The Bureau Dispatch

They publish fiction. “We are not a spec fic journal, but our stories often contain a hint of the speculative, a dash of the intriguing. We want fiction that is compelling and beautifully-crafted; narratives that leave the reader breathless and changed.”
Deadline: 15 September 2022
Length: 500-1,500 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

The Puritan

This magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, interviews, reviews, and poetry. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month.
Deadline: 25 September 2022 for Fall issue; reads year-round
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction, up to 4 poems; various for nonfiction (see guidelines)
Pay: CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD25 per poem (or page, capped at CAD80)
Details here.

(Shenandoah opens for prose 5^th September – comics are already open – and will close for prose on 15^th, or when the Submittable cap is reached, they pay $100 per 1,000 words of prose, up to $500; The Cincinnati Review opens for prose, poetry, translation submissions, and drama queries, for the print magazine on 1^st September and the deadline is 30 September or until filled; online features are accepted almost through the year; this is a paying market; The Iowa Review is open for fiction and poetry through 1^st October, and nonfiction through 1^st November 2022, they also accept translations; while there is a charge to submit online for non-subscribers, postal submissions are free; they pay $0.08/word for prose and $1.50/line of poetry, $100 minimum.)

Nashville Review
This magazine publishes fiction, including flash, nonfiction, poetry, translations, comics, and art. “From expansive to minimalist, narrative to lyric, epiphanic to subtle: if it’s a moving work of art, we want it.” Their submission periods are January, May, and September.
Deadline: 30 September 2022
Length: Up to 8,000 words for prose, up to three poems
Pay: $100 for prose, $25 per poem
Details here.

The Paris Review
They are scheduled to open for prose, poetry, and translation submissions on 1^st September, and will accept submissions via Submittable until a cap is reached. However, they will remain open for mailed submissions until 30 September 2022 (postmarked).
Deadline: See above
Length: One prose piece or up to six poems
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.

Planet Scumm

They publish science fiction, speculative fiction, weird fiction, and slipstream.
Deadline: 2 October 2022
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.

Transient plans to publish its first issue in Winter 2023. Right now they’re seeking submissions this first edition.

Poets may submit up to three poems. Although Transient accepts all forms and styles of poetry, they’re especially interested in poems that explore unexpected uses of language, such as erasures and visual poems. Submitting authors can expect a response within two months. Authors should only submit once per issue.

Visual artists may submit up to six pieces. Transient accepts photographs, paintings, digital art, collages, conceptual art, sculptures, and most other visual artforms.

Transient accepts submissions via email, not online or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work.

Transient only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you’d like to learn more or submit to Transient, please visit their website here.

Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.

How can you check the legitimacy of a publisher if you don’t know much about the publishing industry?

Even if a publisher is legitimate, how do you know that they will do right by your work?

All of these are complicated questions, but knowing how to evaluate a publisher, and knowing your own personal standards should make it relativity easy to find publishers that work for your needs.

This article gives you concrete steps to answering these complicated questions.

How to Make Sure a Company is Legitimate

I have spent quite a lot of time evaluating publishers for Authors Publish. Most of the publishers I evaluate, I never end up reviewing, because they go against our guiding principles in one way or another, or are disreputable in some way. Most publishers I end up reviewing, I put a half hour of research into the review, before ever typing a word. Although I usually know within 5 minutes, if I am actually going to review them or not.

One or more of the following things usually eliminates a publisher in the first 5 minutes of visiting their website.

There is a mention of fees of any kind
Some legitimate publishers are charging reading fees now, but that doesn’t make it ok. If they mention a fee for editing or anything like that they are eliminated. Some companies talk about a cooperative payment approach or hybrid publishing. Neither of these things is a good sign.

They are trying to sell you something else (and it isn’t a book)
I have no problems with publishers encouraging interested authors to buy a book the publisher has already published. That is a good idea. But what I do have a problem with is a publisher whose website that is really pushing or promoting additional services of any kind. This website is a good example of what to avoid, because they very much emphasize writing for them, and pre-publication services, while making it very tricky to find out very much about the books they have published, never mind buying those books. 

They have been around for under a year
Most presses fail in the first three years, so over three years old is ideal, but if you are a new author you sometimes have to take a risk on a new publisher. Sometimes these risks pay off, but there is no reason not to monitor that press, and not submit to them, during the first year.

They have been around for two years and have published less than one book
This is usually an indicator that they are 1) disorganized, and 2) struggling financially, or 3) they are really a self-publishing operation, pretending to be a traditional press.

They have not published anything in the last year
If an older publisher has not published anything for a full year, it is not generally a good sign.

If they have only published a few books, I make sure these books are not just written by the editors themselves
Lots of writers these days set up companies just to make it seem like they are not self-publishing. Some of these grow into legitimate publishers, some do not.

Their website is not functioning properly
I don’t think I need to elaborate on this point.

The Next Steps
If a publisher makes it past those first easy to check hurdles, I check the Writer Beware thumbs down list to make sure they are not listed.

I also Google them. This often is not helpful, but sometimes equals good information. If there is ever a listing from Glass Door on the Google list, make sure to read it. These reports are usually made by employees of the company, such as editors, not authors themselves, but if employees are unhappy, this is generally not a good sign.

If I was actually submitting to this company I would make sure that they publish in the same genre I write in, and that they met my personal standards in terms of what I am looking for in a publisher.

How to Make Sure It Meets Your Personal Standards

Would you be happy if the publisher you submitted to, chose to publish your book?

This might seem obvious, but often times writers get so nervous or start to think it is a numbers game in terms of submissions out, that they submit to publishers that are legitimate but do not meet their personal standards.

For example I know someone who submitted to an eBook only publisher and their work was accepted and they signed the contract. The only problem with that, was that they didn’t want eBook only. They wanted an actual physical book, so they were not happy.

I cannot set your personal standards for you because I do not know you, but I think it might help you to see mine, just to get a good concrete idea about what I am talking about:

I am only interested in a print publisher with good distribution.

If they have good distribution I usually know because they mention the distribution company, or I see their books in bookstores all the time.

That clearly eliminates a lot of publishers, even a lot of the ones I have reviewed, but at least I know that. That helps me eliminate even more potential publishers, even quicker.

But for every author the standards are different and the preferences are different. Just make sure you are submitting to companies you actually want to publish your manuscript.

Finally

Even if a publisher meets all of these criteria, and offers you a contract, still approach with caution.  Evaluate the contract with care, and don’t agree to sign anything that involves you paying the press. The Authors Guild and Writer Beware, both have good resources in terms of contract evaluation.  

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.