Frequently Asked Questions
How will I know that my submission
has been received?
You will be automatically notified by Polyphony H.S. Submission
Manager that your submission has been received.
How soon can I expect to hear about my submission?
We will do our best to respond to your submission in 4-6 weeks?
Out of respect for our writers, we will do all we can to minimize
response time. We will do our best to respond within 4-6 weeks
from the day of receipt, but are sometimes slower in responding.
Please be patient. It is our goal to make sure each submission
gets a good read. Please ensure that you set your e-mail spam
filter to allow mail from Polyphony HS, otherwise notification
regarding your submission may be marked as junk mail.
Should I torment you with phone calls and emails to find out
if you’ve received my submission?
No, you should not. We love getting submissions. We promise to
read, edit, and comment on every one of them. We are dying to
find beautiful gems made of the written word. The beauty of the
Polyphony H.S. Submission Manager is that you will be able to
check the status of your submission at any time by going to our
login page.
If my submission is accepted, will it be accepted exactly as
it is written by me?
Possibly. It has happened before. However, most pieces go through
what we call an in-house editing process. Select members of our
national editorial staff make editorial suggestions based on
the comments of our first and second readers.
Do I have to accept the in-house edit?
No. This is an important part of our mission. We make suggestions
and work with the author until we reach a final decision, subject
to authorial approval. If you like a line, a word, a phrase,
and you have a compelling reason to keep it, fight for it.
We’ll listen. So far, we have reached consensus on every piece
we’ve accepted for publication. If we like a piece enough,
we’ll make it work.
Does Polyphony HS accept previously published material?
We cannot consider anything that has been previously published
in a national magazine. If we accept your poem, story, or work
of creative nonfiction for publication, you must let us know
about its previous publication history. We do consider simultaneous
submissions.
How do I submit my work to Polyphony H.S.?
We now have an online system for you to send us your work. It
will securely send our editors your work and email you a confirmation
that it has been received. To use the automated system, you
need to have a Polyphony HS account.
I just wrote a brilliant first draft that I’m extremely pleased
with. Can I submit it?
Please don’t do that. The only published writers who say they
don’t revise are liars.
What file types can I submit?
Please submit files in one of the following formats only:
Word document (.doc) files
Rich Text Format (.rtf) files
Can I submit an piece that was written for an assignment for
a class?
Of course. Just make sure it stands on its own as a piece of
literature.
How many files may I submit at a time?
Please note that submissions are limited to three files. No author
can submit a total of more than three pieces (poems, stories,
or works of creative nonfiction at a time. Once an action has
been taken on a submission (rejection or acceptance), another
piece can be submitted to take its place.
When can I submit to Polyphony H.S.?
We accept submissions year round, but our reading deadline is
February 15. Pieces submitted after February 15 may not make
it into that year’s issue. If the submitter will still be a
high school student the following academic year, pieces submitted
after February 15 will be considered for the following issue.
Do you still accept standard mail submissions?
Nope.
I don’t have a title for my poem (or story, or work of creative
nonfiction). May I still submit it?
You’ll need a title to submit it on Polyphony H.S.’s Submission
Manager. Find one you can live with for the purposes of submission.
If we accept it for publication, you’ll have time before we go
to press to come up with a title you’re happy with.
Can I submit something anonymously?
Nope.
Do you have a mailing address so that I can send you money to
make sure that Polyphony H.S. will always be serving the needs
of young writers?
Yes. Excellent question. Our mailing address is:
Polyphony HS
c/o Educational Endeavors
1535 N. Dayton Street
Chicago, IL 60642
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