As a first post for the new blog, here are the magazine's guidelines:
Writers’ Guidelines
for Still Crazy
All submissions must be done via the online Submissions Manager.
Registration for the Submissions Manager is at http://www.crazylitmag.com/app/subm_reg.php
The Login for the Submissions Manager is at http://www.crazylitmag.com/app/subm_login.php
Register with the Submissions
Manager with your name, address, and a short bio (give age, or simply “over
50”; representative publications) and choose a user name and password. Then, follow these steps: 1) Give the title of your work; 2) Select the
appropriate genre (poetry, short story, non-fiction); 3) Select your file. The easiest way to do this is to browse your
files. For example, go to your “C”
drive, select “Documents,” then the folder, then the file containing your work
(e.g. c:\Documents\My Poetry\name of poem).
Click on the name of the file to upload it. (Note:
The path to your file will probably be different. This is only an example to
illustrate general procedure.)
Length of Submissions
Poems 50 lines (Poems of 30 words
or less are more likely to be accepted.)
Short stories 3,000 words (Stories
of less than 2500 words are more likely to be accepted.)
Non-fiction 2,000 words
Formatting your
document
Double space throughout.
Tab indent your paragraphs five spaces. (Do not use the space bar to indent
paragraphs.)
Place your name, address, telephone number, and email
address in the upper left corner. Number your pages.
For essays and short stories, place an approximate word
count in the upper right corner of the first page. For poetry, a line count is helpful.
The title should be centered. One double space below your title, center your
byline. Use the name as you wish it to
appear in the publication. (Try to be
consistent with the name in all places in the submission process. For instance, it is confusing to get a middle
name or middle initial in one place and none in another.)
Preferred file formats are .doc and .rtf.
Please submit no more than five
poems and/or two stories or essays per year. Submit
poems in one document instead of submitting each separately. Place your last
name in the subject line, e.g. Poetry Submission Jones. (Don't use special characters, such as the hyphen or ampersand question mark.)
Contributors receive one free copy
of the print magazine.
Accepts
simultaneous submissions (but please notify immediately if your manuscript is
accepted by another publication).
Previously published manuscripts sometimes
considered, if they were published some time ago. Recently published materials will not be
considered. At the time of submission, author must make it known if a piece has
been previously published. Prefer
materials not previously published. Previously published means both online and paper magazine format.
Fiction
(short stories)
Interesting characters in interesting situations
General preference for a sparse
style over a wordy style (but, of course, there could be exceptions)
If a story is about romance, the story
and writing style should involve unexpected or unpredictable elements. Generally, the editor does not want romances.
The same goes for sports stories.
Take care with grammar and the
mechanical aspects of your manuscript.
Poetry
Prefer free verse to rhymed poetry
Preference for poetry that tells a
story. In a poem, of course, the story
is brief, elliptical, and told with interesting images.
Nothing extremely experimental
(though always open to fresh approaches).
Nothing too sentimental, e.g. Hallmark
sentimentality
Non-fiction
Memoirs (Accepted memoirs usually
relate to a broader social theme or movement, e.g. the 60’s.)
Articles that illustrate George
Eliot’s quote: ”You’re never too old to be what you might have been.”
Articles about unusual interests or
activities told in a winning style
