Moss Puppy publishes prose to 3,000 words, flash to 1,000 words, poetry, and visual art. “We are curly haired swamp creatures howling into the moonlight, doggy paddling and barking at toads and flies. We want your weird, muddy, and messy - the turtles without shells, boiled frogs, & mushroom-capped fairies. Show us what's in your swamp.” Read the complete guidelines here.
SQF: Why did you start this magazine?
Melissa Martini: After graduating, I dove right into full-time work. I was a project coordinator for an executive search firm for two years. I was making good money, but I found myself craving creativity. After studying creative writing for four years in undergrad and then two more years in graduate school, I wasn't used to my life lacking literature like that.
I was volunteering for indie lit mags, writing on the side, and submitting my work, but I missed my entire life revolving around creative writing. It didn't help that my full-time job was bordering on abusing me and the pandemic left me ambitious and looking for more out of life than just waking up, working, and then going back to bed. So, I quit my full-time job and started Moss Puppy Magazine.
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
MM: For prose:
1) Fully developed characters that are complicated, complex, and memorable: I want to be thinking about the characters after I finish reading. I want to be invested in their lives both on and off the page.
2) Sentences that are pleasant to read: I love prose that reads like poetry, is beautifully written, and flows effortlessly.
3) Specific details: Rather than describing things generically, I find that specific details can really bring stories to life.
For poetry:
1) That it doesn't feel forced: I enjoy poetry that feels natural when read rather than like the words were bullied into their stanzas against their will.
2) Length: I don’t necessarily have a preference for long or short poetry, but I do look for a length that works with the subject matter. I don’t want to be left wanting more out of a poem, but I also want to be fully invested throughout if the poem has length to it.
3) Format: Again, I don’t necessarily have a preference for poems that are formatted traditionally or non-traditionally, but I like when it works with the subject matter.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
MM: Incorrect formatting, excessive spelling errors, and incorrect grammar. There are certain formatting errors that make submissions incredibly hard to read. I’m okay with a typo here and there or a missing comma, but when it impacts the reader’s experience, I find it difficult to continue reading.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
MM: I want to know what the piece is about right off the bat. Teasing doesn’t exactly work in writing for me; I’d rather know at the start and then have it built up as we go. I love when a piece throws me right into the situation in the first paragraph or stanza, and then I’m hooked.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
MM: As long as it’s not encouraging anything harmful, I’m pretty open. Life is layered and complicated, and there are so many aspects of life that we all experience. If you don’t want to read or write about sex, then don’t read or write about sex. It’s all good - all writing will find its audience.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
MM: What not to do as a submitter. I didn’t realize prior to starting this publication that I would need to deal with disrespectful people - from pieces that promote negative/violent behavior to submitters blatantly ignoring submission guidelines and failing to include trigger warnings for sensitive topics. Please respect our staff’s time and energy by reading our guidelines, including content warnings, and not sending us work that promotes violence.
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