Submission
Quick answer: A submission is work sent to a magazine, press or contest for consideration. Learn how poetry submissions work, from guidelines to response times.
A submission is a piece of writing sent to a magazine, press, anthology or competition in the hope that its editors will publish it or award it a prize. In poetry, a standard magazine submission means three to six poems in a single document, sent through an online portal or email during the venue's reading period, accompanied by a brief cover letter. The word also names the whole transaction: poets speak of having twelve submissions out, meaning twelve batches under consideration somewhere.
Submitting is the unglamorous engine of a poetry life. Poems do not find readers by themselves; someone has to lick the envelope, or nowadays click the button. Most working poets treat submission as a routine discipline, a steady background process that runs while the real work of writing continues.
How the Process Works
Every venue publishes guidelines: how many poems, what format, which months they read, whether they allow simultaneous submissions, and what rights they take on acceptance. Follow them to the letter. Editors receiving thousands of submissions use guideline violations as a quick filter, and no poem is good enough to survive being unreadable in the wrong file type.
After you submit, you wait. Response times run from days to a year, with three to six months common at established magazines. The outcome is an acceptance, a rejection, or occasionally a request for revisions. Then the cycle repeats.
Building a System
Serious submitters keep a tracker, a spreadsheet or a tool like Duotrope or Chill Subs, recording each poem, venue, date sent, and result. This prevents the two classic embarrassments: sending a poem to the same magazine twice, and forgetting to withdraw a poem that was accepted elsewhere.
A tiered strategy helps morale. Send each batch to one ambitious venue, a couple of realistic ones, and one newer journal. Contests belong in the mix too. Writory's monthly contest takes entries from the 1st to the 25th with results on the 30th, and because every entrant sees a score, it returns information at a speed magazine queues never match.
The Etiquette
Never submit previously published work unless the venue asks for reprints. Withdraw promptly when a poem is accepted elsewhere. Do not query about a decision before the stated response time has passed. And never argue with a rejection; editors remember, and the correct reply to a no, if any, is to submit again later with new work.
What poets can take from this
- Read and obey the guidelines completely before sending anything.
- Keep a tracker of every poem, venue, date and outcome.
- Submit in batches of three to five poems that show your range.
- Aim to keep several submissions active at all times so no single response carries too much weight.
- Withdraw accepted poems from other venues the same day you get the news.
- Resubmit to magazines that rejected you warmly; a personal note is an invitation.
Try it yourself
Choose your three strongest unpublished poems, find two magazines and one contest whose recent selections feel like kin to them, and send all three submissions this week. Then write a poem about the moment after pressing send.
Questions
How many poems should be in one submission?
Most magazines ask for three to six poems in a single document. Sending fewer than three wastes the opportunity, and sending more than the maximum invites rejection on procedure alone.
How long do poetry submissions take to get a response?
Anywhere from a few days to a year. Three to six months is typical for established magazines. Guidelines usually state an expected window, and most venues accept a polite query once it has passed.
Does submitting a poem cost money?
Usually not for magazines, though some charge small reading fees of a few pounds or dollars. Contests commonly charge entry fees that fund the prizes. Paying large sums simply to be published is a red flag.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
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