A folder of poems is not yet a submission. The poems may be finished, or nearly, and still the thing that arrives in an editor's inbox needs shaping: a clean manuscript, a sequence that holds a reader's attention, and a covering letter that does its job and then gets out of the way. Plenty of rejections have little to do with the quality of the writing. They come from ignored guidelines, attachments that won't open, or a batch of poems that reads like five versions of the same idea. None of that is hard to fix.

Read the guidelines properly, then read them again

Every magazine and publisher publishes a submissions page, and it is the only authority that matters. Before you choose a single poem, write down what it asks for: how many poems, any line or page limit, whether simultaneous submissions are allowed, whether they consider work that has appeared elsewhere, and when the reading window opens and closes. Many UK magazines read only during set periods, and some close submissions entirely while they catch up.

If the guidelines say three poems, send three. Sending six does not signal enthusiasm; it signals that you did not read. Note the editor's name if it is given, check whether they prefer email, a web form or post, and if they ask for a stamped addressed envelope with postal submissions, include one. A themed issue is not an invitation to stretch a poem to fit; it is a reason to send work that genuinely belongs there.

Formatting the manuscript

Poetry is the genre where layout carries meaning, so editors notice carelessness quickly. Keep the presentation plain and consistent, and let the poems do the work.

• Page setup: A4, margins of around 2.5cm, single spacing, one readable serif typeface at 11 or 12 point. Use the same font throughout.
• Contact details: your name and email address in the top corner of the first page, or in the header of every page if the submission runs long.
• One poem per page: title at the top, usually in bold or capitals, with your name beneath it if the guidelines ask for that.
• Stanza breaks: a single blank line between stanzas, no indent on first lines, no extra spacing between individual lines.
• Long lines: if a line wraps, indent the continuation so a reader can see where the line actually breaks. This matters more than any other formatting decision.
• Page numbers: add them, with the poem's title, so a poem running over two pages can be reassembled if the pages separate.

File formats and names

Send what they ask for: a .docx, a .pdf, or poems pasted into the body of an email. If no preference is stated, a .pdf protects your line breaks. Name the file clearly, something like Surname-Firstname-Poems-Submission, rather than final version 3.docx. Check that special characters have survived the conversion, that curly quotation marks have not become stray symbols, and that your dashes are en dashes where you meant ranges and em dashes where you meant breaks. Small things, but they are the first impression.

Ordering the poems

Order is an argument. The first poem earns the reader's attention, so open with something that lands quickly and clearly — not necessarily your shortest, but the one that shows what you can do without preamble. After that, vary length, form and tone so no two consecutive poems feel like the same poem in a different hat. Three sonnets in a row can read as one long poem that has lost its way.

Read the sequence aloud, in order, and listen. A strong poem can be flattened by a stronger one placed directly before it; sometimes swapping two pieces solves a problem that looks like a quality issue but is really a pacing one. End on something that closes rather than trails off. If a poem feels like an afterthought at the end, it will read as one.

For magazine submissions, send your best and most complete poems. Editors may take only one, and they will often take the first poem that genuinely excites them.

Pamphlets and collections are a different shape

A pamphlet might hold twenty to thirty poems; a full collection usually needs forty or more, with a sense of architecture. Before sending anything, read two or three books from the publisher's list. You will learn more about their taste in an afternoon than from any amount of guessing, and you will know whether your manuscript belongs there.

Groups of poems that share preoccupations can sit together, but avoid stacking three elegies or four poems about the same river. Sections can help a longer manuscript breathe. When the order is settled, put it away for a week, then read the whole thing in one sitting, as an editor will.

The covering letter

Keep it to one page and three short paragraphs. Address a named editor if you can find one; otherwise "Dear Editor" is perfectly acceptable. "Dear Sirs" is not.

In the first paragraph, state what you are sending: the title of the submission, the number of poems, and whether it is a pamphlet or collection. In the second, give a brief, factual biography — a few publication credits, any relevant background, nothing more. Two or three sentences is plenty; lists of every open mic you have read at work against you. In the third, list acknowledgements if some poems have appeared elsewhere, and mention simultaneous submissions if the guidelines permit them.

Sign off with "Yours sincerely" if you have named the recipient and "Yours faithfully" if you have not. Do not apologise for taking up their time, do not explain what the poems mean, and do not compare yourself to anyone famous.

The submission package

1. Guidelines read twice, with the deadline and any theme noted.
2. Manuscript formatted exactly as requested.
3. Covering letter, addressed correctly.
4. Short biography if asked for one.
5. Acknowledgements for previously published poems.
6. Stamped addressed envelope if submitting by post.
7. Your own record: date sent, where, and the stated response time.

Then proofread as though you were reading someone else's work. Read the poems backwards, line by line, to catch typos and stray words from earlier drafts. Check titles against the ones in your covering letter.

The last ten minutes before you send

Reread the guidelines one final time, open the attachment to confirm it works, and check the file opens on a device that is not yours if you can. Make sure the deadline time is the one the publication keeps. Then send it, note the date, and start the next poem. Waiting for a reply is not a productive use of the weeks ahead, and the work that gets accepted is nearly always the work that kept being written while the last submission was still sitting in someone's reading pile.

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