By Zoe Grace Marquedant
Don’t You Want Me, Baby asks: what is rejection? How do you phrase it? How do you take it? What makes it past the sensors? Is there a long German word for refreshing your email on decision day? Each installment, we’ll hear from different sides of the literary magazine submission process. From writers, editors, readers, volunteers. Maybe we’ll learn the secret ingredients, the rituals, the rules that need to be broken. Maybe we’ll all just agree to retitle our PDFs and try again.
Name: Veronica Bennett
Job/Title: editor/designer/typesetter/marketer/etc.
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Publication(s): Bullshit Lit (incl. online features, anthologies, a press, & a smut mag called HORNS)
Without using the word “yes,” describe what it feels like to read something you want without question to publish.
It feels like I’ve learned a juicy secret, paired with the feeling of a gossip’s delight in getting to share that secret with others. Such a little joy.
How does Bullshit Lit deliver the good news?
In a short and sweet email.
How far do you read before you settle on a “no”? What is that moment like?
As far as I need to. Occasionally, the first paragraph of a 6-page fiction piece or a look at the shape of a poem is enough; other times, I read to the end before deciding that it’s a pass. It’s always kinda a bummer, and sending rejections is never easy, but I’m quickly distracted by the next piece.
In sending a rejection, is there anything you feel you cannot say?
I mean, I just try not to be a dick. Also: I never ask to hear more from someone unless I actually want to hear more from them—I’m not trying to waste anyone’s time.
How do you break ties when you cannot decide on a submission?
Because I’m Bullshit’s only reader/editor, it’s less of a tie and more of an indecision. When I’m not sure about a piece, I sit on it for a few days before giving it a re-read. If I want to publish it then, great; if I still don’t feel strongly about it either way, that piece is probably going to be rejected.
Do you ever regret rejections? Or second-guess an acceptance?
Not memorably, no.
What do you include beyond necessary info, like page limit and pay, in your Submission Guide? Has that changed over time? If so, why?
The sub guidelines for Bullshit have always been very bare-bones in an attempt to make submitting as easy as possible. The only things I’ve added over the years are details about simultaneous submissions (they’re allowed), previously published work (sometimes allowed), and who gets the rights to what, in an attempt to answer people’s questions before they arise.
Is there anywhere you feel the submission process overall needs refining?
Hmmmm. I dunno, I feel like people have gotten things generally pretty streamlined. There could probably be more transparency/consistency—as with anything—but I don’t have any major complaints about current processes, be they my own or those of my peers.
What are the more common mistakes you see in submissions? Are any of these forgivable?
Calling me a name other than Veronica (i.e. Vanessa or Victoria) is bad. It happens a lot. Other than that, I think the main thing is people forgetting to actually attach their document to their email, which is completely forgivable.
Who is the reader/audience you have in mind when picking submissions? Me, myself, and I. If other people like it, that’s sick.
Is there a best time to read Bullshit Lit?
The best time to read Bullshit Lit is whenever you get the chance.
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How does being a writer/creator yourself affect your work as an editor?
Being a poet and artist informs the care I take when looking at a submission. I think that as creators, we have a better understanding of the time and effort going into a piece than someone who doesn’t themselves make art. That said — I’d be pressed to name an editor I know who doesn’t write or do art.
Has your experience editing changed how you view the submission process?
LOL, I take my own submission process soooooo much less seriously! Editors are just random guys who’ve ordained themselves tastemakers. And like, that rocks (and is fun!), but doesn’t mean that we have to suck up to them or take their word as law. Signed, a random guy who has ordained herself a tastemaker.
If you work outside the publication, does that life inform your work with Bullshit Lit?
Yeah, in that my other work forces me to touch grass. I do a couple of other things besides the mag/press, none really writing-related—a good reminder that other things exist.
Is there anything you have learned from reading submissions that you’ve applied to your own creative process?
To list a few things: I’ve learned poetic forms that I’d never seen before (sometimes because the poet invented them), I’ve gotten an education on what good flash fiction looks like, and I’ve gotten a sense of how to properly arrange a book. I feel like most of the stuff I’ve learned from being an editor is pretty useful in my own writing & publishing endeavors, and I’ve certainly learned a whole lot.
Whether it’s misspelling the name of an editor or forgetting to attach your piece, what’s one time you feel you fumbled a submission?
Not to be all “I don’t think there is one,” but I don’t think there is one. I submit very rarely, and when I do, I am very, very careful to do everything properly, because I am anxious about doing things “wrong.”
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What do you do when you’re supposed to be writing?
I don’t feel that I’m ever “supposed to” be writing, though there are definitely things that I do when I *could* be writing. Some of those things: stare at my phone, play with my cats, read a book, go for a walk, listen to music, call my mom.
(How) do you prepare to write?
I do not prepare to write & only write when I feel inspired.
What is your favorite font/pen/paper/word processor?
Garamond; a MUJI ballpoint (0.5mm); a Moleskine dot-grid notebook; Pages. Do you have perfect spelling/grammar?
I am not bad at either, but not perfect at anything.
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After the interview, we like to ask each interviewee to pose a question for future interviewees based on the conversation they’ve just had. Lulu asked:
What’s been the piece you’ve read and published that’s changed you, personally, the most?
I don’t know that there is one! I’ve published thousands of pieces of writing in the past two-and-a half years, and I can’t count the number of those pieces that have influenced my creative process/ me.
What question would you then pose to future interviewees based on these questions, your answers, everything that’s been said and unsaid:
What book do you think every editor should read?
Zoe Grace Marquedant (she/her/hers) is a queer writer. She earned her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence and her M.F.A. from Columbia University. Her work has been featured in Olney Magazine, the Cool Rock Repository, Schuylkill Valley Journal, and the School of Commons.
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