At some point before each issue, I open up contributions from writers. Since I have been doing themed issues, I typically don't take anything until I know what the next issue will be about. As of 8/1/07, issue #12 is closed for contributions, and I haven't started #13 yet, so stay tuned.

What is Air in the Paragraph Line?

First, before submitting anything, you should know what the zine is and what we're doing here.

Each issue is a 200-page(ish) print-on-demand 6x9" book color cover/perfect bound that is published/fulfilled by lulu.com. It has a cover price under $15. It has a barcode or ISBN/ISSN, and distribution on major online booksellers (Amazon, B&N, etc).

I edit the book and have the byline and copyright. The ISBN belongs to Paragraph Line Books. Any royalties come back to me to cover expenses, but the price is kept low to make it affordable, and I aim to break even (but still haven't.)

There are about a dozen writing contributors per issue that will chip in stories. The total wordcount is about 80,000. I sometimes let veterans publish two shorter bits, but I really don't want like 48 people each writing like one livejournal post or something, though.

Someone else does the cover (or every artist falls through and I end up doing the cover) I used to have little pieces of art above or after each story, but it is impossible for me to wrangle art these days. I don't include pictures in a story.

Contributors agree to give me one-time rights to publish the story and then it reverts back. Same for art, although I might need to re-use art in later stuff like fliers, web pages, etc, so that will have to be figured out. You don't need to sign a contract or find a notary; we can agree by email.

The PDF is available on the site, usually right before the next issue comes out.

Each author/artist has a bio, plus URLs, email, whatever. No writer photos, because that's stupid.

What kind of stuff do I want?

My goal has always been to have something that was very readable. Not overly high-brow, not all just crap skimmed from web pages and photocopied, but something that people will get immersed with, and which has a lot of variety.

A lot of this depends on my tastes, and there are things I really like to read, and things that totally shut me down. Here's an attempt at a list of those.

Rule Zero and you must obey this rule or your submissions will not be taken: when I ask for stories that match a theme and are between X and Y words long, please don't submit a story that doesn't fit the theme and/or is too short or too long. Seriously, if you can't read the instructions, I can't read your story.

I like (in no order):

Good rants
Long, immersive travel journals
Modernist stuff that really talks about life
Fiction about real life
Interviews of interesting people who aren't just trying to sell junk
Obscurely funny stuff
Heavy, emotionally draining short stories
Hard science fiction that's not corny
Dream journals
Stories like how your car broke down in Kansas and you met Iggy Pop at a Denny's, or other weird but true or just bad-luck-many-times stories
Good parody
Outsider culture
Anything that's so weird that I could not even think of it to put it on this list

I don't like:

Most political stuff, especially generic "fuck bush" stuff that's going to be dated in a few years anyway.
Really genre-specific stuff (detective, horror, fantasy).
Record reviews, zine reviews, and the other generic crap that every other zine has.
Fan fiction.
Anything obvious. ("I'm so depressed and nobody likes me", "everyone's so stupid and I'm a genius", "Look I just got a thesaurus.")
Anything that is so grammatically incorrect that I can't read it without wincing.

Note:, even though I put the "anything obvious" thing in the list, at least 50% of the submissions I get are obvious. The simple rule is this: if your submission looks like a blog entry, and says more than it shows, it's probably obvious.

I'm the final word on what goes in each issue (i.e. this isn't some kind of hippie commune where everyone votes and we end up with the worst of everything because it's supportive of the environment or the plight of the native americans or whatever.)

How to submit

Email submissions or questions to info [at] paragraphline [dot] com.

Technical considerations:

Microsoft Word is great. I use both a PC and a Mac, so don't worry about that.
RTF, HTML, or a text file are also good. Or cut and paste into your email message works too.
Your document will be reformatted to match the rest of the book. If your story looks like you started with the default Word template and typed everything in with no formatting, I will love you. If you have heavy and extensive formatting and styles, and insist on having all of your paragraphs right-justified and in 20-point bold and with graphics of the Smurfs on the start of each line because you are the center of the universe and that is your vision, there's a chance your story might not make it into the issue.
I generally can't use photos in stories. If it's really needed, drop me a line first.
I don't edit the text of submissions unless it's a really horrific error, so please make sure to proof your work before you send it.
Sorry, no snail mail or paper submissions. If you've got something really neat to share or trade, email and I can give you my postal address. But if I list it here, I will get hundreds of offers to refinance my rental apartment.
If you are an artist and are interested in doing a cover, send a query and links to your work online, if possible.