When I wrote up the submission guidelines for this anthology, I specifically forbade reprints.
I didn’t want any this time. This was a tough decision to make. If it’s been printed before, it’s frequently a really good story and might add something really nice to my anthology. However, I’ve found it a little uncomfortable to read reviews where the reviewer points out that they’ve read the stories before.
Writers who are new to the craft sometimes don’t understand plot as much as one would like. That is the only way to explain the prevalence of the plot which is not: “they meet, they fuck, the end.”
Real plots have two things that the example doesn’t have: complications and a resolution.
As many of you know, I’m reading for a new anthology. A few of the manuscripts for the anth were solicited; I talked to a couple of authors I know, and they sent me some manuscripts, and I accepted them. The slush pile used to be where editors stacked all the unsolicited manuscripts. Now the slush pile is notional, even virtual, but it is still a place that combines horror and wonder in equal measures.
The submissions period for “Up to Grabs 2″ is about to close.
I have a huge deadline for June 15.
I don’t know if I’ll have time to write The King-Sized Bed.
So many rejections, so little time…
Kneel to Me
Mate: And More Stories from the Erotic Edge of SF/Fantasy
Up for Grabs
Wired Hard 4
Wishbone