"Cheek Teeth is the blog of TRACHODON magazine, updated twice weekly in the following categories: Flash Fiction, Features, Reviews, Touché, and Fossils."
(ceased publication)
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a story and why?
KS: When it comes to flash fiction, a writer only has so many words to get the job done. Even still, the stories we publish come to a natural completion—either through tying up loose ends, a slight shift in mood, or (my personal favorite) a particularly fitting metaphor.
Next, I look for uniqueness of voice or perspective. Voice doesn’t always mean five syllable words and perspective doesn’t always mean point of view. What I’m talking about here is a narrator or character’s particular way of seeing the world. Do they notice the fingerprints on the window, or the majestic view on the other side? Do they hear the clock’s incessant second hand, or laughter coming from across the street?
Finally, I look for stories of smart surprise. Smart surprise works best when a writer can create a world or character so thoroughly, that readers go along for the ride without question. The surprise comes into play when that thoroughness is disrupted or confirmed in a crafted manner that enhances story.
SQF: What are the top three reasons a story is rejected, other than not fitting into your answers to question one and why?
KS: If a story doesn’t have sensory detail, metaphor, or powerful verbs, I get pretty grumpy. Verbs are a writer’s primary tool for moving the story forward. Choosing bland verbs and skimping on detail leads directly to lack of metaphor. Without metaphor, I find myself asking, “So what?”
If a story isn’t properly formatted or punctuated, especially for dialogue, I get impatient. When a writer only has so many words to get the job done, clarity matters tenfold. If I have to stop because I can’t tell whether a white space is intentional or if a line of dialogue is spoken or internal monologue, I’m likely to pass on the story.
If a story relies on the spectacles of aggression, violation, violence, or out-of-this-world oddities that make no move toward crafted literary completion, I will not accept it for publication. Extraordinarily disturbing stories have been written and received much-deserved literary fame—but their trump isn’t in their shock value, it’s in their crafting.
SQF: What other mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a story?
KS: There aren’t any others. It’s almost always common mistakes that lead to rejection—imprecise word choice, careless formatting, and lack of imagination. In other words, same as above.
SQF: What is the best part of being an editor?
KS: The best part about being an editor is the privilege of publishing another author’s words. Managing a publication like Cheek Teeth keeps me connected to the literary world that I also depend upon for my livelihood. It’s a way of contributing to something bigger while also continuing to grow individually.
I also get a little giddy when an author I respect responds to a solicitation. It feels like receiving a compliment on behalf of a publication I’ve worked hard to be a part of, and it often sparks the beginning of a connection that can lead to some great email conversations following publication.
SQF: I read a comment by one editor who said she keeps a blacklist of authors who respond to a rejection in a less than professional manner. I'm sure you know what I mean. What do you want authors to know about the stories you reject and how authors should respond? Along this same idea, do you mind if authors reply with polite questions about the comments they receive?
KS: Establishing rapport with anyone interested in Cheek Teeth is important to me, and there’s nothing I admire more than a writer willing to seek advice to give something another shot. I don’t mind if an author rejected by Cheek Teeth replies with a polite question, but I appreciate it if that question comes with the expressed desire to improve the story and/or submit additional work to Cheek Teeth in the future.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
KS: I wish you’d asked about the number of writers submitting work compared to the number of writers subscribing to literary magazines. How much overlap is there? How many writers submitting fiction today have also read at least five literary magazines cover-to-cover in the past year? Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer.
I do know from my 10 years of experience with four different literary magazines, that the number of submitters very often outweighs the number of subscribers. Being a writer who doesn’t support the publishing industry is like being a farmer who doesn’t eat produce. I don’t care what you read, just read. And read with abandon. Read magazines you trust and magazines you’ve never heard of before. Give lit mag subscriptions as birthday presents or graduation gifts. Chances are, you’ll make someone’s day and improve your own writing and knowledge of the publishing industry at the same time.
