Our "author anonymous" policy on submissions is very often misunderstood. It merely means that the essay you attach to your email should not identify you by name. Your name should not appear in the file name, as a byline, or in headers or footers; any references to your previous publications in the essay should be made in the third person or redacted.
It does NOT mean to send us a cryptic email with the subject line "submission" that has a file attached, but no email body text whatsoever. Such messages are extremely likely to end up in our "spam" folder and because of the volume of spam email a published email address like ours receives, disappear unseen by us within a month.
One of the best ways to ensure your submission isn't filtered as spam is to write an appropriate covering email.
Here are some elements to include:
A salutation
Emails addressed specifically are less likely to be spam filtered. "Dear Journal of Modern Literature Editors" is better than "Dear Editors." "Dear Ms. Garver" is better than "Dear Managing Editor" or "Dear Editorial Office."
Vague salutations like "to whom it may concern" may become spam filtered. "Dear Sir" indicates an assumption that the editors are all male, and is therefore offensively sexist and should be avoided.
A body paragraph
Your email body paragraph should indicate
- The title of your submission
- A statement that you are submitting it to be considered for publication in the Journal of Modern Literature.
- The word count for the ENTIRE submission package including ALL elements (When using the Review > Word Count menu in MS Word, be sure to click the box "include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes.")
- A statement attesting to the fact that the submission is original, that you are the author, that it has not been previously published, and that it is not under review at any other journal at this time.
- An observation of why you think the submission is a fit for us. You might find it helpful to read some back issues on JSTOR or Project Muse, look at tables of contents published on this blog or read some of the "Read for FREE" pieces we link.
Signature
It is essential for our record keeping that we know your name, so please be sure to include it at the close of your letter. Your name is not shared with the editors until after acceptance. They will never be informed of the identity of authors whose works are rejected or returned for revision.
If your culture's naming convention is to use the family name first and the familiar name second, it is helpful if you capitalize the family name, indicating this is how you should be addressed.
This is also where to let us know your preferred prefix (Dr., Prof., Mr., Ms., Mx.) as well as preferred pronouns, so that we know how to address future correspondence to you.
Finally, include your academic affiliations, both current and previous, so that we can find objective peer reviewers who are not your colleagues or previous instructors. The COPE guidelines require that double blind reviewers not have conflicts of interest.
Examples:
Regards,
Ms. Jane Doe
(she / her / hers)
PhD Candidate, Stanford University
BA and MA, Penn State University
Sincerely,
Dr. ZHANG Bai
(he / him / his)
Professor of Foreign Literature, Shenzhen University
PhD, Yale University
What NOT to include
We don't need a list of your publications or other accomplishments. Submissions are read double blind on their own merits. When a piece is accepted you will have an opportunity to share this information in a biographical note.
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