Notes Magazine Submissions
There are 2 easy ways to submit your short stories, essays, poems, or book & film reviews for publication in Notes Magazine. All posts at NotesAndGraceNotes.Com are considered for publication and posting there enters you into our free bi-monthly contest and offers the benefit of peer review.Authors who prefer to submit privately, are free to use our online submission manager linked at the bottom of this page.
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Notes Magazine: General Guidelines for Authors
Editorial Procedures:
NOTES Magazine and the Grace Notes Foundation prides itself on helping promising authors reach their greatest heights. With that mission in mind, we do not offer publishing opportunities only to those pieces in pristine condition but also to those who (with proper guidance) show great potential of crossing into greatness.
Our editors may send out revisions notes to potential contributors to assist in the editing process and to work a piece into publish-ready condition. We would rather work with a great writer to produce a perfect story than publish lesser works that are more "technically" well written. However, we place high value on maintain voice and style and our editors will never ask an author to make changes they are uncomfortable with, will never revise a submission on the author's behalf (our editors correct only grammatical issues), and are open to discussion pertaining to revision. Ultimately, at Grave Notes, the author is always in control of their work.
Potential contributors retain all rights and may decline the revision suggestions made by our editors. However, this may hurt an author's chances of being published in NOTES Magazine, depending on how crucial the suggested re-writes were in terms of keeping up with our high standards to produce a magazine unlike any other. Author's receiving revision notes from our editors will also be informed of the importance we are placing on their revisions.
Payment:
Yes, we do pay authors! We are authors too, and we know how nice it is to be paid for your work. Payments for future issues will be an honorarium based on available funds until we are more established and can pay a standard amount, upon acceptance. All contributors living in the US will receive a free hard copy, as well, and will be able to purchase an unlimited number of copies at a 30-50% discount. Due to the costs of international shipping, we are unable to provide international contributors with a printed hard copy but we do provide an e-copy of the magazine and discounted.
Contributor discount copies are made available to enable authors to share their published work with friends and family, and The Grace Notes Foundation earns no income generated from them.
Contract
By submitting to Notes Magazine or posting works to be considered at NotesAndGraceNotes.com, you are accepting that you have read and understand our guidelines and policies regarding publication.
* To submit materials, please review individual guidlines for various materials and click the appropriate links to upload submissions.This will direct you to Notes Magazine's online submission manager (@Submittable/Submishmash) and enable document upload. You will receive a Submishmash log-in which allows you to track the progress of your submissions. Please Note: Your log-in information for this submissions manager is separate from your NotesAndGraceNotes account and we do not manage your account there. The service is provided by submishmash and for log-in questions or password retrieval, you will need to contact submishmash. Short or Excerpted Fiction & Creative Essays: NOTES does not have genre restrictions but we do have very specific desires in terms of style.
We publish stories that celebrate a blending of the best qualities from both ‘literary' and 'mainstream' styling. Work submitted to us should have the engaging and realistic characters, vivid settings, and fast-paced storylines found in mainstream writing. We are not hung up on "plot" in the sense that we look specifically for "thriller" or "horror" or "coming of age" but we do seek stories that have a strong sense of being "About Something"-- even if that "something" is simply life or love or friendship. We don't want to read a story that leaves us thinking, "That was beautifully written... but what was the point?"
Entertainment and reader engagement qualities should be combined with the thoughtful prose and unique language often found in the "literary" genre.
NOTES celebrates balance in the works we publish. Finding mainstream stories to often be engaging but empty and the literary genre to be beautiful but often dull-- we wade into the slipstream, the middle ground, the best of both worlds. This is our only true criteria aside from asking that your submission be in professional condition, free of typos and grammatical errors (for the most part at least) and in a legible 12 pt. font.
Makes life easier on our editors!
We do prefer pieces under 3000 words for layout purposes but will work with longer stories of exceptional quality. Response could take from 1 month to 2months depending on the number of submissions we are currently considering. However, we have no issue with simultaneous submissions and ask only that authors notify us if another publisher picks up the story.
Poetry:
If you submit your poetry directly through Grace Notes Books, please send no more than three poems at a time and do not submit again until you have heard back from us on your initial submission. If you submit through NotesAndGrace Notes.Com, please follow N&GN's posting rules. We would love to see your poetry if-- and ONLY IF- your work does NOT include...
Spotlight Author:
Every issue of Notes devotes up to a 15 page spread to our Spotlight Author. A spotlight author should have an extraordinary talent, unique style, and should work in multiple areas of creative writing; fiction, cnf, and/or poetry. We prefer applicants to submit materials in all 3 genres but will consider, and have selected, candidates who only work in 2 of the 3.
This feature includes the Spotlight author's extended bio, a Q&A interview with the author, and several samples of their works- generally 2 pieces of short fiction or excerpts, 2 personal essays or other nonfiction, and 1-5 poems (depending on length.) The Spotlight Author will also have the opportunity to receive free advertising (both in print and online) for any projects they would like to promote such as published works, blogs, etc.
To apply, click the link below and follow the instructions there, uploading various samples that display the range of your works.
*Note: Not sure if you would qualify?! Ask yourself these simple questions: 1. Do you write in at least 2 of the 3 common forms? 2. Do you have 15 pages of work that you are proud of, feel is in publishable condition, and displays the qualities mentioned?
If yes, you should apply. We receive entirely too few applications and our editors hit the web daily, searching for our next candidate. Make our lives easier and come to us, just in case we aren't fortunate enough to stumble across your works in our hunt!
The Accidental Anthropologist (A Public Column)
Notes hosts this column, a regular feature in each issue, though the author changes from one edition to the next as anyone can write an article/essay for submissions. The theme of this column is fairly general: humorous essays examining everyday life, society, and cultural issues. Authors interested in submitting should pay careful attention to tone. The common denominator in all essays published under this column is a balance of humor, wit, & intelligence. Submissions should always be titled with the name of the column itself. You may include a subtitle relevant to your article. (For Instance: "The Accidental Anthropologist: The Mysterious Magic of Boy Bands")
Length guidelines for this public column are as flexible as those for fiction/creative nonfiction but we do prefer pieces less than 2500 words-for layout purposes. But we've never turned away a brilliant piece of writing because it was too long and we're not going to start now. We also prefer pieces that are no less than 700 words-but if you've accomplished something impressive in less? We want to see it.
Book, Television, & Film Reviews
Notes Magazine is always interested in great new book, film, or even television reviews.
We prefer to highlight lesser-knows books and independent films in these reviews, though in the case of television reviews the program need not be new or unknown.
Reviews of film or TV should have a focus on story, character, and writing quality. While other elements should be mentioned and are, of course, vital to these mediums-- acting, direction, cinematography, etc-- our organization is devoted to the art of storytelling and reviews ought to reflect that passion as well. Readers of Notes tend to be a smart crowd but without the pretension often found among 'literary' types. The goal of our TV and film reviews would be to point them toward smart, fun, and unique entertainment in which the art of storytelling is bolstered by each element of the medium rather than overshadowed by special effects, cheap hooks, or mindless comedy.
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To view a complete list of manuscript submission options, including contests, critiques, book-length submissions, and art opportunities, CLICK HERE.
