I’m in a perpetual happy-dance-mode; I have a renewed sense of purpose here at SLM and I feel rejuvenated.
I’ve just gotten a great contract from a publisher for my book, Unhinged, and my husband sent me to my hometown of Niceville, Florida (try and restrain yourself from asking me if everyone’s nice there) in May to stay with my best friend for my birthday.
And….drum roll please…welcome Melissa Libbey to our team! She will be my right-hand-woman until I have to tearfully say goodbye to her and protest her absence on August 12th. Please, get to know her, follow her on Twitter, and trust in her experience and vision, as well as her eye for unbridled talent and her own talented writing.
Do you accept simultaneous submissions? What about previously published works? What about reprints?
Of course. Come on.
How do I format my submission?
The body of your e-mail can be as simple or as complex as you make it; we’re all different, just like our writing. If you are attaching your work, it CAN be in a PDF, but if we’re going to publish you, be prepared to send me a WORD doc.
What’s your word-count limit?
We don’t have one. I don’t stifle my artists’ creativity.
How soon can I expect a response?
This one I’ve become worse on over time. Life is busy. You may be lucky and I’ll write back to you the minute I get your e-mail; or it can be a week or two. But I see and read every single submission I receive in my inbox. And I promise you I WILL respond.
I’ve been rejected so many times that I’m apathetic and despondent. I don’t want to submit.
I understand this all too well. I feel despondent and apathetic all the time; but I still get up every day and make my life happen. You just have to decide if you’re going to do the same thing.
What are the themes? What is the deal with that?
Writers and readers alike tend to enjoy spreading their wings; for the first quarter or so of 2016, I ran a contest and let our contributors choose themes and then named each month’s theme after that contributor.
At the moment, we’re in June, so I will post the remaining theme schedule below:
JUNE: Christopher Iacono’s First Love Theme
JULY: Rob True’s Theme, The Journey
AUGUST: Tino Prinzi’s Theme, Perceptions
SEPTEMBER: @voimaoy’s Theme, What If?
Here’s the deal, guys: FUCK IT. Yes, that’s what I just wrote.
What I mean is this: sit down, stand up, however you do it, and WRITE WHAT YOU WRITE. Don’t begin your writing process with a theme in your head that could be jamming up your process. WRITE WITHOUT CENSORS, write without looking back, and then let’s see if it fits into a theme or not. Who cares? And more than likely, it already does. Or did. Or will.
Now, what about your rights to my work that you publish? Am I able to publish it elsewhere, re-post it, etc?
We do not retain any rights to your work. Even though we may have edited it, you wrote it and it’s yours. You may re-post, re-publish and do whatever you would like with it. If there has been a lot of outside interest in a piece of yours that we’ve published, I’d love to hear about it! I love that! I keep in touch with my writers. You guys are my motivation, my pillars and (as I’ve said previously) my biggest cheerleaders.
When are you open for submissions? Are there deadlines, cut offs, and how does that work?
We are open to all unsolicited submissions until further notice, until I say otherwise. We’re OPEN! Essays, poetry, fiction, flash fiction, artists, musicians, photographers, whatever you do, do it well and be confident. We promote and adore originality, writers who’ve yet to gain visibility or acceptance but have so much to say, and encourage you to write to us if you have questions or need advice. I started this venture because I was personally rejected so many times from so many different literary magazines, publishing houses, literary agents, you name it. And I’ll tell you what I’ve learned since October: You guys are phenomenal writers. I’m lucky to be the vehicle for your work. And to all of my artists, the same goes for you. Your work is hauntingly beautiful, breathtaking, different, thought-provoking and innovative all at the same time.
Where do I send my work? Do I have to put a certain thing in the subject line? Do you accept attachments?
***THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE IN OUR PROCESS!!! EVEN FOR OUR REGULARS! PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS!!!***
Now that Melissa is on board here at SLM, we have a new e-mail address for ALL submissions: sicklitsubmissions@gmail.com
Save it, copy and paste it, memorize it, do whatever you need to, but ALL SUBMISSIONS need to be sent to the new e-mail address.
In the subject line of your e-mail, all I ask is that you put if you’re submitting to a theme. (E.g., Submission for July’s The Journey). From there on out, as I said previously, you make your e-mail what you make it. Be yourself. I want transparency, honesty, passion, heat, violence; I want REALITY. So write to me as you; not a put-on you that the world asks you to be. I hate that.
We’re here together to shatter the mold. We are already beginning to chip away at it. Together, we will change the face of the literary world. And it’s only the beginning…(As my new intern Melissa Libbey said to me the other day.)
COME SHATTER THE MOLD WITH US.
LET’S SHAKE UP THE LITERARY WORLD–TOGETHER.
Cheers,
Peace and love,
Kelly Fitzharris Coody
SICK LIT MAGAZINE 