Submission Guidelines

AZC Zen Writing
Editing Hints by Emma

We encourage you to submit the work you write in group or on your own for publication on our JustThis blog. The writing you do in group is spontaneous and often heartfelt and can provide you with an excellent first draft. Before submitting your writing to the blog, we suggest you take a few days away from your writing and return to it with fresh eyes. While we certainly have no expectations that your submitted work be “perfect,” all writing needs to be revised before it is ready for a more general audience. These questions might be helpful as you revise your work for publication:

After returning to the poem/paragraph, do I feel it says what I intended for it to say? (Writers may "fill in” details in their mind that aren't actually expressed on the page. You might consider sharing your writing with a friend and asking him/her for feedback.)

What lines, sentences, and images do I particularly love? Which could I omit without losing meaning?

Does my writing reflect standard usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling? If I am making choices to use nonstandard language, will readers be able to understand me?

Please limit your submissions to two pieces per month.

Please note that we may request small changes to correct typos or other errors. We may also request minor content changes if we’d like to accept a piece but feel it needs revision. If you would prefer not to receive requests for content changes, please let us know when you submit your piece for publication.

Please send your submissions to Paul (pcausey17@gmail.com). The editors of JustThis will meet at the end of each month to review submissions and post selected works to the blog. Thanks!