Virtual Literary Magazine Submissions Reader

A slush pile does not sort itself. This magazine gets several hundred submissions a month, and every one of them needs a real set of eyes on it, not a skim. That is the job: reading fiction, essays, and poetry closely enough to know which pieces deserve a second look from a senior editor, and doing it on a schedule that keeps the queue from backing up. Most submissions are competent. Very few are exceptional. Learning to tell the difference quickly, without losing patience halfway through, is the actual skill this role tests for. Payment for this work is per-batch rather than salaried by the hour, so being decisive matters as much as being right.

What you will actually do

Poetry submissions and prose submissions get evaluated on different criteria, so readers usually specialize in one or the other after the first month or two, even though the initial training covers both. A poem gets judged on compression and sound as much as meaning; an essay gets judged on structure and whether the argument actually goes anywhere. Fiction sits somewhere in between, judged on voice, pacing, and whether the ending earns what came before it.

Reading is only the start. You research the subject matter or literary context behind unfamiliar submissions, especially in nonfiction, so your notes actually mean something to the editor reading them next. You write clear evaluation feedback, sometimes drafting a short sample edit to show what a piece could look like with changes.

• Research background and context on submissions that need it before writing an evaluation
• Draft written feedback and, where useful, sample edits or rewritten passages for promising submissions
• Revise your evaluation notes based on feedback from senior editors to match the magazine's style and standards
• Consider how a piece fits the magazine's audience and issue theme before recommending it forward
• Coordinate with editors or, occasionally, subject-matter experts on pieces that need outside input
• Track your assigned submissions through the review platform so nothing sits unread past the queue deadline

Here is a real version of what that looks like: a submitted essay about a family's immigration history needed a second reader who could check a few historical claims before it moved forward, and that fact-check changed the recommendation from a pass to a yes. Reading fast is not the goal. Reading well is.

Turnaround expectations vary by submission window. During open reading periods the queue moves fast and readers are expected to clear a set number of pieces per week; between windows the pace slows and readers often pick up related editorial tasks like proofing accepted pieces or helping tag content for the website.

Pay and the rest of the package

This position pays 60,500 dollars a year on a full-time equivalent basis, structured as part-time, project-based work. Many reader and editorial roles like this one run freelance and skip traditional employee benefits entirely, and this one is no exception on that front, so here is what you actually get instead.

• A flexible reading schedule you can build around other work or freelance clients
• Contributor or masthead credit for readers whose recommendations lead to published pieces
• Direct payment per batch of submissions reviewed, rather than waiting on a monthly cycle
• Invitations to virtual workshops the magazine runs for its editorial team

What you need on day one

Strong writing and editing skills come first, since your notes have to be as clean as the copy you are evaluating.

• Strong writing and editing skills
• Basic SEO awareness for anything headed toward the magazine's website
• Solid research habits
• The discipline to hit deadlines even when the queue is heavy

Nice to have: prior slush-pile or editorial internship experience, familiarity with a submission platform like Submittable, or a personal publication history that shows you understand what a strong piece reads like from the inside. None of those replace the core reading and writing skill, but they shorten how long it takes to feel confident in the role.

Background that fits

A bachelor's degree, ideally in English, journalism, or a related field, is the minimum education requirement. You should also have at least 12 months of relevant experience and a portfolio of published or otherwise evaluable writing samples. The readers who last longest here read widely outside their own taste and can articulate why a piece works even when it is not something they would personally choose to read. A reader who only likes literary fiction but gets assigned a batch of genre submissions still needs to evaluate them on their own terms, not against a preference that has nothing to do with the assignment.

Remote, on your schedule

New readers typically start with a smaller batch of submissions to calibrate against the magazine's existing editorial standards before taking on a full weekly load. A senior editor reviews early evaluations closely for the first couple of assignments, then steps back once the fit is clear.

This is fully remote and open to candidates anywhere, with no office and no city tied to the role. Submissions get assigned and returned through a shared platform, and most communication with the editorial team happens through email and periodic video check-ins rather than a fixed daily schedule. Remoteroles carries a handful of editorial roles like this one for magazines that read blind, and turnaround expectations tend to be the one hard deadline in an otherwise loose arrangement.

How to apply

Send a resume along with two or three writing samples and, if you have them, past reader or editorial feedback you have written. Applications get reviewed on a rolling basis, and shortlisted candidates receive a short sample submission to evaluate as part of the process. Expect a response within two weeks either way. Include a note on genres or forms you read comfortably, since assignments get matched to reader strengths rather than handed out at random.

The sample evaluation exercise is a real piece from the current queue, not a made-up test case, and the notes readers write on it get shown to the senior editor alongside the resume when a decision is made.