Thank you, Katey. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
NEXT POST: 10/27-Six Questions for Laura Roberts, Editor, Black Heart Magazine
Showing posts with label zCheek Teeth (CP). Show all posts
Showing posts with label zCheek Teeth (CP). Show all posts
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Six Questions for John Carr Walker, Editor, Publisher, Trachodon
"TRACHODON the magazine is born in the spirit of revisiting and renewing the old. Old ideas, old things, and old ways of working. We believe literature and art, in all forms, are timeless, but how they are encountered changes dramatically generation to generation."
(ceased publication)
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a story and why?
JCW: Clarity, competence, and conflict. I see too many stories that try to be mysterious, to play games with the reader. I like works to be front-loaded--subtly if possible--and direct. Red-herrings and misinformation I find annoying, unless it's Nabakov, who, let's face it, is a magician. Likewise, deliberately poor grammar, misspellings, run-ons and sentence fragments don't in themselves create voice, or style, or do anything but tempt a reader (or editor) to stop reading. Finally, when I say conflict, I mean both tension and action. I want adventure, risk, something life-changing to be at stake.
SQF: What are the top three reasons a story is rejected, other than not fitting into your answers to question one and why?
JCW: Those three reasons. Often a story is rejected because of all three, which I think suggests that authors have sent us work that's too new. Stories that are still in a state of becoming, still cooking. Remember that a journal editor is different from a book editor: we need to accept stories that are very nearly print-ready. We can't spend months, or even days, working with an author to shape and polish a manuscript. It's got to be ready before it's submitted.
SQF: What other mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a story?
JCW: I hesitate to use the word "mistakes." Other than those usage errors I mentioned earlier, which are annoying, it's not mistakes that turn me off. It's incompleteness. It's a lack of imagination, or lack of story, or lack of character, etc. If the story doesn't promise me something in the beginning and then fulfill its promise in the end I won't be publishing it.
SQF: What is it about the characters in a story that makes them pop off the page and grab hold of you?
JCW: That's a hard question. There are so many ways. It often comes down to the telling detail--a bit of description, a turn of phrase, a line of dialogue. Telling detail is, of course, always concrete, even when it's figurative. Short stories are especially hard because a writer doesn't have the opportunity to linger over a character's thoughts, features, or habits as a novelist does. The story must keep moving forward, always forward. Consistency, too, is important. A short story writer has to expose a character's fault or weak point early on, and then test that fault or weak point. Really, character has as much to do with story as anything else. The character in context is what matters most. And if we're talking about flash, I think character is secondary to the language of a work. Like I said, it's a hard question to answer in brief.
SQF: I read a comment by one editor who said she keeps a blacklist of authors who respond to a rejection in a less than professional manner. I'm sure you know what I mean. What do you want authors to know about the stories you reject and how authors should respond? Along this same idea, do you mind if authors reply with polite questions about the comments they receive?
JCW: Keeping a blacklist is taking it too far, in my opinion, but I can understand how the frustration might get to you. If a writer receives a form rejection, don't respond to the editor at all. That's my advice. I'm fine with a writer following-up if I've commented directly on his or her work, but keep in mind that I'm not, and won't be, a lit coach. Dropping a "thank you" to the editor who took the time to comment is a nice gesture. Sending something else, a few months or a year later, is more than welcome. Hoped for, even. I would avoid "what did you mean by?" kind of questions. I don't respond to those simply because I've moved on to the next thing.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
JCW: Read the journals you're submitting to. Buy journals whenever possible. If that means submitting fewer stories a year, so be it. Honor those you'd have honor you. Support the work of those you'd have support your work. If you simply can't afford to buy lit journals, put in the time at a library reading room. If you can't do that, then read and submit to online journals. There are tons of great ones. If that's not a possibility either, then I think the writer needs to rethink his or her life. I liken submitters who don't read literary journals to that student who MUST answer all of the teacher's questions, comments on every passing remark, wants to argue every point on whatever side. It's exhausting, frustrating, childish and anti-social. Don't be that person. If you're submitting to journals, read journals. If that sounds impossible or distasteful, I don't know . . . good luck.
