Better Than Starbucks!

Submit via email only to: betterthanstarbucks2@gmail.com  We ask that you copy your work into the body of your email, as attachments cannot always be opened.

Some email programs strip elements such as italics, indenting, etc. If you are submitting work that requires special formatting, please note that and we will respond.

 

We DO accept previously published work.

 

If previously published, make sure you have the rights to it. Most publications do not keep the rights to poetry.  We do not, we retain the right to use them in anthologies or promotional material as we see fit in the future, but we do not retain any copyright to your work.

 

Do tell us where it was previously published so we can credit them. If you self publish it or post it to an open group, we do not consider that published, so no mention need be made.

We do respond to accept or decline submissions. Response time varies from a few days to a few months. If we publish, we send a notification of publication.

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Due to a temporary lack of funding, we are not able to pay for most poetry or fiction until further notice. Our staff donate their time, and, once funding permits, contributors will be paid first. Contributors do receive their choice of a free PDF or eBook version of our print issue.

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Author of monthly Featured Poem (publisher’s choice) receives payment of $20.

Author of monthly Featured Poem (editor’s choice) receives payment of $20.

The Featured Poems can be chosen from any poetry category. 

Author of Featured Three, Four, and Five  (poetry, fiction or creative non-fiction) each receive payment of $20.

(Payment via Paypal only, so you need a Paypal account to receive it.)

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Featured contributors can also choose to receive their honorariums in the form of print copies (at our cost.)

 

If you have submitted work, and have not received a response within 90 days, feel free to inquire. Now that we are on a bimonthly publishing schedule, the likelihood is that, if you have not received a response within 60 days, your work has been held over for a second cycle.

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Submit up to 4 poems or micro fiction, one short story, unless otherwise invited, and up to 6 haiku, limericks, cinquains, etc. You may submit to more than one category at the same time.

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If you are submitting free verse for our General Poetry Page please put Poetry Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting flash fiction (under 1000 words) please put Flash Fiction Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting a short story, please put Short Story Submission in your email subject line.

(Short stories of over 2000 words may be serialized.)

If you are submitting non fiction or a personal essay please put Non Fiction Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting an image, please put Image Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting haiku, please put Haiku Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting formal poetry, or lighthearted verse, please put Formal Poetry Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting translations of poetry, please put Translations Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting experimental poetry, please put Experimental Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting international poetry, please put International Poetry Submission in your email subject line.

If you are submitting African poetry, please put African Poetry Submission in your email subject line.

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​If you are submitting haiku, limericks or other extremely short poems, you may send a half dozen.

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​Please include a short bio with your submission - 30 word length preferred (max 40.) If you do not include one, and some or all of your work is chosen, it will be published with your name only. If you do not include your name, you may or may not get a response.

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Send one submission per category no more often than once every 4 months. Since we welcome submissions in different genres, you could submit monthly in four different genres (ie. free verse, fiction, formal poetry, haiku, prose poetry, etc.) Depending on when they come in, some submissions may be held for over 90 days.

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We rarely publish long  poems (over 50 lines), but will consider them. We have a soft spot for limericks (and haiku, speaking of short poems). In fact, we have a soft spot for short poems. We do publish longer pieces on occasion.

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We will publish any good short story that we like. Full length short stories, up to a maximum of 7000 words, may be serialized.

 

In both the poems and the short story, we aren't prudes, but we aren't looking for gratuitous sex, violence or crude language. We will accept any of these things if we feel they are important to the story. We will not publish anything that we think can be construed as hateful.

 

That does not mean you can't tell the story of a terrible event, murder, rape, beatings or whatever, but make sure you are not glorifying the evil. We love a good story. We love a great poem.

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We accept simultaneous submissions, however by submitting your work to us you are granting us the right to choose it for publication. If you have not withdrawn your submission before we make this choice, then you cannot withdraw it. Since we accept previously published work, your work could theoretically be published elsewhere but not withdrawn. In that case please notify us of any earlier publishing credit when your work is accepted.