Getting Intimate with your Favorite Publications

by Tyler Beckett

A simple compliment to a writer whose story I admired resulted in a bold declaration of amorous admiration.

(See the exchange here)

“Sexy.” There’s no category on Duotrope for that kind of response. It’s personal but not a rejection; is this how you go about soliciting? I gave them a flustered Favorite and hoped that would be enough, but Timber stayed on my mind. Did they want a response? Were they thinking of me?

We’re in an age where publishing houses have silly Twitter feuds and literary magazines can hit on writers (and you bet your ass I submitted something to Timber). Maybe that’s not “professional.” Maybe that would be seen as “inappropriate” in polite society. But it’s sexy as hell, and it shows that the journal knows the power of irreverent, forceful, and well-chosen language.

The Timber Journal probably did not look through my photos before sending me that message, and it did not know me as a writer. What it did know was that we shared a love of language and an appreciation of a short story. I’ve flirted with people based on less of a connection than that, and for that boldness I would gladly take Timber home.