Editor Interviews

Read all the editors' answers to Duotrope's interview question: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it? Learn more.

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Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?

A: I believe comedy is the hardest genre to write, which is why I always read every submission to the very end.

A: Many stories get ‘bumped’ before we finish reading the first page (that’s right, we’re a merciless bunch). A trained eye can tell the quality of a story and the ability of the storyteller from early on, so tighten that opening!

A: Yes, we do read every piece to the end, unless it is significantly over our word limit. Sometimes an ending can make or break a story or poem. Each piece is read by at least two slush readers and one editor. This is important to us because our editors don't have a specific type of story we look for, so this is our method to ensure we give all submissions a fair chance.

A: We read everything. We do not reject anything but hold it over for future consideration.

A: We read everything. We do not reject anything, if not accepted for the current issue then it is held over for future consideration.

A: We are a team of editors who are dedicated to reading all of every submission before rejecting.

A: We generally read each piece a few times between readers/editors from its start to its end. Though I am not always reading submissions directly, when I do, I re read packets 2-3 times whilst being conscious of our 25 day response time guarantee.

A: We try to read every submission at least twice before making a final decision. However, there are times when we can tell within the first few paragraphs that a piece is not a good fit. Try to grab us in that first paragraph. Too much build-up before the story will most likely end in a rejection. Also, remember your audience. A story about a middle-aged man/woman with no kids working 9-5 and having trouble at work is most likely not going to resonate with kids and teens, so these kinds of stories are also clear rejections.

A: It depends on the piece. I try to give everything a bare minimum of two pages. Keep in mind that that is a bare minimum, and most things get more of a read, but if I encounter deal-breakers for us in those first few pages we stop reading and reject. Generally speaking, the stories we end up taking were so good that I just couldn't put them down. If my mind starts to wander in the middle, that isn't usually a good sign.

A: For the Lit Fox Poetry Series, the volunteer readers are instructed to only read as much of a submission as they find necessary. If they like it, they mark it as "consider" in Submittable and I then read the entire poem(s), usually multiple times. If I need another pair of eyes, I send it one of the board members.
For book-length submissions, we only read as much as necessary to decide if it's worth considering. If we're seriously considering it for publication, the manuscript is read multiple times and its strengths and possible weaknesses are then discussed by the board members.

A: Depends on the piece but in general we give each piece a full read over once before deciding.

A: I don't regard submissions as a burden or a chore--they are the reason the journal exists, and I am grateful for every one I receive. I read every submission at least twice, once shortly after I receive it and once seven to ten days later, making notes in my tracking spreadsheet each time. I learned in my engineering career to revisit important decisions over a period of days, since snap judgements are often incorrect. After the second reading I usually have a decision in mind, which I communicate a few days later. In less clear cases I may read the submission a third or fourth time and communicate a decision after about three weeks.