Reader's Eden Ezine Issue #1 Out Now!

Well, the fruits of my first efforts as an ezine editor are out now. Click here to see the first issue. The cover is by my publisher's 13 year-old daughter. I think she's got a promising future. If you click on the cover you'll go inside, where you can hear more of my nattering, read three short stories by Sally Odgers, Will Greenway, and Margaret Pearce, and see a few other goodies. It's all free!

If you're interested in submitting something, check out the guidelines. We're always open for submissions.

This is turning out to be an interesting experience. I like the challenge of building up an ezine with no budget, no name recognition, and lots of competition. Of course, my job would be easier if I had a big budget, lots of name recognition, and no competition, but where's the fun in that?

The Difference Between Professional and Amateur Writers

Well, besides the Civil War novel, which is moving along well, I've been busy with editing the first issue of the Reader's Eden Ezine, due out in early June. I and the publisher sent out the submissions guidelines to several newsgroups and already stories are coming in. I haven't been snowed under like every other editor yet, but the drifts are beginning to form.

I've also sent out requests for submissions to several authors I know, professionals who might have a story to spare for this new venture. Luckily, a couple have already responded. One thing I noticed first off was that they kept strictly to the submission guidelines. It didn't matter that our emails were informal, with talk of babies, recent publications, and idle chit-chat; when these folks sent me their work it was all business.

I wish I could say that about all the submissions. While the majority stuck to the guidelines, I got several that did not. One writer sent his article as an attachment, even though my submission guidelines said I would delete emails with attachments unread. I don't want to fill my computer with viruses, after all. I even put that notice in all caps. Others used improper title format, and one fellow asked on a newsgroup why there wasn't an email address to send submissions to, even though it was, of course, in the submission guidelines. Everyone else seemed to find it!

I can practically hear all the jaded old editors out there laughing, "Oh, you think that's bad, just you wait!"

Yeah, there will be a lot worse, I'm sure. But I'll try to resist the urge to create a Hall of Shame like Alien Skin Magazine does.

Life on the Other Side of the Editor's Desk

Bless me bloggers for I have sinned. It has been almost a week since my last post. This is because I've been very busy. Not only am I working away on my novel and a couple of articles, but I have taken on a job as editor of a new online publication called Reader's Eden Ezine. It's an extension of the old newsletter for Reader's Eden, a distributor of small press and electronic books. The first issue comes out in June, featuring an author interview and short stories. If you're interested in submitting, check out the submission guidelines here.

I'm already getting submissions, and it's been a learning experience sitting on the other side of the editor's desk. Also, I'm looking forward to the challenge. We can't afford to pay authors at the moment, we have no name recognition, very little budget, and lots of competition. I hope to make a name for the ezine by offering stories that bend or break genre boundaries, ones that tweak the reader's perceptions. The kind of stories I talked about in my last post.