Experienced poetry and literary magazine editors and publishers, Robert Berold, Gary Cummiskey, and Colleen Higgs share their advice and suggestions on becoming a published poet. First in literary magazines and then progressing to getting a collection published. It’s not comprehensive and things change all the time. Literary magazines come and go, poetry publishers too.
Sending poetry to poetry journals
by Robert Berold, Deep South
You will find many SA poetry magazines online, but for some print journals, you have to look for a large library, such as a city or university library. It’s essential to read them first to see which magazines suit your style of poetry.
Publishing through small magazines is a slow process, but that is the way all poets do it. Some editors give criticism and feedback, others don’t. Editors, like you, are usually unpaid poets.
It’s not necessary to send a covering letter with CV or literary credentials. But put your name and email address on each poem.
Give some thought to what might irritate a journal editor. For instance, do not send more than the number of poems the magazine stipulates. Even if they don’t stipulate, think of six poems as a maximum.
Don’t send the same poems to more than one magazine, as no editor wants to see their carefully chosen selection appear elsewhere.
Editors often wait until they have all the poems submitted for each issue before they make a final choice. For a magazine that comes out every six months, that means an editor will send out acceptance/rejection letters only after six months. So you sometimes have to wait a long time for a reply.
If you still have no reply after six months, write and ask the editor if he/she has made a decision. If you still get no reply, send those poems to another journal.
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sending poems to literary magazines
by Gary Cummiskey, Dye Hard Press
If you wish to submit material to local literary journals, it will help the editor if you are able to consider these guidelines:
Before you send material to a literary journal, obtain a copy of it so you can get an idea of the sort and genre of material that it publishes. It would be a waste of time (and money) sending fiction to a journal that only publishes poetry, for instance. There is also little point in sending sexually explicit poems to a conservative or religious publication or sending traditional-form poems to a journal that only publishes experimental works.
If you cannot find a copy of the journal in a bookshop, contact the publisher and ask to purchase a copy and offer to pay postage/courier.
Find out the submission guidelines for the journal. If you are asked to send no more than eight poems, then do not send more than eight poems. If you send a 100-page manuscript, it would not be treated with enthusiasm.
Do not submit previously published work. If you want to submit work that has already been published on a website, it would be best to first check the submission policy of the print journal. When you submit work, state which submissions have been previously published online.
Do not make duplicated submissions by sending the same material to more than one journal at a time.
Send the material in a commonly used text program such as MS Word, and use a standard font that is easily readable. Avoid ‘illustrating’ your submission with computer graphics unless it is essential to the text.
Include a short covering email that includes your name and contact details.
Independent publishers have many other responsibilities and it may take a while before you hear from them. If you have not heard from a journal after six months, it is unlikely that your work has been accepted.
If you receive a reply stating that your work has been rejected, do not enter into correspondence with the editor unless invited to. Most importantly, do not complain about it. Accept the editor’s decision. Do not take the rejection personally; it is only the editor’s opinion. If you are provided with feedback on why it was rejected and receive suggestions on how to improve your work, consider the feedback.
If your work is accepted by a journal for one issue, do not assume that all further submissions by yourself will be immediately accepted.
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Checklist for poets wanting to publish a first collection
by Colleen Higgs, Modjaji Books
Consider how many of these preparations you are already making, and where you still have work to do.
Buy and read the work of poets who have had their work published. Subscribe to at least one literary magazine. Consider this an investment in your poetry knowledge and future. If you can’t afford to buy new books, visit second-hand shops or go to your public library. Reading published poetry gives you a deeper sense of how good poetry is written and how it appears on the page.
Attend live and online poetry readings: Some South African examples are Off the Wall, The Red Wheelbarrow, Poetry Africa in Durban, and the monthly poetry reading sessions from Amazwi in Makhanda. Subscribe to independent bookstores’ mailing lists to be notified of poetry book launches held at The Book Lounge, Clarke’s Bookshop, and Kalk Bay Books in Cape Town; Bridge Books and Love Books in Joburg, and Ike’s Books in Durban. Exclusive Books, Cavendish in Cape Town also host launches of poetry books often.
Send your work to literary magazines. See the list below for their contact details and submission requirements. You should have had at least 10 poems published in three or more poetry magazines (print or online) before asking others to review your work professionally. As a publisher, I can say that it is far easier to work with poets who have been published widely. They understand the editing process, are not defensive about editing their work and are looking for ways to improve it.
Before submitting your collection to a publisher, ask a published poet whose work you like and admire to read your manuscript. You might have to pay them to read it and tell you if, in their opinion, it is publishable. In other words, get feedback on and responses to your poems.
When you have reached this stage, I can recommend people who might edit your work. Once again, you should expect to pay for this professional service.
If you’ve done all the above, go through your collection and choose the poems that fit together in some way. A first collection that will comfortably be published as a slim volume must be about 56 or 64 pages. But remember that the book will be typeset and you will need at least seven or eight pages for the front matter and end matter.
These presses publish poetry in South Africa, before submitting find out what their submission criteria and guidelines are, and whether they are currently open for submissions: Black Letter Media, deep south, Dryad Press, Hands-On Books, imphepho press, Karavan Press, poetree publications, Modjaji Books and Uhlanga Press.
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South African poetry journals in English
compiled by Amazwi South African Museum of Literature updated 2023
Read the submission guidelines for journals on their web page or in their most recent edition
Botsotso (about 1 issue/year) poetry and prose PO Box 30952, Braamfontein, 2017 [online + print] submissions: botsotso@artslink.co.za
Kotaz (about 1 issue/year) poetry and prose English and Xhosa; Imbizo Arts PO Box 63, New Brighton, 6200 [print only] submissions: imbizo.arts@gmail.com
New Coin (2 issues/year) poetry ISEA, Rhodes University Grahamstown 6140 [print only] submissions: newcoin@ru.ac.za
New Contrast (4 issues/year) poetry and prose PO Box 44844 Claremont, 7735 and click here for submissions
Ons Klyntji (1 issue/year) poetry and prose, Afrikaans and English P O Box 12370, Mill Street, 8010 [print only – check site for annual deadline] submissions: sendusyourpoems@gmail.com
Stanzas (4 issues/year) poetry [print only] submissions: editor@stanzaspoetry.org
Avbob Poetry Prize – annual (poetry; all SA official languages) Online submission throughout the year, online publication & selection of these printed annually (register and submit online)
Poetry Potion – a quarterly print edition and running online presence. The site also gives writing prompts and daily poems.
Hotazel Review – a literary journal, based in South Africa, international in focus. Fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Kalahari Review (poetry and prose) African literary journal: online (weekly) submissions: editor@kalaharireview.com
Isele Magazine (poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, non-fiction) African literary journal, submissions: poetry.iselemagazine@gmail.com
EU-Sol Plaatje Poetry Anthology – published by Jacana Media Winning poems and longlisted poems published in an annual anthology. [newest info, check for annual deadline]