Our New Format for Lit Mag Lists on Sub Club
More data, better qualitative info, more deep dives and insights.
Update time! It’s been a while, sorta. I tend to throw random updates into the intros of lists, but this is a big one so I’m making it its own post.
I am always looking for ways to provide more, better information. We did a lot of experiments last year like our Best Lit Mags of 2023 and our Totally Bullshit Ranking System. Both of these led to our conclusion that qualitative data is more important. With so many great magazines, it can be hard to choose.
So, from now on, for our shorter lists, I will be structuring the Lit Mag Blurbs (internally referred to as “Vomit Bricks”) a bit different. As someone who is a big fan of transparency and letting users in on the sausage making, here is how I’m doing it.
First, I have created a really dumb-big spreadsheet of magazines:
Next, I took all of the data we have about magazines that has nothing to do with the numbers, genre, etc, and turned them into tags. Things like “Prize winning” and “Fast Response Times.”
I did this for over 3000 magazines. There is also a section for “Community Nomination” tags which have been created out of our Best Lit Mag Nominations. Things like “Beautiful Websites” and “Fosters Inclusivity” and “Supportive Editors.”
All of these tags will go into a new section of each shared magazine called “Notable Tags.”
Now, if we zoom in on the first few columns of that spreadsheet, you’ll see this:
I’ve worked with a data engineer to program our sheet to plug all of the data I have into text I’ve created (seen below). This way, when I create a list, I will copy the magazine and the text beside it, paste it into my Substack post, and then format & double check info. It will have loads more data than I’ve been able to provide in the past. You can read it all below, but some highlights that will be included if we have the data (if not it’ll just be left blank):
Acceptance Rates - based on tracker data or editor inputs when we have it.
Affiliations - University Mag, Independent, Nonprofit, etc.
Popularity - Based on socials & bookmarks on CS (with last known following and tags)
More genre details: word counts, piece counts, sub genres, payment info and more.
And more below.
Here is the template I created that my data friend used:
[MAGAZINE NAME - HYPERLINKED TO WEBSITE]
[MAGAZINE] is a [COUNTRY]-based literary magazine founded in [YEAR] that publishes [GENRES].
“[DESCRIPTION]” - C.S.
MISSING YEAR: [MAGAZINE] is a [COUNTRY]-based literary magazine that publishes [GENRES]
MISSING COUNTRY: [MAGAZINE] is a literary magazine founded in [YEAR] that publishes [GENRES].
MISSING GENRES: [MAGAZINE] is a [COUNTRY]-based literary magazine founded in [YEAR].
MISSING ALL: [MAGAZINE] is a literary magazine.
Fee: [AMOUNT/NONE/YES] Pay: [AMOUNT/NONE/VARIES]
Fiction: Submit up to [WORD COUNT] words. Accepts [up to FLASH PIECE COUNT] flash pieces of up to [FLASH WORD COUNT]. Pays: [PAYMENT INFO]
Sub Genres: [FICTION SUB GENRES]
Pay: (Fiction payment info)
MISSING MAX PIECES: Submit up to [WORD COUNT] words.
MISSING WORD COUNT: Submit [up to MAX PIECES] stories at a time.
MISSING EVERYTHING: Accepts fiction.
Nonfiction: Submit up to [WORD COUNT] words. Accepts [up to FLASH PIECE COUNT] flash pieces of up to [FLASH WORD COUNT]. Pays: [PAYMENT INFO]
Preferences: [NONFICTION PREFERENCES]
Pay: (Nonfiction payment info)
MISSING PIECES: Submit up to [WORD COUNT] words.
MISSING WORD COUNT: Submit up to [MAX PIECES] stories at a time.
MISSING EVERYTHING: Accepts nonfiction.
Poetry: Submit up to [POEM COUNT] poems of up to [LINE COUNT] lines each. Pays: [PAYMENT INFO]
Preferences: [POETRY PREFERENCES].
Pay: (Poetry payment info)
MISSING POEM COUNT: Submit poems of up to [LINE COUNT] lines.
MISSING WORD COUNT: Submit [POEM COUNT] poems at a time.
MISSING EVERYTHING: Accepts poetry.
**[IF GENRES DON’T EXIST, SIMPLY DON’T INCLUDE. ONLY INCLUDE INFO FOR THESE 3 GENRES]**
Notable Tags: #[TAG] #[TAG] #[TAG] …
[MAGAZINE NAME] [ACCEPTS/DOES NOT ACCEPT] simultaneous submissions [and some reprints]. They respond within [RESPONSE TIME DAYS] days. They are [COMPETITIVENESS TAG] with a last known acceptance rate of [ACCPT RATE].
NO COMPETITIVE TAG: put nothing since it means they have no acceptance rate either.
NO ACCEPTANCE RATE: They are [COMPETITIVENESS TAG]
NO RESPONSE TIME IN DAYS: Remove the whole line.
Learn more on their Chill Subs listing page (hyperlinked). You can also find them on social media (name), where they have [FOLLOWERS] the last time we checked.
For any missing info, remove the whole line.
