Seven Snazzy Online Journals

While print journals struggle to stay afloat, online journals proliferate. That gives us poets lots of choices, but also means we need to make responsible choices. Online journals are not all created equal and, quite frankly, some of them are dreadful. There’s no sense in submitting your lovely poems to a journal you wouldn’t be proud to have them in.

Print journal editors always advise us to see and read the journal before submitting. The same advice holds true for online journals. Really, there’s no excuse for not carefully checking out an online journal before submitting to it. You can do it quickly and for free.

In 2013 I posted a list of the attributes I looked for in an online journal. What I said there still applies. I also posted a list of seven online journals that were then new and which I admired.

Now in 2015 I continue to prefer a real website to a blog, though blog sites have greater flexibility these days. If using a blog site, the editor should get a real domain name so that the url doesn’t include “blogspot” or “wordpress.” I also don’t want to see a lot of sidebar material that’s typical of a blog. That can and should be removed.

I really don't want to see a black background with a light font. That design is initially striking, but is difficult to read.

I like the Guidelines to be up to date. It’s frustrating to check out a journal, see that they are open now for submissions, put together a submission, then go to the Submittable page and discover that submissions are, in fact, closed.

I particularly dislike the occasional requirement that each poem be submitted individually. What a nuisance.

Likewise, I don’t care to have to remove my name and address. If the editors want to read blind, they can just cover up the id information. Mostly, though, I think that editors should be able to read objectively with or without names.

I really appreciate Share Buttons. I made a big point of that in my previous post. Still, two years later, I’m surprised to see that many online journals aren’t using Share Buttons. They’re free! And they can dramatically increase the journal’s reach and readership. With the click of a button, poets and readers can send a link to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and elsewhere. I can’t imagine any sensible reason why a journal wouldn’t add them to each page of the journal.

Lastly, I like journals that maintain a presence on Facebook and Twitter. This should be regarded as free advertising space. Social media allows the editor to promote the journal, the poets, and the poems.


I’ve recently perused some newish online journals—or new to me—and am going to share seven of the ones that I find appealing, both for their aesthetics and their poetry.


Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing
Fiction, poetry, non-fiction, art
beautifully designed Table of Contents page
Share buttons
2x

Construction Lit Magazine
Poetry, fiction, interviews, social/political commentary, essays on architecture
beautifully designed journal
submission is via email
Share buttons
4x

Cumberland River Review
artwork and poetry, fiction, essays
reads Sept thru April
No Share buttons
4x

The Ilanot Review
would like to see a better url (without “wordpress” in it)
but they do remove the usual blog sidebars
issues are themed
Share buttons
2x

Menacing Hedge
poetry, fiction, interviews, reviews
No Share buttons
4x

Radar Poetry
poetry paired with artwork
interviews
audios
blind submissions
No Share buttons
4x

Utter Magazine
poetry, fiction, non-fiction, interviews
No share buttons
1-2x

What I Look for in an Online Journal

I'm sure you've noticed, as I have, the demise of a number of print journals or their transition to an online format. At the same time, I've also noticed the proliferation of online journals. There are several factors contributing to this proliferation—money, ease of building and maintaining, the ability to reach a wider audience, ability to respond in a timelier manner, and so on. But because anybody can create an online journal—even for free—not all of these journals are of equal quality. Because I believe that it's a good idea for a poet to have both a print and an online presence, I've been gathering a list of online journals I like.

But first I want to share with you the criteria I used in assembling my list:

1. No blogs masquerading as websites. The blog format doesn't have the feel of commitment and permanence that a real website has.

2. Absolutely no scrolling down in order to find the next poet and his / her poems. Each poet must have his / her own page. Scrolling is one problem frequently found in the blog masquerading as a journal.

3. Looks matter. Must have aesthetic appeal. Good design.

4. No black background. This is horrible. Initially, it makes a strong impact, but turns out to be really annoying to read.

5. No image behind poems. Completely distracting. Why would any editor do this? And yet some do.

6. Easy to read. No fancy font stuff going on. No weird stuff with colored fonts. Nothing that jumps up and down such as a typewriter with moving keys.

7. Don't want a bunch of messages on the front page. Don't make me jump through hoops to get to the poems.

8. Don't want a lot of busy stuff in sidebars, stuff that distracts my attention from the poems.

9. Appreciate the Contents on each page but not smashed up next to the poems. Very distracting. The poem feels squashed.

10. Ease of navigation—return link to home page, previous, next. Don't make me use my Back Button. Don't make me have to return to the Contents page to get to the next poem / poet. It's annoying to have to keep starting over.

11. All of one poet's poems together or at least with a forward button.

12. No pdf format. Some editors think this is a cool format as it sort of mimics a book, but it's more annoying than cool.

13. Bio note with poems. Prefer not to have to go somewhere else to find that information.

14. Must notify of either acceptance or rejection. Big fat zero to those editors who don't notify for rejections. Insufferably rude.

15. No complicated, idiosyncratic guidelines—I always read and heed but don't want to spend huge amounts of time figuring them out.

16. Share Buttons for each poet's page. This is a great way to expand the journal's / poet's / poem's reach. It is really foolish not to include these. Really.


In a few days check back here for the list of online journals I like. In the meantime, you might want to check out The Benefits of Publishing Online.