I really could probably name every piece published in the last two years.

Nothing, really. It's just short, sweet, stunning pieces that I want to shed light on and promote as best I can because they're awesome and terrific and the writers deserve all the best things. The more literary outlets the better, I say.

There's probably no specific uniting factor across the archive outside of pieces having that je se sais quoi that draws me to them. If you're rejected and want work in the mag, keep submitting. I accepted work from someone that must've submitted 16 times across fiction and poetry last week and it was the best feeling ever to find that perfect match between us. I really am rooting for everyone, and a rejection doesn't say anything about the quality of your work.

One that follows guidelines?

That you have to apologize for withdrawals or other submission changes. We love to hear one of your pieces has been accepted elsewhere & if you make a mistake in spelling or send the wrong file it's really not a big deal. We use google forms, this is not an elite and professional endeavor, I promise.

Nope and nope! Pubbing people for the first time is one of my absolute favorite things to do, it brings me so much joy as an editor.

All depends. One of my big things is if I'm not hooked by like halfway down the first page--because I mostly aim for shorter works and that's like 1/5 of the way into the piece, at least--I don't often continue. Or, at least it becomes more a skim. Even if you've got the most perfect ending known to man, in this age of shortened attention, you gotta have that hook. Not even a hook, just something with a bit of spark. Imagery can do it, voice. Situation. Dialogue. It's not any one thing, and within those categories there's a million different options that hit the mark, but it's kind of intangible. I'd spell it out more if I could-- but you're a writer, you probably know what I mean.

I usually mark a piece as a maybe for two days before acceptance and come back to read it two or three more times. I also consider, if I want to do edits, how drastic they are. If it's dependent on a few more major changes I'll make it conditional and lay out the changes I want to make in the acceptance email to kind of give that ability to withdraw and clarity, but I've also just been finding more and more that writers are very happy to edit even post-normal-acceptance which has made me feel more comfortable accepting pieces I have small issues with but overall adore.

I'm not a full-time editor. I receive around 10 submissions a day, but I don't read every day. I probably get to the queue every other day, to make sure I do keep on top of giving responses in 4 days. I read while listening to music, and then send emails in batches, usually while listening to a video essay. Because I don't go through a submission service, I have to transfer all the info from my form to the email and then add notes-- so probably not the most efficient but I've got my system down somewhat.

Depends on the piece. A lot, none. I've cut a lot of endings off flash pieces. I don't really consider grammar fixes to be editing, but the pieces I accept don't often need that kind of work. I'll give my thoughts on whatever areas I think are weaker if necessary and suggestions on what to do-- but it really ranges from the word level to the line, sentence, even paragraph level. Typically smaller, though. I don't think I've ever asked someone to rework more than part of a paragraph before. I do make it clear in my acceptance letter if there'll be any edits I want to discuss and that they're optional if the acceptance is non-conditional.

Yep! Best Micro, BSF, Monarch, Pushcart, and BoTN!

I cover the website costs out of pocket, but the rest is all just me doing the work and teaching myself everything I might have to pay someone to do. Or, calling my friends, mostly for coding issues that are far above my basic level of CS knowledge. Once I've got a more stable income, I'm aiming to start paying writers. I'm really not huge on ever making anyone pay for submissions even if I begin paying-- I hate the barrier that cost provides and think that mags should be free to submit to, at least most of the time. I think optional editorial feedback or one-on-ones, or things like that make sense as they're kind of above what's expected for a mag, but charging for a base submission? What are you doing.

Socials! Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram. I post about every published piece and try to maintain enough of a community on each that they get reach. I also keep an eye out for any writers I've pubbed in the past and try to boost their work in other mags anytime I see it.