We know submitting your work for publication can be confusing. We’ve been publishing The Orange Couch now for a few years and have received questions from writers about the submission, editorial, or publication—questions we’ve gathered here, with answers to each one.
If you have a question not answered here, send us an email at writingcenter@depaul.edu.
Questions About Submission Process
Before beginning the process, we ask that you review our “Submission Details” page, which you can access through the homepage when call for submissions are open. This page will inform you of our submission requirements as well as any restrictions or stipulations on submission formats (for example, we no longer accept scripts).
To submit a piece to TOC, you must first receive feedback through a Writing Center appointment (we offer synchronous and asynchronous options) or by workshopping the piece at one of our creative writing groups Writers Guild and Escribir, the latter geared toward Latinx/a/o writers.
After receiving initial feedback, please make any appropriate edits/revisions. Then, return to the “Submission Details” page and select the “Submit Your Work” button, which will redirect you to the submission form. The first question asks you: “Have you received feedback on your submission?” Selecting “yes” will allow to access the rest of the form. Proceed to fill out any required questions on the form (including attaching the file) and submit.
If you have not received feedback through one of the aforementioned methods, please select “no” on the aforementioned form or exit out of the form. Selecting “no” allows you to submit any question(s) you have regarding TOC, which the managing editor will follow up on.
Typically, call for submissions go live around Week 9 or 10 of Winter Quarter (roughly mid-February). However, this may vary from year to year, so follow the Writing Center on Instagram and Twitter to be among the first to hear when our submissions go live!
You can also go to our homepage to check whether submissions are live. When we’re accepting submissions, our homepage will display a “Submit Now” button that directs you to our “Submission Details” page with more information on submitting and a link to the submission form.
Typically, submissions are due in Week 6 of Spring Quarter. This may vary from year to year, so follow the Writing Center on Instagram and Twitter to keep updated on our submission deadlines as well as any other Writing Center events, projects, and announcements. You can also email us at writingcenter@depaul.edu or call our office numbers (located at the bottom of our FAQ) to verify any deadlines.
To submit to TOC, you must first receive feedback through a Writing Center appointment or by having your piece workshopped at one of our creative writing groups—Writers Guild and Escribir, our Latinx writing group.
After receiving initial feedback, revise the piece. Then, return to the “Submission Details” page and select the “Submit Your Work button,” which will redirect you to the submission form. The first question asks you: “Have you received feedback on your submission?” Selecting “yes” will allow to access the rest of the form. Proceed to fill out any required questions on the form (including attaching the draft) and submit.
The submission process also requires you to reflect on the process of revising the piece you submitted, which will be published alongside your piece. Revising is a crucial part of our magazine’s mission, so we ask that you provide specific and thoughtful reflections on the revision process as it applies to the piece you published.
If your piece is selected for publication, we will also follow up to confirm your biography and, if needed, request additional revisions. Additional revisions primarily involve fixing spelling or formatting issues as well as consistency among pieces in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition), the style manual The Orange Couch utilizes. Following up may also involve revising the initial reflections you submitted alongside your pieces.
Head to our “Submission Details” page, which you can access through the homepage when submissions are open. Then, select the “Submit Your Work” button, which will redirect you to the submission form. The first question asks you: “Have you received feedback on your submission?” Select “yes” if you have had your piece workshopped during a Writing Group or Writing Center meeting; selecting “yes” will allow you access the rest of the form. Proceed to fill out any required questions on the form (including attaching the draft) and submit.
No. Our submission form requires writers to reflect on the revision process in addition to helping us stay organized, so you must submit your piece via the form in order to be considered for publication. However, if you’re having issues with our submission form, please email us at writingcenter@depaul.edu or message the managing editor via the email listed on our “Submission Details” page.
Question About Getting Feedback
Crook and Folly is not a part of the Writing Center, so feedback from them is not accepted as part of our submission process. To be eligible to submit you can make a Writing Center appointment through https://depaul.mywconline.com/ or by contacting the Writing Center. Alternatively, you can share a piece at one of our creative writing groups—Writers Guild or, if you identify as Latina/o/x, Escribir.
We require all The Orange Couch writers to receive feedback via the Writing Center and implement revision based on said feedback. If you are unable to visit the Writing Center in-person, we offer online options, which you can learn more about on the Writing Center’s “Appointment Types” page. To keep it simple, a Face-to-Face appointment is done in person; Online Realtime is done synchronously using our WCOnline platform; and Written Feedback is our asynchronous modality, which involves the writer uploading a draft and a tutor leaving marginal comments in addition to providing a summary letter.
Yes. Our magazine is revision-based and thus your work must be revised from its original form to be eligible for consideration. See the “What are the steps I need to take to submit my pieces to The Orange Couch?” question for more details on receiving feedback.
Our Writing Center appointments occur in three different modalities: face-to-face, online realtime, and written feedback.
