Main Street Rag, PO BOX 690100, Charlotte, NC 28227-7001
704-573-2516, contact us
Main Street Rag is a literary magazine featuring poetry, fiction, interviews, reviews, photography, art and cartoons. It's published quarterly in a perfect bound, journal format. Samples: $8 + $1 shipping for newer issues, $5 for samples prior to 2001 or "B" copies (slightly flawed) + $1 shipping. $7 + $1 shipping for anything in between. We will use our discretion if you do not specify.We recommend trying a newer issue since our format has evolved over the years. It is also helpful to specify an issue. Samples and a list of who's inside each issue can be found in the Back Issues Section of The MSR Bookstore.
Subscriptions: $24/ 1 year, $45/2 year which can be purchased online through the MSR Online Bookstore. We pay one contributor's copy, but offer a special contributors' rate of 3 copies for $14 for the issue in which a contributor appears (must all be mailed to the same address).
***IMPORTANT***
We will no longer replace contributors' copies or subscription copies for those who move but do not update their address prior to an issue shipping date.
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GENERAL GUIDELINES
The folowing guidelines apply to ALL submissions.
Guides specific types of submissions are listed below.Report Time: 3-6 weeks. (starting with the date a submission is received).
Please note: we do our best to report as quickly as possible. Some items--short fiction in particular--will take a little longer, depending on time of year. We still attempt to report within the advertised timeframe, but we appreciate your patience. If we do go beyond our advertised time, please feel free to inquire: editor@mainstreetrag.com
We will not return or reply to any submission or correspondence that is not accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) OR a current email address. Nor will we be responsible for submissions of any kind that are improperly posted or do not fit in the return envelope that is provided. Tiny envelopes don't save postage, they simply say the author does not want the work returned.
We will notify by email if preferred when a valid email address is provided. After a second email "bounce back" a manuscript will be discarded.
* * * * We do not consider simultaneously submitted work. * * * *
* * * * We do not consider simultaneously submitted work. Period. * * * *
That repeated line is not an accident -- it's a message. We do our best to respond as quickly as possible, but if 3-6 weeks is too long to wait, then you should probably consider another option.
New publishing formats have forced publishers like MSR to recognize separate types of copyrights. Any work that has been published online in anyway--even a personal blog or website--The Main Street Rag considers previously published and would not be eligible for consideration in our print magazine.
While we have an admitted bias toward submissions from subscribers or those who (at the very least) have sampled a copy of our print magazine, sampling and/or subscribing is no guarantee of finding a seat on our bus.
Submission Periods:
Poetry: Currently reading.
Short Fiction: Currently reading.
Essays/Creative Nonfiction/Reviews: Currently reading.
For Response: please send an SASE or a valid email address.
We do not accept POST CARDS as a valid form of notification for general submission. If it's the only form of notification that arrives with a submission it ensures a quick response, but not a positive one.NO EMAILED SUBMISSIONS.
There are exceptions to this rule: (1) overseas submissions, (2) Reviews, (3) Images, (4) Subscribers to The Main Street Rag.In ALL cases concerning possible email submissions, a query email should be sent PRIOR to submitting work to editor@mainstreetrag.com. Instructions for how/when to send your submission will then be sent.
Cover letters, bios/previous credits.
Cover letters are okay as an introduction, but submissions are considered on the basis of the quality of the work -- nothing else -- so bios and listing other places where the author has been published are not pertinent to the consideration process. Most often, we don't even read the cover letter until after we've read the work and sheets of credits and bios (that some folks send) are sometimes tossed before manuscripts go to readers.As a rule, we're not interested in anything derogatory on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious persuasion. Pissing off politicians, corporations, zealots, and/or lawyers is acceptable and, in fact, encouraged.
*** PUBLISHING AGREEMENT ***
The Main Street Rag requires a signed PUBLISHING AGREEMENT before final acceptance of any work to verify originality, that it has not been previously published or simultaneously submitted. This can be done via written notification or by stipulating to the terms of the agreement via email (i.e., "Yes, I agree to the ...") AFTER notification of acceptance.Only interested in First North American Rights and we are not interested in reprinting anything that has already appeared on the internet. Again, that comes under the heading of Previously Published.
As part of the Publishing Agreement, The Main Street Rag now requires that ALL accepted material be supplied via email upon acceptance. We prefer WORD, RTF or WORD PERFECT) and please be sure it is supplied in PC format.
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***SPECIFIC GUIDELINES***
Poetry / Photography/Original Art / Short Fiction / Essays/Interviews/Reviews / Short Fiction Anthologies
Poetry
Any style, any subject, emphasis on edgier material, but we're not interested in the graphic details of your love life and we do enjoy a good laugh now and then--so just send your best and let the rest sort itself out. What we are least likely to accept is "garden" poetry, poetry about poetry, or the often over-used wading pool of Greek and Roman mythology. We prefer work that is alive with the poet's own experiences. While we do not publish much in the way of formal poetry in our magazine, we will consider it. In that regard, we like to see formal poems that maintain the integrity of the form without becoming stiff, uninteresting or losing their vitality.
