Basic Considerations
Here're a few comments on submitting poems to The Ghazal Page. First, I welcome a wide variety of themes and of approaches to the ghazal as an English form. I may sometimes be interested in a translation, but I don't publish in languages other than English.
Only email submissions will be considered. Write a short message, telling me
- that the ghazals are your own work
- that you are submitting them for me to consider for The Ghazal Page
- whether you have assigned copyright to anyone else
- whether they are currently under consideration with another publisher
- where and when they were previously published.
I much prefer unpublished material but will consider published work, depending on the circumstances. I discourage simultaneously submissions but will consider them.
Details of Format
Plain text email is much preferable to formatted (RTF or HTML) messages. You should be able to select plain text in your mail client. If you attach poems, plain text is ideal for that as well. You may find it called "text only" or "ASCII text." If you send poems that are formatted, I will have to remove that and replace it with the tags and style sheets I use. It can be tedious and difficult to remove each and every format detail you've included, and, if you send something more than plain text, any effort you've put into it is wasted because I have to remove it.
- Submit ghazals in the body of a plain text email. Why? Plain text isn't formatted; if you send poems that are formatted, I have to remove all the formatting marks and add the ones I need to use.
- If you send an attachment, save it in text-only format. Why? Same reason as first point.
- Please do not try to help by tagging your ghazal for HTML. I'm moving toward complete compliance with HTML 4.01 standards, including CSS. Inevitably, I would need to make changes. Using HTML editors will not help because they add useless lines of formatting, especially MicroSoft products.
- Indicate what special formatting you want. You may enclose text that /you want to appear in italics/ in front slashes and text that *you want in bold* in asterisks. (These are ancient conventions in email.) You could also accompany a plain text submission with an attached Word DOC file or Open Office file, or whatever word-processor you use. That file would let me see how you envision the poem's appearance. (Simpler is better!)
- I always post proof copies of an issue before publishing it. You can see what your ghazal looks like formatted. I'm willing to work with you to get it as close to the way you want it as HTML will allow.
Heavily formatted (script font, colored text, and less noticeable things) will be returned.
Despite these stipulations, I look forward to an increasing flow of increasingly good ghazals. If you send me a good ghazal, I will figure out how to publish.