Tucson Writers Workshop
(The Back Page)

Some interesting information from Peridot.

The article "The Editors Are Out to Get You"
or: What Happens to Your Story Once It Lands in the Slush Pile, explains the guidelines for submitting.

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Peridot's Editor, K. T. Bradford, also includes really good information to take into consideration:

Think of submitting your manuscript as applying for a short term contract job with the magazine you're submitting to. By following the guidelines, you're showing the editor that you take the submission process seriously and professionally. And it puts no preconceived notions about you in the editor's mind but positive ones.

I have to read hundreds of stories each reading period. The writer only has to worry about one. It is both professional and courteous to follow the guidelines. It sets the tone for what is to follow.

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Once I actually get to the story, here are the 4 things I know from reading the first 2 -3 pages:

1 - Can the writer write?

When someone can't write very well, it shows. It shows in the first few paragraphs. It doesn't take much to figure out that if the first page is full of bad sentence structure, painful metaphors, poor characterization, and other examples of bad writing, the story isn't going to get any better from there.

2 - Has the writer earned my trust or completely abused it?

This is closely related to "Can the writer write?" I recently had a story come across my desk that I could have rejected on the first paragraph alone. In it, the protagonist took a plane to a city, got off the plane, then rented a car to drive 6 hours to another city. I happen to live in the city that he flew into, and I thought: "Now, why did he charter a plane to bring him to this city then drive to the other city? That's a major city, it has a major airport. Why the driving? Plus, it only takes 4 hours to get there."

These may seem like minor nits, but they completely destroyed the author's credibility in my eyes. Because I knew these things about these cities, it was obvious that the author didn't. He'd done no research or, if he had, had not projected to me that he did. He threw me right out of the fictional dream before I'd gotten a toe in! Slush readers need a chance to build up trust just as regular readers do. If the reader doesn't trust the writer, he's not going to finish reading the story.

3 - Am I already bored?

I don't like to be bored when reading fiction. I don't have time to wait around for the story to build up speed. I don't need excitement and car chases, but I need something to keep me reading. A character that I instantly like for some reason and want to follow around for a bit, or a situation that I can't wait to see unfold, or an idea that I want to watch the writer explore. If I get to the end of page two and have not been engaged or interested, why should I keep reading?

I feel that I owe it to our readers to find stories that interest, excite, and engage. If a story is boring, even in the beginning, there is little hope that it will ever get any better. As one of my favorite writers once said to me: If your characters are flat, they are flat now. Nothing you do later on in the story will change that. I apply that to all aspects of writing. If your story is boring in the beginning, it is boring now. Nothing you do later in the story will change that. Make the story unboring right away.

4 - Is this story a good match for the market?

Not every story is right for every market. While we do accept all kinds of speculative fiction, some stories don't have the style or tone or subject matter we're looking for. While this is not always evident in the first few pages, many times it is.

HINT: They are open for submissions!