If this isn't a good enough description of what we're looking for, we suggest you buy a copy of the magazine and see what we are publishing. Current and back issues are available on the Magazine page in the MSR Online Bookstore.
We will consider longer poems, but poems of 40 lines or less stand a better chance of acceptance.
We prefer typed on one side of 8½ X 11, no more than one poem per page, no more than six pages per submission.Note: Some potential contributors misread the phrase six pages to mean six poems and send us a chapbook-size folder of work. We have a small staff and since we sometimes receive 500 submissions in a month, to be fair to all who are interested in being included in our magazine, we treat everyone the same. That means that those who submit six poems that are a combined 10 pages can expect the last four pages to go unread--so put your best work on top.
Author name and address should appear somewhere on each page. It doesn't matter if you scribble it in ink on the backside. If something gets separated from the cover letter and we can't identify the author, we can't publish it and, as a result, it would then get shredded.
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Photographs/Original Art
The ideal way to submit images for publication in our magazine is to send us a link to your personal website where we can go to view a variety of your work. We keep those addresses page marked and revisit them as we plan issues. We also send authors of books to these locations in search of cover art for their books.
We will consider images by email, BUT the artist should contact us before sending any images--otherwise our filters may not let attachments through. Images submitted by email should be low-resolution for viewing only. If we see something we like, we'll contact you for specific size and resolution needs.
We will also consider hard copy or CD submissions, but we will only return those that are accompanied by an SASE.
Our preference when it comes to artwork is eclectic. For Paintings: We don't usually use landscapes and prefer bright colors--abstracts--for the cover of our magazine, but we produce 30-50 times more books than we do magazines every year and are always looking for artwork for those. If you have a website, your best bet is to email us a link. For Photographs: We prefer pictures of people doing what they do: working or playing, living, interacting.
Pays one contributor’s copy per appearance for internal art unless the artist is featured in which case we will pay five copies. Cover art contributors receive five copies AND $50. Book covers are negotiable.
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Short Fiction
Short Fiction Submissions for the Magazine (The Main Street Rag)
Maximum: 6000 words (under 4000 stands the best chance of publication). Single space is fine, double space is better. No restriction on subject matter.
SHORT FICTION ANTHOLOGY SubmissionsMain Street Rag Publishing Company plans to publish more short fiction collections. Our goal is to produce 2-3 anthologies each year, as many as 5-10 short fiction collections by a single author and as many as 2 novels. Previous anthologies and books are available in the MSR Online Bookstore.
For details on our short fiction anthology and other short fiction collection needs, please go to the Short Fiction Anthology page for current theme(s) and submission instructions. This is where it all begins. We usually select authors for short fiction and novel publication after accepting their work for one of our anthologies.
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We consider submissions of essays, interviews, and reviews, but only when they are presented the following ways:
Essays/Creative Non-Fiction: We realize these are two completely different categories, but they have the same reader, so please EMAIL THE IDEA FIRST. We can tell you whether the subject appeals to us and whether we will have space for it without writers wasting time or postage. Prefer social or political themes over How to, process pieces or literary pieces about the the life of a literarian. Word limit: 4000 words.
Reviews: EMAIL ONLY. This is the only email-only category we have. Please don't send hardcopies of a review unless requested. We would still like an inquiry prior to sending anything.
Not interested in negative reviews, however, discussion of a manuscript's strengths and weaknesses might include negative aspects. The bottom line of MSR reviews is to connect author to audience. If you can't think of an audience that would enjoy reading a given book, then your review would probably not be one we would be interested in publishing.
Also, we don't run promo material disguised as review. If you have a relationship to the author or press, we will want to know what that relationship is prior to considering the review.
Our focus is on publishers and authors who don't get much attention from mainstream media. Since there are many of those and we like to (at least) mention as many as possible, review lengths are important and specific to genre:
Poetry Chapbooks (52 pages or less): maximum 350 words
Full-length Poetry or Short Fiction Collections: maximum 600 words
Novels, Nonfiction: maximum 800 words max
Title information must be included with submission along with the following: author name, publisher, publication date, ISBN, price, page count. If it doesn't have an ISBN, we won't review it or publish the review.
No restriction on subject of review, however, we may request a review copy to examine print quality and the copyright date needs to be within the previous calendar year.
Reviews get placed in the next available issue and we usually do not have enough to backlog them. Deadlines: Spring: February 1, Summer: May 1, Fall: August 1, Winter: November 1.
* * * NEW * * * Main Street Rag now pays for REVIEWS. It's not much--up to $25--and is based on length of book reviewed.
Interviews: EMAIL YOUR IDEA FIRST. Let us know who you have in mind and we'll let you know if we share your interest. Not limited to poets and writers as long as they have a literary connection (new book, new screen play, new project...)
* * * NEW * * * This is another catagory for which Main Street Rag now pays cash. Price varies on length and quality of interview. No promo material disguised as interview--in other words, we'll want to know the relationship between interviewer and interviewee.
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In December 2001, Main Street Rag began circulating a monthly electronic newsletter. Among other things, our goal with this service is to provide subscribers with a monthly reminder of events, deadlines, contests, and magazines that are actively seeking manuscripts. If you would like to learn more about this service, just click.
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