I have been sending some of my poetry to literary magazines and journals, and the main roadblock I've run into is trying to decide what to send. I used to just send my favorites, but in my (limited) experience with publishing, many times the ones I think are great get rejected, whereas the ones I think are meh get accepted.
Generally, literary magazines suggest reading their magazine to get a feel for what they publish, but unless they have a set theme (feminist, mental health, themed issues), usually the only thing I get out of that is, "Uh. . .they don't publish rhyming poetry." Which is pretty much a given in the market anyways.
Lately, I've just been seeking out set themes because I don't have any other way to narrow down what I want to send. But if you have any other advice I'd much appreciate it. Thanks!
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