Most folks are chill.
But some folks are spiders in people suits.
They smile. You think, aw, hello chill folk, will you read my story?—then they peel their face off, and you're like, 'Ah! Fuck, you're not chill; you're spiders in a people suit!'
Yeah, we hate that too. It's annoying. We want to save you from the spiders. So, we're adding as many details as possible to our lit mag listings so writers can have all the info they need to find the right non-spider people to consider their work.
For starters, we're adding the founding date to lit mag listings. Spiders notoriously don't last long outside of creepy dark crannies. This way, if you're concerned about whether a magazine is established, you can see how long they've been around and feel more secure sending your work out to them.
Alternatively, since most folks are not all spidery and just trying to create bomb-ass lit mags, this is a fantastic way to discover new and exciting magazines.
Also, mastheads. Spiders are notoriously sneaky and disorganized (too many legs). So, we're adding the fabulous teams behind all of your favorite lit mags, so when you peel that face aside, you'll find even more smiling faces (oh god…). Remember, these folks are often volunteers. This is an excellent opportunity to explore their work if they're a writer and support them.
And country. Not all lit mags list where they're based, but we'll be providing that information here for those that do. This is not so much to avoid spiders (spiders are everywhere) but because we want Chill Subs to be an international community for writers all over the world. Maybe you'll find a litmag in your hometown, or one in a place you've always wished to visit.
Finally, where we can find them, we'll be listing acceptance rates. This will be an ongoing process. We'll list any acceptance rates that are public knowledge and allow editors with admin access to add theirs. We don't know much about how spiders handle accepting writing, but we're sure this will be helpful info either way. [If you're an editor who hasn't claimed your listing, learn more about how: HERE.]
On a last note, remember that sometimes people aren't spiders. Sometimes they're gophers in people suits. That's cool. Gophers are cool, right? But maybe you don't want to publish in a gopher magazine. Or in a magazine that uses too many small-creatures-in-skin-suits metaphors. We get it.
We want to have as much valuable information as possible on our database but always give a lit mag a read before submitting. Check out their "About", poke around behind their ears for any loose flaps, and then you'll truly know if this is a litmag looking for your kind of writing or somewhere you might want to skip over—spiders or not.
*the feelings of no spiders were hurt in the writing of this article because they are sociopaths.