Editor Interviews
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Read all the editors' answers to Duotrope's interview question: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you? Learn more.
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Here is a small sampling from our recent Editor Interviews. We have interviewed over 2,175 editors.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: We have a blind review process. The editors have no idea who the person is that wrote the submission, and we will always keep it that way. The blind process lets us focus on the art, so we can give it all the attention it deserves. At the end of the review process, it is always awesome to finally learn about the authors, but by that time, the final decisions have already been made.
A: No. Less is more. Submissions are blind reviewed, so bio info and publications do not figure into our decisions.
A: We're happy to see submissions from established names but we have found that some of our best stories have come from early career authors.
A: This part is totally up to you, what do you want to share with us? **Note -- we love hearing which country you are writing from, as we are always amazed at how far Fireworks has spread.
A: I find the information contained in the bio just as important as the work itself. Cover letters and thankyous are unnecessary but are an enjoyable read when sent.
A: We do not read cover letters until after we have chosen the winner. Our judging is entirely blind and goes through many rounds. We are frequently surprised and/or delighted by the biographies of the writers we select.
A: We welcome brief cover letters and bios, but biographical info and publication backgrounds don't feature into our editorial decisions. We want strong poems, that's all.
A: No. We don't allow them in our Submittable process, and we don't care at all about previous publication. To wit: Even though we publish both previously unpublished and previously published stories, we've rejected stories that have appeared in venues as prestigious as THE ATLANTIC. All we care about is *INTERESTING*.
A: We just need the basic 'contact' and follow-up info. The work stands on its own. We do not look at publication credits as a part of the
review process.
A: Cover letters should be brief, no life stories which we don't have time to read. We don't read lists of credits. We expect the poetry to speak for itself.
A: I glance at the bios but publication decisions are based solely on the quality of the work. That being said, I have had a few people treat the bio as a joke and not fill it in or do so tongue-in-cheek. That's not good either. I need to know who you are but it doesn't matter, to me, if your bio is a sentence or a paragraph.
A: Brief cover letters are helpful later in the process. The first read-through is always anonymous, but after that it is helpful to have a little background.