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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: When selecting the winners, we look for the following:
o 100 words or less, including the title
o writing that crafts a complete and compelling story
o unexpected delights
o a story that is creative, unique, and captures a new angle
o a story that expands our beliefs about what's possible
o a story that includes a clever twist or unexpectedly delights us with a surprise
o writing that uses unique or unexpected language
o writing that inspires us
o a story that is nonviolent and focuses on growth rather than suffering
o a piece that adheres to the theme (some contests have a theme, while others are open-ended)

A: Up to six poems showing a good range of your style.

A: It grabs us in the first line, doesn't let go, and keeps going.

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.

Margaret R. Sáraco and Mary Brancaccio, Poetry Editors of Platform Review, 04 March 2024

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. ;-)

Doug Jacquier, Editor of Witcraft, 28 February 2024

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.