Submission Guidelines

All about Writing for House of Haiku

Welcome to House of Haiku!

Please review the following information before submitting haiku or tanka.

Submission Guidelines

There are a number of forms of haiku, not all of which strictly follow a 5/7/5, 3 line structure. We are well aware that there are many profound and wonderful haiku that do not adhere to the 5/7/5 three-line model.

However, for simplicity, and so that we are all on the same page, we ask that all House of Haiku writers stick to our syllable guidelines of 5/7/5 for haiku and 5/7/5/7/7 for tanka.

If you submit a piece that strays from these guidelines, we’ll send you a private note asking you to edit it to fit.

You can check the syllable count of your haiku and tanka via this handy syllable counter:

Or, to double-check the syllables in individual words, you can go here:

If you need a quick refresher on how to count syllables in words, this funny little YouTube video may help:

And, as with any form of creative writing, a good thesaurus can be a useful tool:

Our Guidelines for Haiku

• Haiku must contain 17 syllables.
• Haiku must only be 3 lines.
• The first line must be 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables, and the third line 5 syllables.
• Usually, haiku are about something in nature but it does not have to be.
• Often haiku express a single thought, but this is not absolute.
• Haiku are usually written in the present tense.
• Haiku often involve a juxtaposition of two subjects (the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect).
• Haiku usually encompass a single feeling or impression.

Haiku are meant to convey emotion, and, often, a traditional haiku will leave the reader contemplative. The last line sometimes introduces a surprising contrast.

Some haiku experts insist that metaphors should never be used in haiku. However, here at House of Haiku, we do not enforce the “no metaphor” rule. If you want to learn more about the debate over the use of metaphors in haiku you can read a detailed explanation here.

If you wish to learn more about writing Haiku in general then you may find this report a great place to start.

Guidelines for Tanka

• Tanka must contain 31 syllables.
• Tanka must be spread over five lines.
• The first line must be 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables, the third line 5 syllables, the fourth line 7 syllables, and the fifth line 7 syllables.
• Try to incorporate a turn in the third line as discussed in our guide to Tanka here.

Guidelines for Monoku

We recently included the monoku form in our accepted poetry forms.

• Monoku has one horizontal line.
• Monoku has no more than 17 syllables.
• First letter of the line is not capitalized.
• There is a natural pause in the line brought about by the rhythm of the speech.
• The line contains no punctuation.

Prompts

We publish new prompts once per week (time constraints permitting). You are welcome to submit as many responses to these prompts as you wish.

You can also submit haiku or tanka on any topic you like, not just in response to prompts.

Limit of Two Submissions Per Day Per Writer

To make sure all writers get their fair share of publicity, we limit submissions to no more than two haiku or tanka per day per author.

If you submit more than two pieces within 24 hours, we may stagger their publication over subsequent days.

Image Guidelines

All images used in submissions to House of Haiku must include a credit to the source (even if they are your own work) and their use must not breach the copyright of their creators. Submissions with uncredited images or images that breach copyright will not be accepted for publication.

Tag Words

Your submissions should include either “haiku”, “tanka”, or “monoku” as a tag word. If responding to a prompt, please do not use the tag “Haiku Weekly Prompt” as this is reserved for the prompts themselves.

We Accept Drafts Only

We no longer accept previously published stories. All submissions must be drafts. You can review how to add a draft to a publication here.

Publication Delays

As House of Haiku has grown more popular and gained more writers, our publication queues have grown accordingly.

Sometimes, there may be twenty or more pieces waiting for publication. Rather than publish all queued pieces at once, we stagger their publication to ensure that all our writers get a fair chance for their haiku and tanka to be seen.

So, after you submit a story, it might be a number of hours, or sometimes even a day or so, before one of our editors can process and publish it.

How to Join as a Writer

1. Become a follower of House of Haiku.
2. Email our editors at [email protected]. Please add a link to your Medium profile in the body of the email. Note that if we are suffering from inbox overload (a not uncommon ailment around here) it may be up to 48 hours before we are able to respond.
3. If we add you as a writer, please follow these Medium guidelines for submitting your haiku or tanka to House of Haiku as a draft for publication.
4. Please make sure you have an image (with a credited source) with your draft haiku.
5. Please add a title as this makes it easier for Medium navigation.
6. Please use the tag “haiku”, “tanka”, or “monoku” when you submit your haiku or tanka.

Note that we reserve the right to reject any submissions that do not meet our guidelines or are racist, sexist, violent, or abusive.