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Editing a Piece in a Style/Genre You're Unfamiliar With
By Hannah Ramsey, Daniel Boyko, Kate Jeong, and Suhanee Mitragotri Introduction Billy Lombardo has forwarded you the submission "xxx” by...
Jul 29, 20207 min read


Focus! Keeping Writing Focused
By Zoha Arif I have some exotic, discombobulating thoughts when I’m brushing my teeth. Some mornings, I’ll be applying a generous swab of...
Jun 29, 20207 min read


Efficiently Editing Really Long/Short Pieces
By Daniel Boyko, Yong-Yu Huang, and Lara Katz Billy Lombardo has forwarded you the submission "xxx” by [blind]. Please visit...
Jun 29, 20208 min read


Editing a Piece You Hate
By Daniel Boyko and Zoha Arif So, you’re in the mood for something spicy. Something extravagant, a piece in which the English language...
Jun 9, 20207 min read


Pieces That Excel in Some Areas But Not Others
By Daniel Boyko, Sally Park, and Nishka Dalmia So, a submission magically appears on your Submission Manager, and you’re prepared for the...
Jun 9, 20206 min read


Q&A - How has your editorial process evolved?
By Daniel Boyko and Lara Katz Lara Katz: Before I started editing for Polyphony, I didn't have an editorial process. When I completed...
Jun 9, 20204 min read


Tell, Don’t Show (That’s Right, You Heard Me)
By Giancarlo Riccobon Okay, maybe a more accurate title would be, “Show, Don’t Tell, Except for When You Need To Tell.” But that’s not as...
Jun 9, 20206 min read


Editing a Piece That Seems Really Personal
By Daniel Boyko, Yong-Yu Huang, and Zoha Arif March 24, 2020. A wild Tuesday. Scattered rain. Afternoon: mildly cloudy. I wish for the...
Apr 28, 20205 min read


The Nature of Editorial Feedback
By Anya Chabria and Daniel Boyko If you work for Polyphony Lit, you’re more than familiar with this message from Billy: “With Polyphony...
Apr 28, 20206 min read


Avoiding Clichés
By Daniel Boyko and Maya Nalawade Ignorance is bliss. Better safe than sorry. Play your cards right. A fish out of water. What do all of...
Apr 28, 20205 min read


Formatting Commentary Is Like Making a Mug… No, Seriously
By Pauline Paranikas and Yong-Yu Huang Polyphony commentary is almost like a clay mug. There are many different styles and ways to make...
Mar 26, 20203 min read


Writing for the Quarantine
So… Life is weird right now. If you’re like us, school has been cancelled and you’re sitting at home working through whatever online...
Mar 24, 20203 min read


Finding Positive Qualities in a Piece You Dislike
By Jessica Kim [In conjunction with “Editing a Piece That Frustrates You”.] Grammarly is indeed a lifesaver. It corrects “response for”...
Mar 7, 20203 min read


Editing a Piece That Frustrates You
By Sarah Nachimson, Nayu Shimo, and Yong-Yu Huang Grammarly would make my life so much easier. Maybe I should just plug this piece in for...
Jan 23, 20202 min read


Writing Creative Nonfiction
By Sally Park and Nishka Dalmia (Nishka) ‘Creative non-fiction’ is a paradox in itself. While people tend to think that creative...
Jan 4, 20203 min read


What worries did you have about joining Polyphony and how did they play out?
By Giancarlo Riccobon, Vivien Song, Zoha Arif, Jessica Sidrak, and Maya Nalawade While it would be nice to think of us editors as...
Jan 4, 20205 min read


Common Fence: The Common Sense Approach to Deciding on a Piece
Your commentary is written. Your feedback to previous readers is done. All you need to do is forward the submission. You click “recommend...
Oct 2, 20193 min read


Rejecting a Piece Others Have Accepted and Vice Versa
What if you disagree with what previous editors have written in the internal notes? You read their elaborate explanations of why a piece...
Sep 30, 20192 min read


Dear First Readers:
By Pauline Paranikas As an executive editor, I spend most of my time on any given submission editing previous editors’ comments and...
Mar 29, 20192 min read


Taking criticism without hating the editor
By Cia Gladden and Jennifer Wang I’m a writer. It’s easy to think it while I watch my classmates suffer through draft after draft of...
Mar 29, 20192 min read
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