I know I haven’t handled an open submission reading period for some time, but this surprised me. Turns out there are a lot of people out there who are confused by writer’s guidelines. Seems terms like ‘deadline’ and ‘word limit’ just throw them into a tizzy.
As you all know, the ‘deadline’ for Eclipse Two and Three was midnight on 29 February, 2008. What this means is that I wouldn’t look at anything sent to me after that date and time. Now, some folk were reasonably and legitimately thrown by the fact that I live in Australia and that, as a result, the deadline was Australian time. I understand that, and this is not directed at them. But a whole bunch, over forty people, sent stories in up to a week after that, or sent queries asking if I’d make an exception for them because they were, for some reason, special. This just took me aback. I’m all up with the specialness thing, but when you’ve sent back stories unopened by 40-odd people you can’t make exceptions – it’s not fair. And it’s not professional to ask. Similarly, if the upper limit for a book is 10,000 words, then don’t send in 15,000 word stories and be surprised when they’re bounced unread. It’s just not okay.
Now, you might say, how are new writers to know this, and what can they do about it? Well, first thing: read the guidelines and assume, just for a minute, that the editor or publisher means them. Generally there’s a good reason for the guidelines. Sometimes not, but it’s not your call. In the case of Eclipse, I capped the word limit at 10k because the publisher wants me to keep the book at about 100,000 words, and I want at least a dozen stories in there, so that means long stories eating up a big chunk of the book are, for the most part, out. It’s possible I might make an exception for a solicited story, but even that’s unlikely. Second, the deadline. The deadline is there because it runs on into other things. I have to deliver Eclipse Two in the first week of June. If I don’t, the publisher will, rightly, smack me hard. But I need time to read the 450 unsolicited submissions, write all of the letters that go with them, and then edit the stories. I also need to time to read the solicited submissions and deal with them, all before writing the volume intro and the story notes and assembling the manuscript. This stuff takes time. I also happen to have other book projects, a day job, and a young family. Hence deadlines.
So, what if you have to, have to, have to be late or long or something else? Well, try asking long before the deadline hits and you might get lucky. I opened Eclipse on 1 February, and announced it a few days before that. I might have discussed deadline and length then, but not after the deadline.
My current pet peeve is story submissions that are very clearly outside the word count or requests to submit flash even though we clearly state that we don’t want flash. Why would we bother with word counts if they weren’t that critical?
I think writers think if their story is good enough, we won’t mind – but what they don’t realise is *how* rare that good enough story is (that it’s not theirs) and that actually there’s a whole heap of other considerations in publishing other than how good their story might be.
Suggestion:
Perhaps you should include a LATE CLAUSE: All manuscripts received after midnight (blah blah) will ONLY be considered if they include a LATE CHARGE of $50.00.
All LATE FEE charges will support the editor’s wine drinking habit while READING them…
:::hee hee:::
Alisa: The problem is that writers are so eager to succeed that they ‘overlook’ these things. I also think that, in a number of cases, they feel that their ‘art’ should be subjected to such strictures. – ?J
Mallory: It would cost a LOT more than $50.00 to get me to read late submissions.
Well since you gave me an out (I submitted on the 29th in the U.S., which may have been the 1st of March for you in Australia…I can’t remember)…
I don’t understand why following a deadline is so difficult. Okay, I get it when there’s people like me that completely didn’t realize that you’re in the land down under, which changes the due date by several hours, but for people that are submitting around this time? Hello? The deadline was a while ago! That’s a surefire way not to get read at all.
I’m sorry you have had to waste loads and loads of time clicking to reject those submissions. Maybe it will teach said writers to really pay attention. If the deadline says January 5th, that doesn’t mean January 10th…
I’m first going to re-iterate that I’m not talking about people who were thrown by the timezone issue. This really has to do with people who were LATE. And I’m not even talking about my time – in all truth, sending 40-odd emails saying ‘I can’t consider your submission’ takes *exactly* as long as you’d think – not long. I just don’t get why anyone would think it’s ok, or that they should get some kind of exemption. The guidelines were fairly simple. Why not follow ’em?
I have received books/magazine submissions four months after my stated deadline. And they’re usually material that came out in the middle of the previous year.
They automatically get tossed out.
Hey Mr Strahan
Can I submit a story here as a comment, even though it’s a bit late and would only be as long as what will fit in this comment window?
It would be pure genius but though also
It would, in fact, be the perfect place for such a story, so please…
I don’t know why you wouldn’t follow the guidelines either. They weren’t that difficult were they? Besides, if you missed the deadline or wrote a story too short or long…couldn’t you just submit to one of the dozen other anthologies or contests? Or heck, submit to a magazine? It seems rather rude and unprofessional to do otherwise…
Also to add to Mr. Strahan’s policies, they were more or less quite lenient. I don’t remember seeing a format requirement (i.e. manuscript format there) for example. The guidelines were not only clear and simple, they were few. So the least we could do is follow them.
I think the problem is some people (whether justified or unjustified) believe that their work IS the exception from the norm (never mind that there’s several people like them who’s thinking the same thing). So it’s either ego or they lack reading comprehension skills (and either could have been solved by a query before the due date).
Actually, I have no comment on the post itself, other than I hope my submission wasn’t one of those that made you scream in agony. I really just wanted to say thanks for giving me, and other writers, a shot at your anthology, taking the time to peruse our submissions, and taking the time to send us back timely rejection letters (in my case and many others) or acceptance letters.
I look forward to the anthology, as I’ve heard good things about Eclipse One and loved the two nominated tales from it that you had posted on the web. Looking for a copy of the whole thing as we speak.
Thanks again, Mr. Strahan. Now, go get some well-deserved rest.