Examples are located here: https://dipitylitmag.substack.com/s/music-waves

These are similar to our writer interviews but different from our digital and print magazine issues. These spotlights are not for spoken word, please see other submission opportunities and categories such as our podcasts. Do note all musicians, bands, and artists who submit to this are eligible to be placed in a future issue of Dipity Literary Magazine and you'll be contacted possibly about this or any other calls.  Attach your answers in a Word.doc. or PDF and attach photos separately.  You'll also be potentially eligible for our yearly dipity. Symphonic Challenge where poets listen to a song and create a new poem inspired by one of the featured artist's songs.

We welcome publication and interview Q&A features through our Substack which goes out to our e-mail subscribers. 

You must answer ALL of the following questions below in order to be potentially considered and featured on dipity's Substack. A few sentences at least within 5-8 or a few brief paragraphs will suffice for the quick Q&A. Share as much as you'd like! Be sure to check out past examples under our Music Waves Dipity Lit Mag Substack section. Occasionally, do note that we add or rotate out a few new questions for fun!

1. What is your name? Where are you located currently? and Where are you originally from?
2. What is the backstory behind your artist or band name or what does the name mean to you or signify? (Feel free to skip this if it's your real first or last name)
3. How did you begin your journey into the world of music? and How long have you been in the music industry?
4. What inspires you as an artist or where do you draw inspiration from to create your music? or Give us some insight into your creative process if you'd like to share too.
5. What's your all-time favorite song you've released? Why is it your fave song?
6. What's an upcoming project or which event(s) are you excited about? You're also welcome to share information about your latest release(s), tours, a music video in the works, shows, etc.
7. We love to read and get inspired by lyrics. Share the title of a song and its lyrics of one of your favorite songs you've either written or released. What does this song mean to you? {Optional to answer why you wrote it or allow us to interpret its meaning). If it's instrumental then you could share what inspired it e.g. a chapter in a book, or a specific memory (share as much as you're comfortable with).
8. What are your thoughts about the world of poetry? Are there any poets you're fans of to date or have any favorite poetry books or specific poems? Do you write poetry? or Have you written poetry? (Feel free to just answer the first one here or one or more). If you write poetry, you're totally welcome to share a poem of yours too, or a poem of yours that you revamped into a song.

       9. [ Choose ONE of the TWO for fun]  a. In a few sentences within 5-8 at least share one fun/interesting fact about yourself that your listeners may not know about you or your band. It could be a hobby or art business outside of music industry for example or something pertaining to being self-taught with a particular instrument or a challenge you overcame e.g. leaving a 9-to-5 job in another field to pursue your passion. OR b. You can just share one book that you recommend others in the community give a read (provide the author's name and title) AND briefly your thoughts on the book (it does NOT have to be a poetry book but certainly could be).  

       10. What was the last song you listened to or music video you watched (excluding your own music that you recommend others give a listen to)? [Provide the song and artist name or grab a link to it for us — we'll typically pick out a YouTube link if possible].  

        11. Lastly, who are some of your other favorite artists and musicians that you listen to? or would like to give a shout-out to?

        12. Please attach at least 3 to 6 photos we can share and credit the photographer(s). If there's more than one photographer list an identifying element i.e. nature photos by name, clothing details, etc. 

      13. What is your website or share any social media handles? Do you have a Substack URL? Share the platforms where others can find your work, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, etc. Links to your work.

      14.  If accepted, we'll ask for confirmation of a few more details such as a third-person introduction  (feel free to provide this in advance at the end of your document file). Thanks so much for submitting! If you run into any technical issues feel free to contact us at the bottom of our website's staff page form.

Multiple chapbook submission entries are permitted in each window. Your chapbook(s) must be themed or have a distinct singular focus e.g. flower species, birds, movies, love, heartbreak, queer love, food, grief, environmental impact, horror, sci-fi. Please leave your name off of the document file name and DO NOT include it inside the document anywhere. Each chapbook submission must contain a minimum of 21 to 24 poems and must be at least 30 pages IN TOTAL including a title page, author page 5-8 sentences in third person (only after acceptance) leave it blank with BIO PAGE HERE, description, and table of contents, an acknowledgments page; in a Word.doc. Each on their own page ispreferred. We are no longer able to publish chapbooks with interiors under 30 pages. We'll resize the font and style so no worries, but ensure we can read the font e.g. Times New Roman.  Please only put your cover letter and chapbook description(s) in the Submittable form box. 

REMINDER NO previously published poems (we want to see completely new poems). Read our Submit FAQ page too. Each poem should fit on one page, but if you must continue it indicate within the title e.g. cont'd. We'd prefer again to see each poem fit on one page so 24 poems would be typically ideal if you're not using sections to add pages too etc.

We DO NOT accept Ai generated writing.

REMEMBER that our chapbooks will not be 8.5 x 11 and closer to approximately an A5 (5.2 x 7.8) saddle stitch booklet so your poems must fit this much smaller A5 page size therefore within or way under 30 lines single-spaced including line breaks would be ideal. 