Missing [method]: Submit by visiting their guidelines page (hyperlinked), or check out their Chill Subs Listing (hyperlinked) to learn more.
It’s a lot of tomfoolery just to give you an idea of the process, but here is what it will look like:
Booth
Booth is a United States-based literary magazine founded in 2009 that publishes Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Comics, and Audio.
"Lovely as a goose on a roof. Lit mag with print issues twice annually and a new issue online the first Friday of the month." -C.S.
Fee: $3, Pay: Yes
Fiction: Submit up to 7500 words.
Accepts flash pieces of up to 1000 words.
Pays: 50
Sub Genres: literary/humor/varies
Poetry: Submit up to 3 poems at a time.
Notable Tags: #read for free #active on socials #university affiliated #brecht top 1000 #extremely competitive #krouse top 500 #10+ years old #extra popular
Booth accepts simultaneous submissions. They are extremely competitive with a last known acceptance rate of <2%.
You can also find them on social media (@BoothAJournal), where they have 7179 followers the last time we checked.
It’s not perfect, I still have to do a lot of aesthetic edits and double checking once I paste them, but hey, it’s a step in the right direction (I think).
A great thing about this method is that since the spreadsheet is coded, any new tags I add or updates I make will automatically apply to any future sharing. No more leaving myself notes! And there is a spot for me to give my own tags to magazines when they are doing cool things I like.
So, yeah, that’s what’s new. I’ll also be adding more of my own observations and commentary to these lists. They will be the ones that are 10-25 magazines mostly. Longer ones will have a slightly updated version of the old format. And the old paid format of vomit bricks will now be a part of free lists. So, win-win.
We are also updating all of our indie press listings right now so I’ll be working on a similar format for those and trying to launch more indie press lists in 2024. They are a bit trickier since bad actors can do a lot more damage in that space.
We will be having more contest lists created by Shannan Mann from OP. They will be coming out every other Wednesday.
And, yeah. Hope you like it all.
The data engineer did all of this for free to help us and because he’s a friend but I’d love to pay him something. So anyone who signs up for paid on this post, the first 6 months of your membership will go to him.
Here is a list of the current ‘standard’ tags I’ll be using:
NOMINATES FOR INDUSTRY AWARDS - This tag indicates that the magazine nominates for at least one of the industry prizes: Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfictions. These magazines may also submit to national anthologies but we don't currently have that data.
KROUSE TOP 500 - This tag means that this magazine is listed on Erika Krouse's Top 500 Fiction Magazines. This is a great list where magazines are ranked based on several different factors. You can explore this whole list here.
BRECHT TOP 1000 - This magazine was listed on BRECHT DE POORTERE'S TOP 1000 LITERARY MAGAZINE RANKINGS where there is an emphasis on how often they are included in Best American Anthologies, industry awards, and their social media pressence.
FICTION PRIZE WINNER - The magazine has won or received special/honorable mentions in one or more of the industries prize-winning anothologies for fiction.
FICTION TOP PRIZE WINNER - The magazine has won or received a notable number of special/honorable mentions in one or more of the industries prize-winning anothologies for fiction.
NONFICTION TOP PRIZE WINNER - The magazine has won or received a notable number of special/honorable mentions in one or more of the industries prize-winning anothologies for nonfiction.
NONFICTION PRIZE WINNER - The magazine has won or received special/honorable mentions in one or more of the industries prize-winning anothologies for nonfiction.
POETRY PRIZE WINNER - The magazine has won or received special/honorable mentions in one or more of the industries prize-winning anothologies for poetry.
POETRY TOP PRIZE WINNER - The magazine has won or received a notable number of special/honorable mentions in one or more of the industries prize-winning anothologies for poetry.
CLMP MEMBER - This tag indicates whether a magazine has membership with the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses. You can learn more about the CLMP here.
SOMEWHAT - EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE - How competitive a magazine is based on our submission statistics and feedback
POPULAR - MEGA SUPER POPULAR - This is about a magazine's popularity based on several factors. We analyzed social media presence, bookmarks on CS, and statistics on how often they are submitted to.
CHILL SUBS COMMUNITY FAVORITE (Varies) - This tag is based on how often a magazine is bookmarked on Chill Subs. With over 3,000 magazines and 16,000 writers, being a community favorite means they are in the top 20%
ACTIVE ON SOCIALS - This tag is based on our subjective observations following magazines on social media and noting when it seems they are particularly active or engaged.
HAS PRINTED ISSUES - This tag indicates that a magazine publishes in print.
COMPED Contributor COPIES - This tag is for magazines who provide free copies of their magazine (usually in print) to the authors they publish.
READ FOR FREE - This tag is to let you know that the magazine has free issues or examples online that you're able to read before submitting (recommended).
[#] + YEARS OLD - If a magazine has been around for a substantial amount of time, this tag indicates how long in chunks of 10 years.
[#] -DAY RESPONSE TIME - If a magazine has a notable response time (under one month), this tag references that.
Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you like where things are headed.
This is simply incredible! Thank you for everything you do!!
You're doing great work