To keep it simple, Face-to-Face is synchronous and in person; Online Realtime synchronously occurs over our WCOnline video platform; and Written Feedback is an asynchronous modality where you upload your draft prior to the start to of your appointment, then a tutor leaves comments on the draft in addition to providing a summary letter.
For more information, visit our “Appointment Types” page that debriefs our modalities or contact us at writingcenter@depaul.edu.
Yes! As an alum, you still have access to both the Writing Center and Writing Groups. Therefore, you are eligible to submit to TOC as it is open to all DePaul students, staff, faculty, and alumni.
Questions About Submission Eligibility
Yes! We’re committed to representing and supporting diverse voices, perspectives, and processes in this publication and would love to receive your submission. Aside from the general requirements listed on our “Submission Details” page, our only requirement for pieces written in languages other than English is that you provide a translation in English to be published alongside it.
As an alum, you are eligible to submit as long as you meet the other requirements (e.g., receiving feedback through a Writing Center appointment). These requirements will be on our “Submission Details
page, which you can access through the homepage when submissions are open.
Currently, we accept fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. If there’s anything of great concern in the piece, we’ll let you know during the editorial process.
However, we do have restrictions based on modalities, so currently we do not accept the following formats: screenplays/scripts or presentations (e.g., PowerPoints).
Congratulations on the acceptance of your piece! Yes, you can still publish it in The Orange Couch even if it has been published elsewhere, as long as you meet our other submission requirements (e.g., receiving and applying feedback from the Writing Center). However, we advise checking in with the publication where your piece was accepted or published to make sure you’re in compliance with their rules.
No. Because The Orange Couch is published online, we have no length requirements; it can be as short or as long as one sees fit! As long as you receive feedback for the piece through the Writing Center and are a DePaul community member (that is, alumni, student, faculty, or staff), your work is eligible for our magazine!
To keep things fair among submitters and to ensure we can review all pieces in a timely manner, we only accept 2 pieces per person per issue. Meaning, you can submit 2 pieces for Issue 5, 2 for Issue 6, and so on. However, please note that you must submit a separate form for each piece, regardless of genre and word count. That is, if you submit a poem and a short story, that counts as 2 submissions; if you submit 2 poems, that also counts as 2 submissions.
Yes, we accept pieces you previously published online—either those you independently published via a website or social media or those published through a publication—as long as the piece meets the other submission requirements, including receiving Writing Center feedback and revising.
For more information see “The piece I submitted has been accepted for or is already published by another publication. Can it still be published in The Orange Couch?” and “How do I submit to The Orange Couch?”
Editorial Questions
You retain all rights to your work during the submission process and can retract it at any point in the process or submit elsewhere as you please. If we accept your piece, we’ll ask for your permission to publish it in TOC. However, you retain all rights and ownership of your piece during the entirety of our publication process and after publication.
If you wish to retract your piece, simply send an email to the Writing Center or the managing editor letting us know you wish to retract. No questions asked!
Questions About Timeline & Logistics
As the managing editor is the sole person managing logistics for The Orange Couch (including copyediting, formatting posts and the issue, and corresponding with writers), you will not receive a response to your submission until after the submission cycle closes unless there are technical issues or clarification needed in the early stage.
We will only be accepting 20 pieces for publication and will not be informing people of our verdict until after our selections have been made. It is totally normal to go periods of time without correspondence and does not automatically mean we rejected a piece; regardless of our decision, we will always inform you of our verdict!
Congratulations on having your piece accepted! The managing editor should have sent you an email letting you know which piece(s) were accepted; a document attachment detailing the next steps; and the deadline for completing the next steps.
Next steps include:
-Verifying our permission to publish your piece or whether you wish to update your author bio.
-Accessing the Google Doc with suggestions from the managing editor pertaining to clarity or compliance with Chicago Manual of Style. In this step, you should address suggestions by accepting or declining them on Google Doc and follow up with the editor to clarify any remaining questions or concerns.
-The Google Doc may also include any notes on your reflection, so you can update your reflections directly in the assigned area on the document. Make sure to let the editor know when suggestions on the piece and on the reflections have been finalized.
Aside from verifying that they have received your response and answering any questions, you may not hear much from the editor during the time prior to launch. The editor will be working on reviewing materials from writers and formatting the issue.
Feel free to reach out to the managing editor if you have any additional questions.
We strive to have TOC published between Week 10 of Spring Quarter and Week 1 of Summer Quarter (early to mid-June). We’ll send out a mass email and announce the launch on the Writing Center’s Instagram and Twitter, so follow us to stay updated. When we’ve launched, you’ll also see the new issue on The Orange Couch homepage.
Other Questions
Unfortunately, no. Our magazine entirely edited and staffed by Writing Center tutors.
Book an appointment today
At the Writing Center, we believe that anyone who writes anything is a writer. Whether you’re coming in for help on an essay or for an appointment to submit your work to The Orange Couch, we’d be honored to be part of your writing and revision process. Click the button below to be redirected to our Writing Center scheduling platform, WCOnline.