Hey folks,

We’ve had a few hiccups this end, but it’s all under control again.  We lost our executive director, and between that and real life interrupting all three of the issue #6 co-editors, the wheels of Midnight Echo did fall off somewhat.  Nevermind, we are back on track!  All the slush has been read and responded to, and if you haven’t got a rejection letter from me today it means that you are in the 2nd round of reading, congratulations!

There were some great pieces in the slush, and some less-than-great, but one of the things that I noticed were over 3/4 of our slush didn’t comply with standard manuscript format.  Many markets have subtle differences in how they want submissions laid out, but if you comply with Shunn’s template (found here: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html) you will be okay 90% of the time.

I’m also stunned that several authors quite clearly didn’t read the guidelines, with several stories not even qualifying as speculative fiction.  If you can’t be bothered to check out what a market is actually looking for, it tells me that you’ve probably bombarded several markets at once, knowing nothing more than the editor’s email address.  It’s…not exactly professional.  Always ALWAYS read the submission guidelines.  It will take 1 minute of your time, and vastly improve your chances of finding a home for your tale.  If in doubt, try using duotrope.com which categorises open markets by genre and payment – submit smarter for success, and such.

Lastly….female authors are currently accounting for 26% of our total submissions.  I’ve put out the call to folks through several mediums/forums, sent some emails around personally soliciting work, and I really don’t know what else to do.  If you wonder why a lot of genre magazines seem to publish 75% male authors in the average Table of Contents, THAT’S bloody why (or at least one reason why – I’m sure that in Chauvinism HQ other editors are puffing on stogies and laughing as they shred women’s stories holus bolus, or whatever it is they do in there).  I personally am trying to do the right thing by everyone, and it’s a little frustrating.  Remember, if we don’t see it, how are we meant to buy it 🙂 all I can do here is reiterate my wish to see our final TOC be a little more inclusive, and representative of the writing community as a whole.  If I didn’t give a shit, I wouldn’t mention it, grumble mumble, gnashing of teeth…

Closing date is 31st Jan, and guidelines can be read here: http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=144