Hey, It’s OK to Ask Questions When Submitting to Lit Mags (Sometimes)

Part 1 of the 'Swimming lessons in the Slushpile' Series with Benjamin Davis

Art by Mariam Chagelishvili

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Welcome to lesson #1 of Swimming lessons in the Slushpile with Benjamin Davis. Learn more about this workshop and find all the lessons here. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, upgrade to access everything:

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It’s OK to Ask Questions When Submitting to Lit Mags (Sometimes)

Questions are everything. Why are we here? Is there a God? What the fuck does “in-progress” mean on submittable? We’ll never know. But many misconceptions and confusions while submitting to literary magazines can often be solved by asking editors questions.

Here’s the thing: some people are pricks. Some people are editors. Quick math: (Σ[k=0→n]) carry the one—yep, some editors are pricks. This has made a lot of writers nervous about what they should or should not ask. So, let’s clear that up. Because most editors are awesome people. And they’ll be happy to answer most of your questions.

Step One: Know Who You’re Asking

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Prick or not, you should know who you’re asking. At Chill Subs, we’ve found that the most significant factor in predicting whether a lit mag will go defunct is whether they have an actual masthead with real people listed (2.35x more likely to fold without one, to be exact).

So, if you have a question and go to the masthead to see who to ask but can’t find a human there — good news! Do not submit to that magazine.

Step Two: Timing Is Everything

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Determine when to ask your question. I’ve narrowed it down to four chunks:

1. Before You Submit

2. While a Submission Is Pending

3. After Your Work Has Been Rejected

4. After Your Work Has Been Accepted

Let’s take a look at what is and is not appropriate to ask at each stage. For this lesson, I tapped some editor friends from The Sun and Bloodletter to share what questions are OK to ask and when.

Before You Submit

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This is the stage where most editors get frustrated. That’s because most of the questions you might have here have already been answered somewhere. For example, “Are you open for submissions?” or “What genres do you publish?” make editors sigh with exasperation. If you have these sorts of questions, look for Submission Guidelines on their website—or check their listing on Chill Subs.

But let’s see what a few editors have to say:

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THE SUN

OK:

• Are there any themes you’re particularly interested in right now?

• How far ahead do you typically schedule accepted work?

Not OK:

• Could you read my story and tell me if it’s good enough to submit?

• [Question clearly addressed in guidelines or FAQ]

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BLOODLETTER

Not OK:

• I get emails ALL THE TIME asking if we’re open for submissions. It’s on our website, socials, Chill Subs… Do a little research before reaching out.

• We get so many inquiries about our submission requirements—word count, genre, theme, etc. We’ve worked hard to make sure our submission guidelines are clear, widely available, and thorough. Again, do a little research first.

OK:

• If there’s a question you have that isn’t covered on our submission page, I want to hear it! We’re always trying to improve and make the process as easy as possible for submitters.

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While a Submission Is Pending (up to their stated response time)

A lot of appropriate questions here come down to timing. The longer your submission is in limbo, the more okay it becomes to ask, depending on their response time.

Pulling from thousands of response times on Chill Subs, we know that 97.1% of magazines respond within six months.

So mostly, after six months, you can start asking questions. Usually something along the lines of, “HEY! ARE YOU GOING TO PUBLISH MY STORY OR WHAT?”—ahem, or, let’s just hear it from them:

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THE SUN

OK:

• It’s been [significantly longer than stated response time] since I submitted—should I be concerned my submission didn’t go through?

• How do I withdraw a submission that’s been accepted elsewhere? (This is in our guidelines, but we’d rather you ask if you missed it there because it’s really disruptive to proceed with a submission we can no longer publish.)

Not OK:

• Have you had a chance to read the piece I submitted [significantly shorter timeframe than stated response time]?

• Can I withdraw and resubmit to correct a typo?

• When will I be paid for my submission?

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BLOODLETTER

Not OK:

• Asking when submission notifications will go out. That information is in our confirmation email and online. I really don’t like it when people email multiple times asking when they’ll hear back after I’ve already responded (it happens more often than you’d think!).

OK:

• Letting me know that your piece has been accepted elsewhere! There’s truly nothing more annoying than selecting a piece only to discover it’s unavailable and the writer forgot to tell us.

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After Your Work Has Been Rejected

I follow middle-school dance rules with literary rejection: once someone says no to dancing with you, anything you do after that just makes you seem desperate and weird.

But here’s what the editors have to say:

THE SUN

OK:

• Do you provide feedback on submissions?

• When can I submit again?

Not OK:

• What’s wrong with you?

• Can you recommend other magazines that might like my work?

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BLOODLETTER

Not OK:

• Asking for feedback via email, rather than using our paid editorial feedback option. We try to provide thoughtful, actionable feedback when it’s requested—and it takes a lot of time.

OK:

• Asking for a paid editorial feedback letter after you’ve received a rejection. That option is always available, and we’d love to engage with your work in-depth and give you advice for future submissions.

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After Your Work Has Been Accepted

At this point, you’re in. As long as your question isn’t, “Have you embraced Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior?” you’re probably in the clear. But let’s check with our editors:

THE SUN

OK:

• Would you like to see a revision I’ve been working on?

• When do you expect this to be published?

Not OK:

• Can we wait until I hear back from [more prestigious or better-paying magazine] before we move forward?

• Will you pay me [significantly more than the rate listed in the guidelines]?

BLOODLETTER

OK:

• There are no annoying questions! We’re here for our writers, and we’ll always make ourselves available to them. Supporting our contributors is the single most important part of my job.

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And that’s the game. If you’re uncertain, ask. If you can’t ask, run.

(Oh, and “in-progress” just means something has been done on your submission. It can be as simple as opening it or as far along as marking it for publication. Basically, it means nothing helpful to you except to give you a worry-headache.)

Now, one final tip on finding (non)questionable places to send your writing:

100s of Lit Mags Who (Probably) Won’t Mind You Asking Questions

• Remember, editors are real people too — and none more so than those who run a lit mag as a solo gig. So go say hi, ask your questions, and maybe sweeten the pot by showing your appreciation for their hard work: 6 Lit Mags Run By One Person

• Or try this list of 11 mags with super friendly editors

• Or browse the “we’re just chilling here” tag on Chill Subs for the vibes

• And use the recommendations of your fellow writers to find the nicest, most approachable, highly rated editors and magazines in the Chill Subs 2025 Community Favorites List

Good luck!

To Ask or Not to Ask?

If you didn’t see your question above, drop it in the comments and I’ll tell you whether it’s appropriate to ask.

In the next Slush Pile lesson, we’ll be looking at what acceptance rates really mean, and how to objectively evaluate your own work.

Lit Mag Acceptance Rates: How Low Can You (Realistically) Go?

P. S. You’ll need a paid subscription to access the full series, so make sure you’re on board for expert insights and stats from behind the Chill Subs curtain…

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