Lightning Fast Responses
Submitting to literary journals is both a short process and a long one. If you do it enough, it feels as if it takes you .2 seconds to log into your Submittable account, email, etc. and send out another piece you’ve written to another journal. Then you wait six months. Sometimes longer. I’m still waiting on a response from a journal I submitted to a year and a half ago.
For those of you (like me) who are very impatient, these journals seem like the answer to prayers. Be aware that just because they respond quickly doesn’t mean that you’ll receive an acceptance. Do your research and make sure you know what they want before you submit.
Here are some literary journals with quick response times, for those who just can’t wait.
Red Eft Review – this poetry journal is run and edited by Corey D. Cook (you can find his about me page here). He aims to respond to submissions within a week
Trouvaille Review – you can send up to ten poems to this journal by email. They try to respond within 24 hours (I’m not kidding)
Ghost Parachute – this journal accepts flash fiction through Submittable. They don’t give a specific timeframe for getting back to you, but you only have to wait a month to submit again
Metaphorosis – this journals asks for science fiction and fantasy pieces, with a 10,000 word limit. They also try to respond within a day like Trouvaille (they also pay!)
Thrush – they publish poetry and respond in five days or quicker. You can find their guidelines here
Softblow – you can email up to six poems here (also check out their archive to see the list of names they’ve published)
Bluepepper – I put this journal in my resources page earlier this week. This journal is run by Justin Lowe, and while it says he tries to respond within two weeks, he got back to me a lot sooner!
Bonus: The Threepenny Review – their reading period doesn’t up until the beginning of next year, but they respond in as little as two days and pay very well
You can also find more journals, articles like these, and other sources at https://authorspublish.com/
Want to know more? Click the LEARN MORE button at home. You’ll find some helpful links to my own work in journals (which I have started posting here too!). You can find my work at Ariel Chart, the Cedarville Review, Nailpolish Stories, Bluepepper, 50 Word Stories, The Aurora Journal, and Writing in a Woman’s Voice! Also look for me in Anti-Heroin Chic and Sledgehammer Lit later this year!
Want to see a sample? Check out this post!
Need help proofreading a story before you send it out? You can find me on Fiverr!
