Hey, y’all! After a short end-of-summer break, submissions to Atticus Review are open again!
I’ve always been uncomfortable with the language we use around submitting our writing. It’s the same language we use when we talk about training dogs. It’s the same language we use when we talk about power dynamics in sexual relationships. On the one hand, I find these shared meanings strange and inappropriate for what it is we are doing (sharing our writing with one-another). On the other hand, I find them perfect.
But here’s the truth: Atticus Review does not want to be your Dom. We also aren’t looking to train you.
What we want is for you to send us your best work.
Our Fiction Editor, Michelle Ross, recently wrote a great post for Bird’s Thumb about “Submitting Your Best Work.” I encourage everybody to go read it because it’s a great reflection on what “best work” really means. As she points out, it doesn’t necessarily mean your very best work ever.
She goes on:
[W]hat this phrase really means is something different. Rather than is this the best piece I’ve ever written, ‘submit your best work only’ prompts us to consider questions such as these:
Have I put in adequate time reading and writing to acquire the skills needed to write this particular piece well?
Have I put my heart and guts into this piece?
Have I carefully edited and proofread?
Have I enlisted fellow writers to offer criticism?
Am I proud of this piece?
Is this piece worth a reader’s time?
A few other notes about what we’re looking for: maximum word count is 4000 words for prose pieces. (We’re talking about online publications, here. The length has got to fit the medium.) Also: double space those suckers. Give ’em 12 point font.
That’s really it.
Go do it:
We can’t wait to read your stuff!
-David
Photo courtesy of @glamour_collective
