Evaluating Literary E-Zines
Guidelines
You have selected what you think is a literary e-zine. If so, the
e-zine should pass this mini-test!
Qualification 1:
If the journal provides"samples" or "examples" of what the journal
publishes, the web site may simply be an advertisement for a print
journal. In addition, the site may ask you to subscribe, and in order
to do so, you have to pay a fee. That's another indication that this
may be an advertisement for a print journal. (Note: It may also be that
the web site is an advertisement for an electronic journal that has
limited access, for which subscribers must pay a fee to view all the
pages of the journal.)
Qualification 2:
If the journal publishes only one or two literary works (poetry,
fiction, drama, or creative non-fiction) and the majority of the text
fits into a non-literary genre, then it is probably not a literary
e-zine.
If the journal passed the mini-test and is neither an advertisement
for a print journal nor a non-literary journal, you can move on to
evaluating the e-zine.
Evaluating the
E-Zine
- Does the e-zine appear to come out regularly and on time? How long
has it been in existence? Is there an index of back issues?
- Examine the quality of the literary works in the journal. Is it
comparable to quality literary works you've read elsewhere? Is the
quality of the work consistent from one issue to the next?
- Are there typing, spelling, or grammatical errors? We all make
mistakes, but
that's not a good thing in a professional publication.
- If the e-zine has a stated philosophy or central theme, does the
content of the e-zine reflect this philosophy or theme?
- Is the e-zine associated with or published by a university or
other established organization?
- Is the e-zine staffed by more than one person? Does the staff
appear to go through a process of evaluating works before they accept
or reject them? (Or do they accept all literary works submitted with
little or no evaluation process?) Does the staff appear to be
knowledgeable about literature?
- Does the design or "look" of the journal strike you as
professional? Do all of the links work? Are the visuals
appropriate? Do the visuals compete with or overwhelm the text?
- If you were going to submit your work to one of these journals,
which would you choose and why?