FAQ

How soon can I expect to hear about my poem submission?

We respond to all submissions within 3-12 weeks. Watch for the call for submissions notices, and closure announcements on social media – Facebook, Mastodon, BlueSky, and Instagram. We also list in Poets & Writers magazine, and Facebook Poetry groups. We will close the issue early if we reach the number of poems we accept for the issue before the end date, or we reach our submissions cap for the month. Follow us on social media to stay up to date. Make sure we’re following YOU so we can help promote your work.

Where can I check the status of my submission?

You can check the status of your submissions at any time by logging in to Submittable and clicking on Submissions in your profile. If the status is ‘Received’, it has been received by GR. If your status is ‘In-Progress’, your piece has been assigned to a member of our editorial staff.

I’m having trouble logging in to check the status of my piece.

Please contact Submittable directly if you have any trouble logging in.

Can I upload each poem one at a time?

We ask you upload all 4 poems in one document. No more than one 4 poem submission per submissions period.

Do you accept Collaborative work?

Yes. We always love to see collaborations.

Do you accept Translations?

No, we do not accept translations at this time unless it is the poet’s own work translated into another language, the poet owns the copyright, and the English translation is available to place alongside the translation.

Can I submit work on behalf of someone else?

Generally no, the work must be the poet’s own work. Contact the editors to talk about exceptions.

I’ve revised my piece since I have submitted. Can I submit the newer version?

If you would like us to consider a newer version of an already submitted piece, please log in to Submittable, withdraw your whole submission, and submit it again as a new submission. If the piece has already been read and rated, it is considered a new piece and will be read that way. Please don’t abuse this ability. No revisions are allowed after the issue closes and we are in production. Only agreed-upon edits will be done at that time.

Some of my poems have been accepted elsewhere, or I want to withdraw some poems from consideration. How do I do this?

If you want to withdraw any individual poems from consideration, please log in to Submittable and message us telling us which poem(s) you wish to withdraw from consideration. We will see this when we read your submission, mark it, and will only consider the remaining poem(s).

Can I submit my piece somewhere else even if it’s still ‘In-Progress’ in your system?

Yes. We are all for Simultaneous Submissions and increasing your chances for publication. We’re poets too! If your piece(s) get accepted elsewhere, message us through Submittable and we will make a note in your file of which poem is not available. If all poems are unavailable, withdraw your entire submission using the Withdraw feature.

Can I submit long poems or haiku?

Sure! We have no limits on length at this time, but poems over 6 pages are a hard sell. We enjoy Japanese, Chinese, and Korean form poetry, and short, succinct poems. Remember, if your lines are very long, they may wrap differently when published. We publish in an 8.5 X 11 inch format with 1 inch margins all around, and the Kindle format is usually only 5.5 x 7, which means full-page poems will wrap and break.

Why do you ask what form a poem is in?

There are poem forms out there we’ve never run across before. We want to give your poem its best shot, so we’ll read up on the form. You can leave a link to a page about the form in your cover letter to speed our knowledge along.

Can I submit previously published work?

No, we only accept unpublished work at this time. Unpublished means not published on a blog, a website, a book or chapbook, or anywhere it had previous exposure. Publishing behind a secure forum with a password is okay.

What do I write in the cover letter?

We’d like to know more about you. Publication history is fine, but the fun of reading cover letters is to find out more about our submitters. Do you have a cool hobby? Like to bake Grandma’s babkas on the weekends? Moonlight as an opera singer? Own a Corgi ranch? (Definitely tell us if you own a Corgi ranch!) What makes you tick? Not required by any means, but fun. You do You. We also offer cover letter conversation starters to help you find stuff to say.

What about Bios?

Same as above. Have fun! List your credits, but try to add a juicy tidbit for our readers. Bios are limited to 100 words, any bios longer than that will be cut to 100 words to be fair to everyone.

How can I find out if you will have upcoming themes?

We occasionally have themed issues; they will be announced at the end page of the previous issue and by a Call for Submissions on various lists and blogs. Otherwise, we like seasonal poetry that fits the issue, and as always, fine, contemporary poetry.

Our issues run:
Winter Issue – Published for Jan Feb Mar/Submissions open Oct 1st.
Spring Issue – Published for April May, and Jun/Submissions open Jan 15th.
Summer Issue – Published for Jul Aug Sep/Submissions open Apr 1st.
Fall Issue– The Crone Power Issue for female-identifying poets over age 50 only. Published for Oct Nov Dec/Submissions open Jul 1st.

Do you edit poems?

We ask the poet to accept any edits before we accept the poem for the issue. We will correct any obvious missing/inconsistent punctuation and spelling on our own. If we are unsure of the grammar/spelling/punctuation, we will query the poet. If the poet sees a misspelled word or punctuation error on the Author’s Proof, we will correct those before publication. We do not accept poem edits from the Author’s Proof. We will work with poets on edits, we want to make your poem the best it can be, but as always, it is YOUR poem.

Do you give feedback?

We like to try and give feedback but due to the volume of submissions we receive, it is limited. If a poem is close and doesn’t make the cut, we try to give a bit of feedback on why. We’ll ask for resubmission if we see things we liked in a poem, but it wasn’t quite right for us at this time. This happens a lot if we’ve already taken several poems on the same topic for that submission period. We like to encourage emerging poets. It’s a tough business when you’re starting out. Let us know in your cover letter if this is your first submission to a poetry journal or if you are an emerging poet.

Hey, how come you’re closed to submissions? You haven’t reached the close date yet for the issue.

If we reach the number of submissions allowed by Submittable for the month, we close until the 1st of the next month. Sometimes we close early if we reach the max number of poems we take for an issue. Things like that are announced on Social media, so follow us to keep up with what’s going on at Gyroscope Review.

Do you offer Contributor’s copies?

No, we do not offer contributors’ copies at this time. We are a small press and don’t have deep pockets. We do offer a free PDF version of the issue to read online. Copies are available for purchase from Amazon in either paperback or Kindle format, and from Biblio. Purchase of copies helps keep the magazine and website going.