Writers' Guidelines

Please do not confuse manuscript submissions with contest entries; these are two different processes. Send contest entries separately, following the rules on the contest page.

We purchase first North American rights only; no reprints. Submissions must follow standard manuscript format. List your full name, address and telephone number in the upper left corner of the first page and an accurate word count (line count for poetry) in the upper right corner. Send a #10-sized SASE or larger. Payment is upon publication. ByLine pays on a variable scale depending on length/complexity of article/feature and also includes a one-year subscription.

Fiction - General short fiction, mainstream, literary or genre; No more than 3,000 words. Shorter pieces are more likely to be chosen for publication. Good writing is the main criterion. No explicit sex or violence.

Features - Instructive or motivational articles that could be of genuine help to writers, especially how-to-write or how-to-sell to specific market areas. Length should be 1,500 to 1,800 words; query or submit full manuscript. We also solicit interviews with editors of freelancer-friendly publications for our Inside Information feature. No profiles or interviews about specific authors. Query with editor's name and sample of his publication; we'll provide specific guidelines.

End Piece - A strong, thoughtful, first-person essay of 550 words, related to writing. May be humorous, motivational or philosophical. Read several back issues as examples.

Departments - Read the magazine for examples. First $ale carries 250-300 word accounts of a writer's first sale. Writing-related humor of 50-400 words needed for Only When I Laugh.. Great American Bookstores! features outstanding independent bookstores in 400 words (with a high quality photo) 500 words (with no photo). Stores should be unique in some way and also promote writers. No chains, children's only, or used bookstores.

Poetry - We look for well-crafted poetry in any style and on any subject. Please note that no poetry or poetry-related manuscripts will be returned, so keep a copy of the original. Also, please note that for poetry-related submissions only, email submissions are preferred and may be sent to dmarbach@rochester.rr.com. Due to space limitations, we generally only accept shorter poems of 30 lines or less. Slight preference for topics related to writing, the creative process, famous poets or writers, the use or power of language, and for seasonal topics (3 months lead time). Please no diatribes, polemics or political poems.

Poetry-related features should be about the elements of craft, marketing, form poetry, poetics, or the influence of specific poets. 1500-1800 words. Poetry Book Reviews should be thoughtful, well-written reviews on books about writing, reading, or marketing poetry. Reviewed books must be helpful tools for the writing poet, such as books on form, poetics or the elements of craft. 500 words.

We are NOT interested in reviews of poetry collections; lofty, obtuse critiques; or simple biographies of poets. Length should be 250 -500 words. All accepted submissions will receive one copy of the magazine in which the submission appears.