Thank you, John. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
NEXT POST: 7/18--Six Questions for Cheryl Anne Gardner, Contributing Editor, Apocrypha & Abstractions
(ceased publication)
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a story and why?
JCW: Clarity, competence, and conflict. I see too many stories that try to be mysterious, to play games with the reader. I like works to be front-loaded--subtly if possible--and direct. Red-herrings and misinformation I find annoying, unless it's Nabakov, who, let's face it, is a magician. Likewise, deliberately poor grammar, misspellings, run-ons and sentence fragments don't in themselves create voice, or style, or do anything but tempt a reader (or editor) to stop reading. Finally, when I say conflict, I mean both tension and action. I want adventure, risk, something life-changing to be at stake.
SQF: What are the top three reasons a story is rejected, other than not fitting into your answers to question one and why?
JCW: Those three reasons. Often a story is rejected because of all three, which I think suggests that authors have sent us work that's too new. Stories that are still in a state of becoming, still cooking. Remember that a journal editor is different from a book editor: we need to accept stories that are very nearly print-ready. We can't spend months, or even days, working with an author to shape and polish a manuscript. It's got to be ready before it's submitted.
SQF: What other mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a story?
JCW: I hesitate to use the word "mistakes." Other than those usage errors I mentioned earlier, which are annoying, it's not mistakes that turn me off. It's incompleteness. It's a lack of imagination, or lack of story, or lack of character, etc. If the story doesn't promise me something in the beginning and then fulfill its promise in the end I won't be publishing it.
SQF: What is it about the characters in a story that makes them pop off the page and grab hold of you?
JCW: That's a hard question. There are so many ways. It often comes down to the telling detail--a bit of description, a turn of phrase, a line of dialogue. Telling detail is, of course, always concrete, even when it's figurative. Short stories are especially hard because a writer doesn't have the opportunity to linger over a character's thoughts, features, or habits as a novelist does. The story must keep moving forward, always forward. Consistency, too, is important. A short story writer has to expose a character's fault or weak point early on, and then test that fault or weak point. Really, character has as much to do with story as anything else. The character in context is what matters most. And if we're talking about flash, I think character is secondary to the language of a work. Like I said, it's a hard question to answer in brief.
SQF: I read a comment by one editor who said she keeps a blacklist of authors who respond to a rejection in a less than professional manner. I'm sure you know what I mean. What do you want authors to know about the stories you reject and how authors should respond? Along this same idea, do you mind if authors reply with polite questions about the comments they receive?
JCW: Keeping a blacklist is taking it too far, in my opinion, but I can understand how the frustration might get to you. If a writer receives a form rejection, don't respond to the editor at all. That's my advice. I'm fine with a writer following-up if I've commented directly on his or her work, but keep in mind that I'm not, and won't be, a lit coach. Dropping a "thank you" to the editor who took the time to comment is a nice gesture. Sending something else, a few months or a year later, is more than welcome. Hoped for, even. I would avoid "what did you mean by?" kind of questions. I don't respond to those simply because I've moved on to the next thing.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
JCW: Read the journals you're submitting to. Buy journals whenever possible. If that means submitting fewer stories a year, so be it. Honor those you'd have honor you. Support the work of those you'd have support your work. If you simply can't afford to buy lit journals, put in the time at a library reading room. If you can't do that, then read and submit to online journals. There are tons of great ones. If that's not a possibility either, then I think the writer needs to rethink his or her life. I liken submitters who don't read literary journals to that student who MUST answer all of the teacher's questions, comments on every passing remark, wants to argue every point on whatever side. It's exhausting, frustrating, childish and anti-social. Don't be that person. If you're submitting to journals, read journals. If that sounds impossible or distasteful, I don't know . . . good luck.
Thank you, John. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
NEXT POST: 7/18--Six Questions for Cheryl Anne Gardner, Contributing Editor, Apocrypha & Abstractions
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