Borderline

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE : MAY 15TH

BORDERLINE submissions should be formatted as follows:

1. EMAIL FORMAT

• Email Submissions to: rhapsodyinblu@gmail.com
• Subject line = “BORDERLINE SUBMISSION (YOUR NAME HERE)”
• Body of email = name, pseudonym (if applicable), phone number, email, short bio (1 paragraph max), titles of poems to be submitted
• .DOC or .WPS attachment 

2. ATTACHMENT FORMAT

• Header with your name, email, and page number should be at the top of every page
• 3 poems maximum per monthly submission
• Poems should be in a legible font (i.e. Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, etc.).  Not to be nags, but we cannot review what we cannot read.

F.A.Q.:

Are simultaneous submissions okay?

Yes, they are! We totally understand that publishing can be a numbers game, so all we ask is that, if your poems do get accepted elsewhere first, that you notify immediately so that we can withdraw them from the consideration pool for that month’s issue. However, our response times are some of the quickest in the industry (~one week, unless our inbox gets flooded with submissions), so please be patient with us.

Do you accept previously published poems?

Previously published poems are completely acceptable IF you, the poet, retain the rights to them at the time of their submission to Borderline.  When submitting previously published work, please include the name of any publications where it previously appeared, though, so that we can give full credit where credit is due.

Are there any “no-no’s” when submitting?

Everyone at Borderline is pretty open-minded when reading pieces, but some questions to definitely consider when submitting are as follows:

1. Do I clearly communicate the nature of the persona(s) from which the poem is written? Regardless of whether you are taking a more direct, literal approach to your piece or choose to communicate it more metaphorically, you should be able to answer this question.
2. Is the poem too long to keep the audience’s attention? While we do not have a set length limit on submitted poems, poets should keep in mind that an online publication has certain unspoken requirements, one of which being that pieces should be able to grab and keep the attention of an audience with a questionable attention span.
3. Does the poem have a clear intent or theme? We do not necessarily have to know what it is, but the poem should be able to stand on its own haunches without an introduction of any kind, save for cases where context need be established in order for the poem to make sense.
4. Does the poem make the reader feel or have the potential to change their perspective? As poets, it is easy to write for ourselves.  However, poetry should be looked at as being as much of a public service as it is a personal outlet.  We are trying to change the world, one word at a time, whether it be through revolutionary ideas or revolutionary honesty.  Life is too short to mince your words.  Make yours count.
5. Be true to yourself. There is no secret formula to getting published, but the fastest way to get eliminated from the submissions pool is to present something that gives off airs of dishonesty.  Write your spirit out, whether it be a politician, a romantic, a nerd, a mythical creature, or a bunny rabbit.  We swear we’ll be with you as long as it’s you on the other side of the computer screen.
6. Love what you write. If you don’t, then what’s the use of going through all of this trouble in the first place?

How many poets do you actually publish each month?

Ideally, we’d like to feature 5-10 poets in each issue, although we occasionally will be open to making exceptions if a particular month’s submissions change our worlds or blow our minds. 

Can poets submit/be published in multiple issues?

While we try to feature as many new voices as possible each month, we do sometimes:

 (1) stagger the publication of poems from a particular author if all of them are amazing between multiple issues (in order to leave room for all of the other amazing poets accepted that month),

or

(2) publish poets in multiple issues based on the quality of each individual piece submitted. 

By the same token, if we fear that a “house” poet may be appearing too frequently, giving off the impression of an unfair advantage in the submission process, we reserve the right to accept submissions on the condition that they will be published at a later date (to be specified on a case-by-case basis).

Copyright to all poems featured in The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives remains with their prospective authors.  No poem may be reproduced or distributed in any form (including, but not limited to, electronic, print, or performance means) without the explicit written permission of the author of the piece(s) in question.  

If you need help getting in touch with them for this reason, please send an email to rhapsodyinblu@gmail.com with “Author Contact Request” in the subject line of your email, along with your name, phone, email, piece/author about which you are inquiring, and your proposed use of the piece.  

This information will be directly forwarded to the author via email, at which point any further correspondence on the issue is at their sole discretion.