Editor Interviews
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Read all the editors' answers to Duotrope's interview question: Describe the ideal submission. Learn more.
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Here is a small sampling from our recent Editor Interviews. We have interviewed over 2,200 editors.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Fresh takes on personal topics, nature topics, personal history, and those that match the theme of each issue.
A: Ideal submission follows our submission guidelines, has the submitted material as an Attachment and includes a short biography in the body of the email.
A: Good characters chasing clear goals in a fully realized world — with the twist of personality that only a dedicated artist can provide.
A: Surprise us, amaze us, take us on a journey to somewhere unexpected. Work that is well-described, with strong imagery, crisp diction, clear rhythms and an energetic flow stands a stronger chance of being accepted. Juxtapositions, contrasts, and paradoxes make for delicious explorations in a work. If you have poems that reflect a common theme, don’t be afraid to submit two or three of them together.
A: Since Moist does love to issue special submission calls (the kink issue, the queer environment issue), the editors appreciate a submission that attends to the specific call and submits what is being solicited! So if three poems, you send three poems.
A: The ideal submission will have a perspective of the world it conveys, in beautiful language, and with the intent of gifting this to the reader. It is therefore considerate of its audience, even as it tries to remain faithful to its own internal vision. The ideal submission will be innovative but gentle so that its essence can be accessed by the reader in a way that culminates in a different experience. The ideal submission will seek to bring the world closer to humans with a message that is simple, sophisticated, but not simplistic. This will be its creativity.
A: An ideal submission (if there is even such a thing) shows originality, an understanding of the craft of writing and avoids cliches like the plague. ;-)
A: Our ideal submission is simply clean copy with a clear idea of what it is and what it’s doing. Beyond that, we’re open to just about anything—as long as the piece has an environmental angle, a spiritual emphasis, or displays concern for the natural world. Bonus points when a piece balances otherwise seriousness with elements of humor, satire, and/or oddity. Additionally, we are eager to see more creative nonfiction and graphic narrative submissions. We’d love to receive more work in the vein of author J.T. Robertson’s “No Spoilers” from our first issue. Surprise us!
A: Simple: send a brief cover letter describing the book and anything interesting or relevant about the author, and attach the manuscript. That's it.
Don't send short stories or novellas -- we only publish full-length novels (generally 60,000-80,000 words, though sometimes we've gone a bit lower or higher). You're wasting your time sending us a 20,000-word story or a 200,000-word one.
No works in progress or pitches of things you haven't written yet but could -- we have our hands full just dealing with the 1,000+ completed manuscripts we get each year.
We're not looking for series -- just individual standalone novels that knock our socks off. Nothing wrong with series, they can be wonderful, I've loved many myself, but...we only publish a few books each year and just don't have room in our teeny-tiny line for another series.
We aren't looking for serial killers, fantasy, cozies, legal thrillers, spy thrillers, thrillers of any other sort really (if it feels like Dan Brown or Jason Bourne it might be terrific but it's not for us), anything conspicuously 21st-century (hacking, social media, Covid, Ozempic) -- just good old-fashioned hardboiled or 'noir' crime fiction.
Don't send a sample chapter from the middle of the book. If your opening chapter isn't good enough to hook a reader, you need to write a new opening chapter.
And if our answer is no, as sadly it will be in 99.9% of cases, please don't respond with, "Why? I thought my book was exactly the sort you publish. What's wrong with it? Can you give me a better idea of what you ARE looking for?" We just have to say no the vast, vast majority of the time, which means we'll probably have to say it to you. Apologies in advance. If it happens, don't be discouraged. Another editor might fall in love with your book and do amazingly with it. But we can only go for 1 in 1,000+, and that means saying no to 999+. It's nothing personal.
A: For general submissions: You are an emerging writer (have no more than one full length book) and you submit a RANGE of 3-5 poems per submission. The title of your submission is your name and the first poem's title. You have a third-person bio at the end.
For theme submissions: You are an emerging writer (have no more than one full length book) and you submit 1-4 poems that fit the theme. The title of your submission is your name and the first poem's title. You have a third-person bio at the end.
A: The ideal submission is an effective one. When our editors read submissions, we're looking for language that affects us emotionally, or perhaps makes us do a double take on our perceptions of something. These works can be anything from personal revelations to descriptions of the physical world. Whatever it is, poetry or prose, we seek experiences translated into words.
Our art preferences are a little more subjective, but any visual media that catches our interest has a high chance of publication!
A: My sister wrote a story when she was 12 and I was 11 called Eyeball Invasion. It's still funny if I do say so.
Don't afraid to get weird is all I'm saying. And humor will get you places too. Ideal is something strange, peculiar and new.