a balance between open-mindedness and advocating for yourself
good to know
Submissions: Open now (11/11/20) through November 15
Website: www.epiphanyzine.com
Twitter: @epiphanylit
Instagram: @epiphanylitjournal
Facebook: @epiphanylitmag
How much of what you publish is solicited and how much comes from general submissions?
At Epiphany we take to heart our mission of supporting emerging writers at every stage of their careers, and our commitment to reading every submission thoroughly. Though I have certainly solicited some writers and artists whose work I admire, the great majority of what we publish comes from general submissions. Percentage-wise, it varies. Our forthcoming issue has the least solicited work of any I've worked on so far.
Do you read submissions blind?
No. A writer’s cover letter can contain valuable information about their background and degree of experience. Taking external information into account when reading submissions helps us curate an issue made up of diverse voices, and keeps the magazine exciting and eclectic.
What's your advice for writers about working with an editor?
Try to strike a balance between open-mindedness and advocating for yourself. One benefit of working with a good editor is that they will recognize the potential of your work, as well as its existing strengths and weaknesses, which you might be too close to it to see, yourself. If you approach the editorial process with an open mind, ideally your editor will help you pursue your work’s potential, drawing out its strengths, and mitigating or eliminating its weaknesses. But every now and then you’ll work with someone who misunderstands your work entirely. To learn when to embrace a smart editor’s changes, and when you ought to defend your work against editorial changes that would work against its original intention, takes time, but your work will benefit enormously.
What's your advice for writing a cover letter and bio?
Keep it simple! We don’t need to know what you like to do for fun or how many dogs you have. The magic formula is: A) Address the correct editor politely and by name. Bonus points for referencing a piece you read and liked in a previous issue of the journal. B) Bio: short and sweet. Your name, previous publications (if any), and, optionally, a bit of information that might be useful to us in reading your work. C) Whether or not this is a simultaneous submission. If it is, note that you will withdraw it if it is accepted elsewhere.
What advice do you have for writers about the beginnings of their pieces?
I have all kinds of personal preferences. For instance I tend to find it cheesy when a writer uses their protagonist’s first and last names in the first sentence or paragraph of a story. And it can be boring to begin a piece with lots of expository hemming and hawing. Get to the point, and quick! That said, clear, sophisticated writing trumps any peeve, however pet. If your work is vibrant, well-structured, and intelligent, it can transcend all the rules.