Tips from the Slush pile

At Electric Spec we are hard at work on the slush pile. Reading so many stories fills me with some too(?) blunt advice...

• Do follow the rules on the Submissions page, including
  • Do write a cover letter
  • Do submit in the format we request, rtf, double-spaced, etc.
  • Do submit as an attachment
  • Do not use weird formats, colors, fonts, etc
  • Do write within our word limits--and, honestly, you're best chance is between 1000 and 4500-words.
• Do include speculative elements in your story
• Do grab readers on page one
• Do have something change by the end of the story
• Do avoid spelling and punctuation errors--especially on page one

That's it for a advice for now.
Next time, I'll report on the Production Meeting. Thanks for reading!

Thank you, Authors and Editors!

Wow! We have a lot of slush this time! I think we've received several hundred stories for five open slots. That's something like a 1% acceptance rate. Yikes. :(
Bottom line: thank you for sending us your stories, Authors! Huzzah for you!

Wow! The editors have been working hard reading and carefully considering the slush. Thank you, Editors! We couldn't put the issues together without your excellent efforts! You are appreciated!

Awesome August issue in the works!

We are fast approaching the deadline for the awesome August 2023 issue of Electric Spec! Send us your stories by July 15, 2023!
Of course, this means we are deep in the slush pile reading your submitted stories. If you submitted: thank you very much! We couldn't exist without authors! We get a lot of stories submitted for each issue. This means we also get quite a bit of variety in terms of author skill... Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower at Electric Spec to give feedback to prospective authors. We do give feedback to accepted authors. :)

As I allued to here last week, writers' conferences are excellent sources of information. I strongly recommend them. A cheaper option is a local writers' group in your community. (Check you local public library!) There are also a lot of writers' groups online. Often these writers' groups are free. Members volunteer their time to help each other become better writers. I believe every author should be getting some kind of feedback from other authors. Feedback from your friends and family is often too complimentary and/or vague. Good luck finding good feedback!

Good luck with your writing!

A Classic: More About Colorado Gold

Happy 4th of July!

I continue posting blogs that got thousands of hits... (Why? It's a mystery.) Here we have 'More About Colorado Gold.' Although some of below was specific to that conferences, I still think writers conferences can be very valuable for writers. And RMFW is still awesome!

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As Editor Dave mentioned earlier...the Electric Spec Editors will be out in force at RMFW's Annual Conference Colorado Gold. In my M.F.A. program we had a discussion last week about writers conferences and how they are great for your writing career. The consensus was: not-huge conferences, like Colorado Gold, are the best because you can mingle with pro authors, editors, and agents and not get lost in the crowd, and they are relatively inexpensive. There may be a few spaces left if you're interested in attending and haven't signed up yet. Otherwise, I definitely recommend considering it next year. It's always in Denver the weekend around September 11. (Yes, this is a sad anniversary, but Colorado Gold pre-dates the tragedy by many years.)

So, anyway, what are we up to at the conference? Well, I'll tell you...

• Friday afternoon we are all participating in a Short Story Intensive where pre-registered participants receive feedback from editors and other attendees on their 4000-word short stories. (three hours).
  
• Friday evening we have Short Story & a Beer a casual workshop held in the lounge where we can do a short reading of published short story, discuss how it works—and maybe how it doesn't—and let the conversation—and drinks—flow from there. And, yes, I do believe this was Editor Betsy's idea.
  
• Sunday morning we have Focus on Short Fiction We'll focus on crafting short stories, why some stories make the cut and why some don't, short fiction markets, the growing electronic fiction market, and how to build a career by writing short stories. (one hour)

We hope to see you there! If you see us, please feel free to come up and say hi.