(ceased publication)
SQF: How did the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable come to be?
A. E. Decker: That’s a question I’m not entirely equipped to answer, unfortunately. The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable was the brainchild of one or more members of The Bethlehem Writers’ Group, but they made the decision to start it while I was away at the Odyssey Writers’ Workshop for six weeks. I was out of communication, missed three or four meetings, and when I came back, our group leader, Carol Wright, started the meeting by discussing this thing called “The Roundtable.” It was quite a surprise for me!
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
AED: First, I’d like to mention that the BWG Roundtable accepts poetry as well as short stories. For the sake of this interview, however, I’ll focus on what I want to see in a story. The first, and by far the most important thing I look for, is a complete story. That’s more complicated than it sounds. A story has to introduce a character/characters, identify come sort of problem or conflict, and bring that conflict to a satisfactory—and hopefully interesting!—resolution.
So, with that stated as the first thing I’m looking for, the second thing I’m looking for is some quality that makes a story stand out from other submissions. Sometimes it’s really good character development, or an ending that surprises me, or exceptionally fine use of language. Humor! I love it when stories make me laugh, and I will add that editors tend to get far more deadly serious stories than deliberately amusing ones.
The third thing I look for is actually the first thing I notice: the mechanics of a story. I read every story I receive at least twice. The first reading is very quick, almost skimming the words. If I find myself stumbling over passages and having to go back and re-read, or reach the end of the story without having a clear idea of what it’s about, I’m less inclined to accept the story. I understand the occasional misspelling or missed comma—as writers, we’ve all been there—but repeated grammatical errors suggests that I’ve been sent a first draft rather than something that’s been proofed and revised.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
AED: I’m rarely actually “turned off” by any story. I’m a writer myself, and know how difficult the process is. Even though obvious mechanical errors exasperate me, I try to be understanding. If a story’s good, I can look beyond the mechanics to the meaning. The only stories that revolt me are the ones that seem to take delight in cruelty or grossness.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
AED: Character, style, setting, and conflict. Okay; I admit that’s a lot! The truth is, there’s no easy or set formula. I want my attention grabbed from the outset, but what appeals to me may not appeal to other editors. Fortunately, there are several editors on the BWG Roundtable’s staff, and although I make the ultimate decision as to what makes it into the magazine, I do allow the other editors to champion works they really like. Several stories have been accepted this way. For myself, I like character, originality, and, as mentioned earlier, humor. If you can start with a hilarious opening line and build from there, there’s a good chance I’ll like your work. I’m also a big fan of original takes on themes, so try to do something different.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
AED: We try to keep the BWG Roundtable to what would be called a PG-13 rating in the US. We don’t publish erotica or horror. A very discreet sex scene, with no mention of body parts, might be permissible. We give a very hard pass to anything containing racism, misogyny, homophobia, or cruelty to animals. We might ask writers to alter the use of any four-letter words during the editing process. These decisions were made with the consensus of the Bethlehem Writers’ Group, by the way. Some of us write horror and erotica, and I personally do use expletives in some of my writing. But, since the Roundtable is targeted at a general audience, we try to appeal to a broad audience rather than our own particular genres.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
AED: I’d like to discuss the topic of originality a bit more. Just for example, our autumn 2019 issue had the theme of “Family functions and dysfunctions” and we got a lot of very fine submissions—but they were all about human families. I’d have loved a story about, say, a robot family where the children kept squabbling over who was borrowing the other’s gears, or something like that. Or, take our short story competition with the “animal stories” theme. I’d say approximately ninety percent of the stories were about dogs, and almost all of the rest were cat stories. There are a lot of animals on this planet. Give me dolphins, spiders, rhinoceroses, yaks, toads, and octopuses! Especially octopuses.
Here's the thing: I’ve read a lot of stories. The first story that comes into your head is probably very similar to a story I’ve already read. Think how you can change it, make it different, make it your own. We all know the story Cinderella, right? What if Cinderella was a prostitute, and Prince Charming a CEO? That’s how they got Pretty Woman.
Now, what if Cinderella was a cat? A drag queen? A ninja warrior? What kind of story can you make going from those changes? That’s the kind of outside-the-box thinking I enjoy and would like to see more of.
By the way, speaking of our annual short story competition, it’s open again. We’re accepting submissions on our “animal stories” theme for the second year. Stories can be up to 2,000 words in length. The grand prize is $200 and publication in our upcoming anthology Fur, Feathers, and Scales. Please visit our site at https://sites.google.com/site/bethlehemwritersgroup/home for further details.
And remember, please, we get loads of dog stories. Octopuses; that’s the ticket.
