Janelle, I’m curious (and maybe others associated with different lit mags could also speak to this) but do most places generally send an acceptance as soon as they decide they want a piece? Or do they sit on it until, say, the submission deadline, or some other arbitrary date? I’ve tried to determine patterns in my acceptances and rejections, but have yet to really discern any. Thanks!
Great question - I don't want to answer on behalf of all literary magazines, but in general, once a lit mag decides they want to publish your work, they have an incentive to accept it as soon as possible so that another magazine doesn't snatch it up first. When it comes to response times, I think the biggest factor is the volume of submissions an editor has in their queue (which the writer doesn't have visibility to). In the case of contests, serious editorial decisions aren't going to be made until the contest is closed and all submissions are in. They may have first-round readers screening pieces as they come in, but long list and short list decisions wouldn't be made until after the contest closes. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the great insight. It definitely matters to think about this stuff because submitting can be truly such a heartbreaking thing, especially if you feel like you're really giving the magazine what they wanted and asked for and it's still a no. Thanks for putting this into perspective!
Janelle, I’m curious (and maybe others associated with different lit mags could also speak to this) but do most places generally send an acceptance as soon as they decide they want a piece? Or do they sit on it until, say, the submission deadline, or some other arbitrary date? I’ve tried to determine patterns in my acceptances and rejections, but have yet to really discern any. Thanks!
Great question - I don't want to answer on behalf of all literary magazines, but in general, once a lit mag decides they want to publish your work, they have an incentive to accept it as soon as possible so that another magazine doesn't snatch it up first. When it comes to response times, I think the biggest factor is the volume of submissions an editor has in their queue (which the writer doesn't have visibility to). In the case of contests, serious editorial decisions aren't going to be made until the contest is closed and all submissions are in. They may have first-round readers screening pieces as they come in, but long list and short list decisions wouldn't be made until after the contest closes. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the great insight. It definitely matters to think about this stuff because submitting can be truly such a heartbreaking thing, especially if you feel like you're really giving the magazine what they wanted and asked for and it's still a no. Thanks for putting this into perspective!
Thank you, Janelle! This is great advice for someone like me that's new in the game. Looking forward to your next post!
You're welcome! I'm glad you found this helpful. I actually have a 6-week online course called "How to Submit Work to Literary Magazines" coming up that starts on August 9 if that's of any interest to you. More details here: https://courses.writerstudio.com/courses/online-how-to-submit-work-to-literary-magazines-drumwright-summer-2025-starts-august-9
...and then there is Granta's evolved specialty, which I term the Dour Sorry Bastard story.
Catchy 😆