Editor Interview: 96th of October Editions Go to the listing List all editor interviews Edit answers (editors only) Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.Poetry and proseMildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?None at present. The big publishers go for trash that sells; the small presses go for trash that doesn't. We go for trash that should.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?Anna Akhmatova, Gabriela Mistral; Alice Neel, Eva Zeisel.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?We publish work of the highest quality with no regard to sales. We have a feminist mission which does not confuse literary quality with politics, or confuse feminism with unrelated "intersectional" issues.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?Be literate. If you don't know Shakespeare and the King James Bible, you're not even dealt into this game.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026Describe the ideal submission.Quirky. Cultured. Lapidary.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?They send their work as an attachment rather than pasting it into the body of the email.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?Every work is considered on its own merits. Cover letters are useless, if not annoying.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?Depends. If there are four letter words in the first paragraph without a compelling reason, we're done. Ditto for misuse of words—an enormity is not something that is very big. Sometimes we skip to the end: if the plot resolution is a bloodbath, we're done. *Belles Lettres* is our game.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?It's usually looked over by interns before it gets kicked upstairs to an acquiring editor.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?A lot of very good tea to get through a lot of very bad prose.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?A piece has to be in good shape before we see it. We don't do developmental editing or teach remedial English. If we like your work, we will not mess with it, except to suggest emendations where there are indisputable problems of clarity or continuity.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?Rarely, unless we think we can hit a bullseye.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026How is your project funded?Self supporting through our own contributions. All profits from books go directly to the authors until they sell 1,000 copies in a single year (yeah, right), at which point we go to 50-50. We are not for profit and not for everybody.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026How do you promote your project and published authors/artists?We feature their work in our magazine and bookstore. Beyond that, they're on their own. Advertisements and reviews do nothing to sell books. Word of mouth, a groundswell of Amazon reviews—these, which are out of our hands, make a difference.Mildred Faintly, Managing Editor on 24 October 2026 Cookie Consent: This site uses secure first-party cookies for essential, preference-setting, and statistical purposes. We do not use any marketing, advertising, or third-party cookies. Read our full cookie policy. Accept All Cookies Allow Essential Cookies Only