Editor’s note: Issue 04

Dear reader,

Thank you for following our journey in this first year of publication! We’ve seen immense growth already, both in the number of submissions and in readership. Starting with this issue, Issue 04, I’ll release some insights and numbers from the corresponding submission period. I hope you find them helpful, if you’re a potential submitter, or fascinating if you aren’t!

Numbers

We always have separate categories for fiction, flash fiction, flash creative non-fiction, and photography, and this issue we’ve added poetry.

In July, the reading period for Issue 04, we saw an unprecedented rate of submissions. Some categories hit our standard submission caps within the first two weeks. The fiction category reached its cap within 10 days, so we lifted the cap for the month.

Here are the total submissions by category with acceptance rates.

• Fiction: 300 submissions (300 cap), 2 acceptances; acceptance rate of 0.7%

• Flash fiction: 112 submissions (112 cap), 2 acceptances; acceptance rate of 1.8%

• Flash creative non-fiction: 73 submissions (100 cap), 4 acceptances; acceptance rate of 5.5%

• Poetry: 70 submissions (70 cap), 4 acceptances; acceptance rate of 5.7%

• Photography: 75 submissions (100 cap), 10 acceptances; acceptance rate of 13.3%*

TOTAL ACCEPTANCE RATE: 630 submissions, 22 acceptances; acceptance rate of 3.5%

*Please note: This is calculated based on submission count, not based on the number of photographs per submission.

Insights

This submission period brought consistent themes of illness and death, hospital rooms, exploration during puberty, and difficult family relationships. Though undoubtedly and always difficult, the sentiments often resemble each other from story to story, making none jump off the page. To stand out within these themes, one must have something different to offer, some element or angle that examines these shared experiences in particularly interesting ways: the gruesome, the desperate—you get the idea. Conversely, I also welcome a perspective that sheds light on the mundanity and does not try to make these common experiences profound, but rather morose, expected, resigned. (And, please, remember that while we seek and welcome explicit content that pushes boundaries, we’re not interested in pornographic stories. It’s a fine line, but please try to walk it.)

Wish list

I mentioned mundanity in insights about the common themes, but it bears repeating: There’s a calm frankness to be explored in many of the difficult situations life brings to us. Not everything must be significant; not everything requires deeper meaning and explanation. Some things just are, and sometimes the weight of that realization is enough to break someone.

I would like to read pieces especially from those with chronic illnesses, whether physical or mental, that explore the state of simple existence within such diagnoses, how they navigate daily routine and expectations while balancing the weight of such difficulties—difficulties that have become commonplace and no longer have the dark luster of self-pity. In place of that self-pity, one may find either acceptance or, as mentioned previously, a heavy resignation. I want to explore those realities with them and bring them to readers who might not ever experience such things.

Changes to next reading period

You’ll notice some slight changes to our Submittable page this coming reading period, which begins on September 1 and closes on September 30, or until submission caps are reached—whichever comes first. Here’s what you can expect:

• We’ve added additional language around acceptance timeframes and expected responses. We’ve experienced an unfortunate number of no-response acceptances, even after several attempts to contact authors or photographers. We must hear from you after an acceptance. Otherwise, we must decline the piece and find a replacement. Because of our publishing schedule, we review all submissions by the end of the first week of the following month. For example, for the July reading period, which ended July 30, we read all pieces by around August 7. It’s a quick turnaround time, so please make sure you have your Submittable notifications properly configured.

• We’ve made the submissions caps visible for two reasons:

  • We want you to know how much space is left in a category if you plan to submit but aren’t sure how much time you have to polish your submission.

  • We want you to be aware that we have submission caps. We hope that displaying them will help people remember that when a category is no longer visible, it’s because it reached its submission cap.

• We’re offering optional paid feedback for prose. Please do not submit poetry or photography to the paid feedback category. As stated on Submittable, by submitting to the paid feedback category, you are paying me directly, a professional editor by trade separate from Reservoir Road Literary Review. All paid feedback submissions are still considered for publication, but paying for feedback does not guarantee publication. We have limited paid submissions slots and consider this an experiment for this reading period. We welcome your thoughts, questions, and feedback as we assess whether or not to continue offering this option. Please visit the Submittable page on September 1 for more details.

Closing

I hope you enjoy Issue 04. We continue to see increasingly staggering works of art, in both writing and photography, and continue to look forward to future issues. As we look to our second year, we’re beginning to plan new and different things for Reservoir Road. I hope you’ll continue along that journey with us.

Best,

Adrienne Marie Barrios
Editor-in-chief