Print journals have been around for a very long time, you can submit to journals that are going into their sixth decade, and have published many famous poets, dead and alive. Online journals are clearly a much more recent establishment. Blackbird, one of the first online literary journals that stayed the course, just celebrated their 11th anniversary. There are advantages and disadvantages that are associated with both forms of publishing. Below I will offer my personal opinion.
Print Journals
Advantages
– Generally more established. Really helps your overall reputation as a writer. The most established, respected journals are all currently print.
– Often you get a free contributor’s copy. A free journal is always nice.
– You get to see your work in print. Sometimes well bound with a nice cover. A thoroughly wonderful experience. It can then go on a shelf with all your other printed work. An occasional ego boost.
– They are more likely to pay. Though usually not much.
Disadvantages
– Less people read your work. This is more a theory then something I can concretely prove, and some journals do have a very large circulation, and a large group of consistent readers. But others do not. Also some publications (I am not naming names) publish almost as much as they can fit, poorly, into one book. I had a hard time finding my own poem on that occasion. People generally seem more open to reading poems for free, online, then seeking them out or subscribing to journals. All the feedback I have received from readers that I didn’t know has been regarding poems that were published online.
– Sometimes you have to pay for copies with no contributor discount and no complimentary copy. I do not agree with this.
– They often have a slower response time.
– Sometimes you have to wait a year or more to see your work in print.
Online Journals
Advantages
– Sometimes they have a large readership.
– Easy to share with friends and acquaintances. Easy to link to on your website.
– The websites can have audio and visual options that are not as easy for print journals to offer.
– Online journals often have a faster response time.
– Your work is sometimes put online within the week, or within a few months. You don’t have to wait too long to see your work.
Disadvantages
– Most online journals are not taken as seriously as print journals.
– You don’t really know how many new people are reading your work. Your own friends could just be reading it. If that.
– Once a piece is printed online you have fewer options open to you in terms of getting a journal to reprint it.
In Conclusion:
These are pretty general statements because when you go too far into the specifics there are often exceptions. I have submitted my work extensively to both. For a while last year I submitted only to print journals, however rewarding that was, after a while I missed the accessibility and visibility of online publications, so now I am once again submitting to both.
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