Tools for Editors: Duosuma for Submissions Management
Managing submissions can be a Herculean task for an editor at a literary magazine or press. Many editors have turned to the popular submissions manager Submittable to help corral incoming stories, essays, and poetry, and novels, but as Submittable’s popularity has increased, so has it’s price. As of May 1, 2021, a base subscription to Submittable is a whopping $999 for a mere 300 submissions per year — which breaks down to 25 subs each month. The base subscription also comes with a meager three editor seats, which many editors find to be too few for their team. Publishers, writing contests, residences, and literary agents may find Duosuma to be a more affordable option for accepting and managing their slush pile.
Pay Per Sub
Rather than a monthly or yearly subscription, Duosuma charges a small fee per submission. The fees are translated into credits, which are $0.18 each. Publishers pay one credit for each fee-free submission and four credits — or $0.72 — for submissions that require a fee or take a tip jar payment. A small magazine that gets about 100 fee-free submissions per month will pay a modest $216 per year to use the software. A journal that charges fees will pay $864 for the same 100 submissions per month, so the cost of the manager is most affordable for free subs. While Duosuma does not take a cut of fees, a third-party payment processor does, but the amount is not specified on Duosuma’s website.
Duosuma offers an automatic discount for publications that receive a high-volume of submissions. If a publication spends 1,000 or more credits in a single month, their bill is reduced by 15%, so instead off spending $180 for the month, a publication would spend $153. Duosuma offers a free trial as well as 250 free credits to new accounts.
Unlimited Subs and Editors
Accounts can have unlimited editors, which is helpful for large publications as well as for smaller outfits who want to add guest editors for contests and special issues. There’s no limit on how many submissions a publication can receive each month, and there’s also no charge for suspending submissions for a period of time. Duosuma’s pricing combined with their functionality makes it a great option for small to medium publications, especially those with fluctuating amounts of submissions and editors.
Who Makes Duosuma?
Duosuma is sold by Duotrope, a popular resource for writers to find publishers, contests, and literary agents. A subscription to Duotrope is only $5 or $50 if paid for the year. Duotrope can be used by writers of short fiction, novels, creative nonfiction, and poetry, as well as visual artists. Duotrope has received accolades from Writers Digest, Preditors and Editors, and The Writer Life. Duotrope sponsors a handful of publication’s writing contests each quarter by promoting the contest and giving winners a free two-year subscription to Duotrope.
Need More Information?
For more information on submissions managers — including free options and sample acceptance and decline letters — see Libraries Publish: How to Start a Magazine, Small Press, Blog, and More.