While you can submit your poems on an 8.5 x 11 Word.doc, chapbook submissions that consist of poetry that fits the size limitations will only be considered. We will choose the font style and standard size for it so no worries there.

All submission processing and reading fees are non-refundable. If you make a submission mistake we can open it for editing just message us through Submittable. 

You are permitted to have sections in your chapbook [single title pages named] such as part 1 [title] and part 2 [title], and part 3 [title] as well.
 

EXAMPLE LAYOUT REQUIREMENTS

Page 1. [Chapbook no. Page For Us ]

Page 2. Title Page - Title Only [Do NOT Include Your Name] 

Page 3. Description of Chapbook Here [Leave Blank]

Page 4. Author About Page - Third Person [Leave Blank We'll Ask for this After or You Should Input it in Your Submittable Cover Letter Form Section Instead ] Followed by Your Chapbook Title(s) or About Collection Description(s)

Page 5 leave blank - dipity press + author copyright pages

Page 6. Acknowledgments or Dedications Page

Page 7. Table of Contents 

Pages 8 - 30 [ For 21+ Poems Minimum + [Preferably A Miminum [30 Required Pages] At Least Which Includes the other intro pages] Each poem must be titled.

Page 31 - Leave Blank For Us OR You're welcome to create a playlist of songs on this page (meaning pair one song to each poem in order of appearance that you feel represents the vibe of that poem). You can share it with us via Spotify or YT playlist you create if that's easier than typing.

We will choose one or more chapbook manuscripts for each open window. The winner(s) for these will receive:

• 5 chapbook print copies minimum and publication as payment instead within a year. Acceptance decisions are made about 3-4 months after your submission or ASAP.  We cannot gauge or guarantee monetary amounts at this time but may in the future if enough submission interest is generated or seen for Dipity Press's existence may be able to]. Royalties nowadays are quite tough to maintain for small presses therefore we believe a donation-based page to support each accepted poet's chapbook would be better suited along with other forms of payment e.g. physical copies as payment. As time goes on, Dipity Press may be able to facilitate cash prizes and bump up the number of physical print copies.
• Print bookstore listings + digital eBook or PDF listing. 
• You retain 100% rights to your work and can include these poems in new or future publications and all that we ask is that you acknowledge Dipity Press as the first publication appearance (optional but preferred) followed by the year.
• You will receive a signage agreement over these terms if selected.
• Those selected will get a direct donate button for your chapbook on our website  [ we are creating a new donate to poet chapbook page space to direct traffic towards to support poets further long-term]. Readers and visitors of the Dipity Press chapbooks series will be able to donate to your publication.
• This is open to poets of all ages and international and we are not accepting translations at this time. We do not integrate art into the interior at this time.
• We try to keep fees to a minimum because they def suck. All sub fees and purchases of your chapbook go towards helping maintain dipity, supporting artists, fund contests, and future literary arts community publication projects or initiatives such as saving towards paying writers, promoting work, website maintenance fees, and our operation expenses since we do not have any significant funding or support at this time.
• Each accepted chapbook will receive a cover design by an artist which will be either collage-based or illustrative. We will pick your cover art.
• Selected chapbooks receive promotion through the shared dipitylitmag and press social media channels such as Threads etc. and our Substack. You're welcome to share through our podcasts and audio streaming channels too if you let us know (optional).

The Dipity Press chapbook subs will be judged by Vevna Forrow and volunteer staff readers will aid in eliminating any chapbooks that do not comply with guidelines or are not what we were looking for etc. 

We may close this window early in the event of reaching caps or an extremely high submission volume OR may extend it if there are not enough subs in each window. Thank you so much in advance for considering us as a home for your work! 

We welcome publication and interview Q&A first-person publication features through our Substack subscribers. 

You must answer ALL of the following questions in order to be potentially considered and featured on dipity's Substack. A few sentences within 5-8 will suffice for the Q&A. We like to include some fun questions.

1. What is your pen name or author name?
2. Where are you located in the world?
3. Submit ONE unpublished poem OR just ONE short story 1-2.5 pages for consideration.  Do not submit both. We want to see previously unpublished poems, but you may share only a previously published short or flash fiction piece letting us know where else it appeared. Please only share as much as you're comfortable with publicly sharing through our Substack newsletter if accepted. Poems should be left-aligned.
4. Submit the backstory of that poem or short story within at least within 5-8 sentences. 
5. When did you begin writing? or What or who sparked and inspired your writing journey? 5-8 sentences
6. Where can others find more of your work or what are some of your fave publications - please provide at least a few links? Max of 3
7. What advice would you give aspiring poets, authors, or fellow writers in the community?
8. What else do you do outside of the writing or poetry community? or What else are you working on or excited about in the future? Any fun hobbies?
9. What are you currently reading? OR What book would you recommend to others right now? -  it doesn't have to be poetry or a collection....
10. What was the last movie or TV show you watched or recommend others see in the community?
11. What was your most recent publication?
12. Which poets, artists, or writers inspire you? 
13. If you were stuck on the moon with anyone or could pick your space flight partner who would it be —  it could be someone from the past or present time? OR You can answer: If you had the opportunity to portray any book character in the world and star in a movie adaptation of their life's story who would you choose? Please share the character name, book title, and author of the book.
14. What's one of your favorite poems in existence? Provide 1 poem by another poet just the title and author name.
15. What is your website or share any social media handles? Do you have a Substack URL?

