There is no shortage of publications that take poetry submissions. But where should you publish?
The real question is, where should you not publish?
I’d say if you’ve never been published before that you shouldn’t go straight to the world-class poetry journals – places like New Yorker, Poetry magazine, Southern Review, et. al. Instead, try to find a regional poetry journal or a small press publication to submit your work to. If you can get published in those journals on a regular basis then you may be ready to step up. But the small press publications are a good place to get feedback on your poems.
Many publishers will not comment on poems, but some of the small press publishers will. Also, you can try getting published on reputable Internet poetry publications. Be careful, though. Just because a website publishes poetry doesn’t mean it’s reputable. Check the background and experience of the editor. Do they have an MFA degree or have publication credits themselves? Those are good signs.
I would say stay away from publications that charge you to get your work published. Some reputable journals charge a reading fee, but I don’t submit to them. I see no reason why a poet should charge to have someone read their work and reject it. If they don’t reject it and you get published then you paid to get published. A publisher that expects to be respected as a publisher wouldn’t ask you to pay them to read your work. They’re in the business of publishing poetry that deserves to be read and if your poem deserves a reading then their pay is to be the one to discover that.
And good luck out there. It’s a poetic jungle.
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