Simultaneous Subs Suck
Just had a problem with a poem I'd accepted for 2River. Last week the writer said sure, but I just got an email saying the poem had been submitted elsewhere several months ago and had just accepted the poem, too. The writer wanted me to say, sure, it's okay, I won't use it, forget what you said I could, it's okay to let the other place use it. That ticks me off. It's like someone accepting an invitation to a party but but then deciding not to go because a better party came along later. In any case, I chose not to decide. The writer expressed concern about wanting to grow as a poet. Said the more places published the better. Asked me to say, sure, it's okay. I told the writer to make the choice.
You did the right thing by forcing the poet to choose. I assume you saved his name for future reference, too. On the other hand, he did let you know of his dilemma beforehand (some might and probably do try to sneak in double pubs, hoping the victimized parties will never find out). This raises an issue of who owns the poem prior to publication. Sounds like your writer felt you had some claim to it by virtue of submission alone, which of course you don't. It's his to disseminate however he sees fit, I guess, and that's the point you made so firmly to him: choose one or the other.
Richard makes clear the type of material he's interested in considering for 2River on the Submissions' page: "2River accepts unpublished and uncommitted poems only". We might debate about possible readings of uncommitted, but as a writer and as an editor I take uncommitted to mean "not under consideration elsewhere"-- I'm afraid that far too many poets send out material in blind fashion, with no clue as to what the editor may be interested in. As a rule, a writer who continues to go against the grain of a journal's editorial standards and guidelines, or with no idea of what those guidelines might be, is only hindering his or her own success as a writer.
Sam is correct about the submission guideline in 2River. He's also right about how inappropriate submissions can impede a writer's progress. The only smart thing to do is to submit singly and exclusively. Still, there's a big difference between "uncommitted and unpublished" and "simultaneous submission." Some pubs stipulate this, too, though it's hard to see how they can control it in practice.