We will pair one or a few songs at the bottom of the spotlight. Feel free to give link suggestions or names from YouTube. No guarantees we'll use your song preferences.

Note we will also accept audio reads on our podcasts so you're welcome to upload audio to your poem stating the title and reading it following the guidelines if accepted (though completely optional). 

REMINDER: This category is NOT us reviewing your manuscripts nor editor rather you are sharing your work or a review of another's collection. Direct manuscript reviews through our editor are on hold. 

Promote a single poetry collection of your own or the poetry book of a friend. Your bite-sized book review must be no more than 900-1,200 words. The collection must have been recently published within the last 3 years. There is a promotional fee you choose what you think is fair for marketing through us. Do note we have a featured book ad section in our print + digital issues and you’ll be entered in the pool of selection to be potentially chosen and we’ll contact you if so. We will also share your poetry book in as many social media channels as we can not all in existence, but we will do our best! We primarily use Threads, Twitter(x), and occasionally Instagram stories.

If you are promoting your own book through our subscribers:

Share your journey with our subscribing community. Begin with an introduction to what led up to your collection’s creation for example and what inspired it. You can also share a bit about the cover design choice e.g. if its tied to a photograph with a story feel free to share. Detail the challenges or obstacles you faced during the process of publishing your collection. Was it self-published or did you go through another publisher? Share what you’re comfortable with. Then dive into the structure of your book and its themes . Share one or two titles and excerpts from your collection and discuss the backstory a bit behind the poem(s). Go through the highlight notes of your work entailing e.g. is it broken up into sections, and cover how you wrapped up your collectio. 

Provide us with 3-6 photos of your own to break up your review with, and to edit for its banner image. Feel free to conclude your review with a favorite memory tied to the release of your collection and what you sought to accomplish with your poetry book in terms of messages or awareness etc. Lastly, where can others get your book. Add your social media handles and website if applicable. 

If you’re reviewing the book of a friend or the book of a newly released collection you just read:

 then be sure to introduce us to the poet, and cover the same structure of the book, what stood out to you. Please be careful sharing excerpts of books. Some poets explicitly state the permissions in the introduction of reprints or terms of sharing so you may only be able to reference the poem title, with brief quotes, descriptions and the page number to discuss 1-2 poems that impacted you. Discuss some of your personal connections and feelings with the theme or focus. Share where can others purchase the book or where you got it. Attach a few photos of the book.

All sub fees are non-refundable and help fund our community publication projects and operational expenses. 

Follow dipity. productions on Spotify. Here are previously unpublished examples on YouTube Music of what we're looking for and what'll it look like:

We are starting a BRAND new spoken word community publication channel on music streaming platforms for Dipity Literary Magazine. We recommend you listen to examples of a few spoken word artists if it's your first time tackling spoken word audio single or album tracks as well as the sample above.

A. This will mean we will generate an artist publication profile if you don't already have one on YT, possibly Spotify etc.that you can claim.

B. We will as of 11/14/2023 now cover one-time processing, and publication if accepted and be distributed on platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, iHeart, Tidal etc. 

C. Your audio can contain up to three previously unpublished poems, although one poem like our existing examples is preferred.  You can read one poem and discuss the backstory of it after reading it in your recording to meet the length requirement. If you are only reading one poem please DO STATE the title initially at the start with a few seconds pause then read. If your poem is longer in length then, you may totally not need to say the backstory to reach the 3-5 minute requirement. We welcome creativity if you want to add sound effects like you closing the door or ripping up newspaper pages at the end or start of your audio recording go for it. 

I will be reading my poem [title]. This next poem is [title] or called [....] My last poem is called [title] Do NOT state your name as it'll be on the cover art if selected and written ownership fields.

D. Your audio must be a single file recording and be at least 3-5 minutes long for publication not under that and cannot exceed 5 minutes, but be closer to 5 overall for successful categorization acceptance. 

E. Please attach 3-4 photos of yourself for us to pick from. If you prefer not having a photo then we'll simply use something else for a single cover for the spoken word soundtrack. Attach a Word.doc copy of your poetry read and the titles of each one. 

Please note we are not able to give royalty artist payouts to writers, but any generation from our channels will go towards our maintenance expenses, project funds as well as keeping dipity up and running and working towards paying writers for their poetry submissions in print and online. You however retain 100% publication rights over your written words (lyrics) and spoken poetry. You can claim your artist profile too separate from dipity. Please let us if you already have a spoken word or artist profile out on music streaming channels otherwise we'll help generate one on your behalf.