Thank you, A. E.. We all appreciate your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
SQF: How did the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable come to be?
A. E. Decker: That’s a question I’m not entirely equipped to answer, unfortunately. The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable was the brainchild of one or more members of The Bethlehem Writers’ Group, but they made the decision to start it while I was away at the Odyssey Writers’ Workshop for six weeks. I was out of communication, missed three or four meetings, and when I came back, our group leader, Carol Wright, started the meeting by discussing this thing called “The Roundtable.” It was quite a surprise for me!
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
AED: First, I’d like to mention that the BWG Roundtable accepts poetry as well as short stories. For the sake of this interview, however, I’ll focus on what I want to see in a story. The first, and by far the most important thing I look for, is a complete story. That’s more complicated than it sounds. A story has to introduce a character/characters, identify come sort of problem or conflict, and bring that conflict to a satisfactory—and hopefully interesting!—resolution.
So, with that stated as the first thing I’m looking for, the second thing I’m looking for is some quality that makes a story stand out from other submissions. Sometimes it’s really good character development, or an ending that surprises me, or exceptionally fine use of language. Humor! I love it when stories make me laugh, and I will add that editors tend to get far more deadly serious stories than deliberately amusing ones.
The third thing I look for is actually the first thing I notice: the mechanics of a story. I read every story I receive at least twice. The first reading is very quick, almost skimming the words. If I find myself stumbling over passages and having to go back and re-read, or reach the end of the story without having a clear idea of what it’s about, I’m less inclined to accept the story. I understand the occasional misspelling or missed comma—as writers, we’ve all been there—but repeated grammatical errors suggests that I’ve been sent a first draft rather than something that’s been proofed and revised.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
AED: I’m rarely actually “turned off” by any story. I’m a writer myself, and know how difficult the process is. Even though obvious mechanical errors exasperate me, I try to be understanding. If a story’s good, I can look beyond the mechanics to the meaning. The only stories that revolt me are the ones that seem to take delight in cruelty or grossness.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
AED: Character, style, setting, and conflict. Okay; I admit that’s a lot! The truth is, there’s no easy or set formula. I want my attention grabbed from the outset, but what appeals to me may not appeal to other editors. Fortunately, there are several editors on the BWG Roundtable’s staff, and although I make the ultimate decision as to what makes it into the magazine, I do allow the other editors to champion works they really like. Several stories have been accepted this way. For myself, I like character, originality, and, as mentioned earlier, humor. If you can start with a hilarious opening line and build from there, there’s a good chance I’ll like your work. I’m also a big fan of original takes on themes, so try to do something different.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
AED: We try to keep the BWG Roundtable to what would be called a PG-13 rating in the US. We don’t publish erotica or horror. A very discreet sex scene, with no mention of body parts, might be permissible. We give a very hard pass to anything containing racism, misogyny, homophobia, or cruelty to animals. We might ask writers to alter the use of any four-letter words during the editing process. These decisions were made with the consensus of the Bethlehem Writers’ Group, by the way. Some of us write horror and erotica, and I personally do use expletives in some of my writing. But, since the Roundtable is targeted at a general audience, we try to appeal to a broad audience rather than our own particular genres.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
AED: I’d like to discuss the topic of originality a bit more. Just for example, our autumn 2019 issue had the theme of “Family functions and dysfunctions” and we got a lot of very fine submissions—but they were all about human families. I’d have loved a story about, say, a robot family where the children kept squabbling over who was borrowing the other’s gears, or something like that. Or, take our short story competition with the “animal stories” theme. I’d say approximately ninety percent of the stories were about dogs, and almost all of the rest were cat stories. There are a lot of animals on this planet. Give me dolphins, spiders, rhinoceroses, yaks, toads, and octopuses! Especially octopuses.
Here's the thing: I’ve read a lot of stories. The first story that comes into your head is probably very similar to a story I’ve already read. Think how you can change it, make it different, make it your own. We all know the story Cinderella, right? What if Cinderella was a prostitute, and Prince Charming a CEO? That’s how they got Pretty Woman.
Now, what if Cinderella was a cat? A drag queen? A ninja warrior? What kind of story can you make going from those changes? That’s the kind of outside-the-box thinking I enjoy and would like to see more of.
By the way, speaking of our annual short story competition, it’s open again. We’re accepting submissions on our “animal stories” theme for the second year. Stories can be up to 2,000 words in length. The grand prize is $200 and publication in our upcoming anthology Fur, Feathers, and Scales. Please visit our site at https://sites.google.com/site/bethlehemwritersgroup/home for further details.
And remember, please, we get loads of dog stories. Octopuses; that’s the ticket.
Thank you, A. E.. We all appreciate your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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