That’s right. Issue Zero. Think of it as a proof of product. This is essentially what the first issue will look like, but with new writing. For poetry in this ‘issue’, I’ve selected only poems which are freely available at Poetry 180 which is a tremendous resource that I highly recommend to every young reader of poetry as well as anyone that just wants to read good poems. Fiction has been chosen from a variety of free sources on the open internet. While these are not new pieces, think of them as a mixtape of sorts. Not a “Greatest Hits” but a slice of reading life.
I chose these particular pieces because I feel that they show a good selection of or tastes. We like many more styles and aesthetics than represented here, but all of these poems and stories would find a welcoming home at Coastal Shelf.
I’ve served on many editorial boards over the last couple decades, and it was always one of my favorite activities. From big group read sessions at Acorn Review or RipRap, even the long hours in the tiny Seattle Review office when I was coordinating manager and a grad student at the University of Washington, flipping through manila envelops and sorting through the early interface of Submishmash (now Submittable) as the famous Seattle rain streaked the window and the maze of brick that was Padelford Hall. So many copy editing passes and long, loooong reads of stuff that I knew I wouldn’t pass along but didn’t feel right about not finishing. I wrote a few personal notes during those times, but I always wanted to write more. There were a number of pieces I fought for a failed, and a few which I fought for and won which gives me an immense sense of pride that is hard to describe. I didn’t write the piece, but I believed in it enough to convince others who had their own favored pieces that it belonged in the magazine. It’s a different feeling from writing a piece you know is awesome or having your own piece published.
I also feel that the few notes I’ll be relaying with every rejection should be beneficial for both the writers and the journal in the long run. As a writer and frequent receiver of rejections, I know I often wish I had a little insight into which of the pieces came the closest, or what was the most out of place in the editor’s eyes—or if there are aspects of a piece that are an immediate no or a turn off etc. Each issue’s editor’s note will include a list of ‘hard sells’ which are trends I see that are detrimental to a story or poem’s chance at succeeding. Some journals say they don’t want any cat poems, but I wouldn’t go that far. Only very good cat poems. In that vein, we’re fine with genre fiction as long as there’s more to it that world building and plot. We want memorable characters, dialog that pops and there to be something more to the story than just a sequence of events. Unless it’s a really well written vignette.