A few months ago, a friend suggested I submit one of my short stories to the monthly literary journal The Write Launch. While I’ve entered many writing contests over the years, I haven’t spent as much time checking out the numerous online journals currently seeking submissions. I’m not sure why, because being published in literary journals is a great way to gain additional exposure, potentially attract the attention of literary agents, learn about book publishing contests, and enhance your writing portfolio and resume. WOW’s Markets Newsletter highlights so many good journals, and I’m always inspired after reading the call for submissions.

I wasn’t sure how my short story, about a writer on a deadline haunted by literal ghosts from her past, would be received. But I was pleasantly surprised to hear from the editor just a few short weeks later and found the editing process seamless and pleasant! The Write Launch features such an eclectic array of writing—I’ve read essays about a heartwarming dog rescue (“Pandemic Dog”) to a heartbreaking description of a woman’s final moments with her beloved husband (“Go Now”) before he passed away. Short stories feature memorable characters like a verbose history professor in “A Life Made of Words” who ended up teaching his student more about family and personal relationships than he’d ever imagined, and one poet describes a core memory in “Shopping with My Mother” and how she wishes she had been more empathetic as an adolescent.

The Write Launch was born several years ago after originally featuring original writing on the website bookscover2cover.com. It now features the writing of authors and poets, with their Mission Statement reading, in part:

This month we are excited to welcome Sandra Fluck, the founder of The Write Launch and the bookscover2cover, LLC to learn more about the website’s vision and what they are looking for in submissions.

WOW: Thank you for being here today, Sandra! You are the founder of the website bookscover2cover.com and The Write Launch. Can you tell us a little about how you got the idea to create bookscover2cover.com?

Sandra: I had taught English Literature to college and high school students and missed the classroom. In 2012, I had what could be called an “epiphany” that began our journey to publish a literary website. We consulted with experts about the design and structure of the website, including our concern: what to name our vision. It took us a few months through plenty of conversations and a lot of thought, but finally, the website found us. Thus, bookscover2cover.com was born.

WOW: The website features book reviews, essays about writing and reading, and author interviews. How do you select what books to review and which authors you choose to interview?

Sandra: Between 2013 and 2024, we have published reviews and essays on a selection of books in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry that have met the criteria we established when we first considered a website for books: intellectual, knowledgeable, literary, bookish. In the nonfiction category, for example, book titles such as The New Jim Crow, Liu Xiaobo: No Enemies, No Hatred, The 1619 Project, and The Death of a Jaybird have been reviewed. In the fiction category, highlights include The Tiger’s Wife, The Sound of Things Falling, White Dancing Elephants, and Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, More or Less.

We also have a series of longform reviews that allow for an in-depth analysis of selected books through a close reading of the text. Books such as God Help the Child, The Warmth of Other Sun, Hip Set, and The Serpent Papers were read and reviewed in such a manner. There is a good essay on bookscover2cover that delves into what the longform book review is and how it fits our mission.

We began the interview category in 2016 and invited writers whose work we had published and were eager to talk about their work: Reyna Marder Gentin, Dera Willliams, Steve Jones, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, Carol Ann Wilson, Michael Fertik, Jeff Schnader, Julie Benesh, Patrick Reardon and more.

WOW: While working on bookscover2cover.com, what made you decide to then create The Write Launch, which publishes monthly?

Sandra: The website designer was the push behind a website for book reviews and a separate website for original writing. I agreed that we could handle two websites, and we worked for six months to separate book reviews from a writers’ only website. In the four years between 2013 and 2017, so much had changed with the value and design of websites that we would need a compelling appearance for an all-writing website. We also looked for a name that took us a few months to find, and once we found it, we were ready to take The Write Launch live.

WOW: We always like to share with our readers how journals differentiate themselves. What do you think sets The Write Launch apart? What’s your editorial vision?

