Skeleton Beetle is an online independent literary magazine. It is also an online independent literary press, as well as an independent online literary press, a literary online independent press, and an independent literary online magazine. Hopefully that clears some things up.
(Ceased publication)
Skeleton Beetle accepts submissions in three categories: prose, poetry, and anything else that suits your fancy. Is that crazy?
SQF: Why did you start this magazine?
Joey Cifelli: In a word: Salvation.
Freddy Smith: Next question.
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
JC: I’ll answer this question with a metaphor. We want stories that are zippo lighters. They’ve got to have that nice brass finish. We want them to do that satisfying *click* when we open them. They should burn hot and bright, but sustainably. We don’t want their gas to evaporate. When I close that lighter, I should feel like I’m on fire. Give us stories that give us third degree burns.
FS: Something moving, that contains ideas. Entertaining. Humourous. Explodes off our computer screens as we read it, the sparks fizzling down to our feet as we finish. And then when we sweep up the embers, they glow, and in the nighttime the waste bin we’ve put them into catches on fire, and the whole building has to evacuate. And it turns out the computer had broken down, and the battery had become swollen and overheated. And the man who has come to fix it is a blabbering bigot but we need the computer fixed so we stay quiet. What was the question?
JC & FS (in unison): Oh yes, the top three things we look for in a submission are: intriguing ideas, thoughtful organization, and a link to something deeper.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
FS: Typos. Anything that indicates a lack of proofreading, really.
JC: Hookless, pointless, lacks clarity, boring, no sizzle, plot holes, bad grammar, lackluster imagination, poorly written, bad.
FS: We don’t have strict guidelines, so the best examples of what we’re looking for will be in each issue, which you can check out at our website.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
FS: If a submission should take the tops of our heads off, the opening should probably start by grabbing it.
JC: We like a good concept. A concept we can put between our teeth and really bite into like a fresh pair of loins.
FS: Hmm. I think I’ll handle this one actually. This may be controversial to admit, but after the first read-through we don’t always start at the beginning of a submission we are reviewing. A hook is still important, whether it’s an unusual and interesting concept, or a concise establishment of tone. However, what is more important is that the opening informs and adds to the submission. Your writing is like a house, and the opening is the front door. It should make a good first impression, but it shouldn’t be incidental.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
FS: Non-historical creative nonfiction is a hard sell. We are not officially a speculative fiction magazine, but we do err in that direction.
JC: This is a difficult question to answer. We like to think that we’ll give anything a shot if it’s written well enough. That being said, it’s hard to justify offensive material with no purpose.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
JC: If you could talk to any species of animal, what would it be?
FS: Humans.
JC (visibly annoyed): You can already talk to humans Freddy.
FS: But then I could talk to all of them.
JC: I think the clear choices, for myself, are whales, elephants, bears, cats, and some kind of bird. Crows, I’ll say. Crows are smart.
Thank you, Joey and Freddie. We all appreciate your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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