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Chris Hamilton-Emery writes: > > I guess multiple submissions are okay; as long as you *actually subscribe* to the magazines. > > It is of course true that many people who submit to magazines are inexcusably ill-informed about their contents, and often about contemporary poetry in general. Poets need to be readers, and far too frequently aren't. But the oft-repeated cry of the editor, 'You can't possibly expect to get published in a magazine if you don't subscribe to it,' is just not realistic. This is to turn poetry into an expanded form of 'letters to the editor'. If you want to be a professional poet - at least in the sense of treating your writing and publishing as seriously as people treat their properly-paid work - you need to be published as widely as possible. And most of us can't afford that many subscriptions. Ralph Wessman writes: > > Regards multiple posting, I did note in the last eighteen months or so that on three occasions on accepting a poem for a little mag I edit, the reply that came back was "about to be published, elsewhere". (One poem had been with me three months, the other two for four weeks). With one of those three acceptances, I sent my equally little payment, but the reply advising me the fate of the poem didn't include my cheque. :) > > There is certainly no justification for the poet who didn't return your fee, and I have to say I'm very impressed that you pay in advance. When I talked about accepting a better offer, by the way, I wasn't being entirely serious. We all know that the money poets get paid is insignificant. The only reason I've ever submitted to two places at once was to avoid the delay caused by editors who are very slow in responding (or don't respond at all). This is the main gripe poets have about editors. There is one UK book publisher which seems never to respond to submissions. That was my experience, and several of my friends have said the same thing happened to them. One well-known older poet was due to have his collected poems published by them, but they never replied to any of his letters so he gave up and went to Carcanet instead. It's a strange way to run a business. Best wishes Matthew %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%