Sandra: What sets The Write Launch apart from other literary websites? We have a low submission rate ($5); we do not advertise, although we tried it for a few months and didn’t like mingling ads with published work; and we work tirelessly to design a site that invites readers to read and writers to write. Part of this effort includes publishing a literary journal free of errors, and, if errors are found, we correct them asap.

All of the above include the components of our editorial vision: to publish the work of writers and poets in a website that cares about their work, that wants them to succeed in the larger world of publication, and that offers them a literary website where they communicate with like-minded writers and poets. In other words, following our motto: Humanity, Creativity, and the Imagination.

“The writers show in their work the following: syntactical flow, correct dialogue, and paragraph coherence. I also look for structure and content to create meaning.”

WOW: How often is The Write Launch open for submissions, how many pieces do you publish per year, and what, on average, is your acceptance rate?

Sandra: The Write Launch is open for two weeks beginning the first of the month. We publish twelve issues for each month of the year and publish the content on the 15th of each month. The number of submissions vary from month to month, but the range of these submissions is usually from forty to sixty or seventy, from which we select about one-third. At the beginning of 2024, we published a Winter 2024 quarterly, and although it was successful, we returned to the monthly publication schedule in April 2024.

WOW: Does The Write Launch utilize a team of readers, or do you do most of the reading yourself?

Sandra: I am responsible for reading the submissions and selecting the work for publication in each category. I then edit each accepted submission utilizing track changes and, once complete, I send the edited work to the writer for their review, discussion (if needed), and acceptance. They return it to me on a specified date before publication. I am also responsible for ensuring that the work is “clean,” that is, free of errors, when published online.

WOW: While The Write Launch accepts a variety of creative works, what are some things writers can do to make sure their submissions stand out?

Sandra: The writers show in their work the following: syntactical flow, correct dialogue, and paragraph coherence. I also look for structure and content to create meaning.

WOW: The Write Launch accepts art, poetry, long short story, short story, creative nonfiction, essay, and novel chapters. Novel chapters aren’t something you see accepted often in online literary journals. What made you decide to accept these and what have been some of your favorites?

Sandra: The Novel Chapter was originally called Novel Excerpt, in which we received chapters that were anywhere from four pages to twenty-five. Some of these chapters appeared to be the writers’ first exercise in sending out their work, and others, experienced writers who wanted to attract the interest of agents and publishers. In fact, we have published the chapters of several writers who did receive attention: publishers subsequently picked them up.

The Novel Chapter category is somewhat different from the previous Novel Excerpt. The word “Chapter” seems to attract refined, longer chapters, some up to thirty pages.

WOW: As both a writer and educator who has taught at the college level, why do you feel it is important for artists to have opportunities to have their creative work published online?

Sandra: We have found that our literary website draws writers and poets who want their work to be read in the literary world, and they seem to trust The Write Launch to accomplish this purpose. With the artistic presentation that we publish every month, writers and artists can enjoy reading the work of other writers and poets, as well as sending their poems or stories or novel chapters or creative nonfiction narrative out into the world of social media.

WOW: Your bio mentions how books helped you escape the unpredictability of your life, growing up in a military family and traveling a lot. What was your favorite book or author that you read by flashlight?

Sandra: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

WOW: Such a classic, and beloved by so many! Thank you so much for giving us such great insight on The Write Launch and how writers can submit their work. We look forward to diving into all things literary at bookscover2cover.com and The Write Launch.

Many thanks again to Sandra Fluck, founder of bookscover2cover, LLC, for agreeing to this interview, and helping to provide a place for writers to convene and share their work.

We all have stories within us, those snapshots of time or imaginary worlds that we use to spread messages of hope, resilience and reflections upon our world past and present. The submission window for the next issue of The Write Launch opens February 1 and runs through February 15, so polish up those poems, short stories, novel chapters, and essays for your chance to be published!

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Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer and host/creator of the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas. Her short story, “The Monster in the Woods” took 2nd place in the Genre Short Story category of the Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition in 2022. She is currently seeking representation for her suspense novel about, what else, a podcaster trying to solve a mystery! You can learn more about Renee at FinishedPages.com.