Six Questions for Sue Babcock, Non-fiction Editor and Business Manager for Liquid Imagination

Liquid Imagination publishes fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories and poetry and articles on writing. Beginning in May of 2010, the magazine will add literary fiction to each issue. The editors accept short stories from 200 to 5000 words. (Stories around 3000 words are preferred.) One aspect of Liquid Imagination that distinguishes it from other publications is its use of imagery, music, and voice to enhance the written work that appears on the site. 

(Ceased publicaiton)


SQF: Why did the editors start this magazine?

SB: The idea of merging different art forms—fiction, poetry, art, music, voice—so intrigued the founding publisher that he had to put together an online magazine just to see if he could do it.

I took over the rather daunting task of website building with Issue 4. I had no experience with websites, but the publisher was floundering and I thought, hey, I’ve programmed computers in the past, how hard could this be? Well—the answer is hard, but FUN!

We put Issue 5 up in January. As I’ve taken on more of the website building, the publisher has more time and energy to think ahead. (I promised I wouldn’t talk about him, but Liquid Imagination would not exist without John Arthur Miller, its enthusiastic publisher and founder.)

At first it was all writing and art. Even as we add music to our poetry and voice to our stories, we have even bigger plans for the future. I’m expanding my website creation and design skills, we’re expanding the arts beyond fiction, poetry, art, music and voice; we want to stay on the edge of the arts.


SQF: What kinds of non-fiction articles are you looking for and how do you select them?

SB: We seek articles about writing and about writing experiences. We also publish interviews with authors we think will interest our readers.

Articles can talk about what makes a good writer, what it is like to struggle day after day to put just the right words into a story, what makes a good story, a good plot, a good character. We also love articles about the creative process—ways to stimulate the right brain, ways to move ahead when you are stuck.

For most of the articles, we solicit them specifically for each issue. However, I am open to unsolicited articles as well.


SQF: Can anyone submit an article? How?

SB: Yes, anyone can submit an article. It’s something we don’t advertise much, because we prefer to concentrate on the fiction and poems. And how is a good question. An article can be sent to either of the fiction submission addresses. By including the words “submission” and “article” in the subject, it will find its way to me.

Obviously, something I need to consider is expanding the guidelines to include more information about articles and non-fiction submissions.


SQF: What advice can you offer a writer who wishes to submit to Liquid Imagination?

SB: For non-fiction, write an article about something you are credible to talk about. One of our regular non-fiction contributors is Right-Brain Coach Dare Kent. She has training and experience with helping people find their creative center, and I always enjoy her articles and her help. If you have self-publishing experience, write a strong, concise, advice-driven article about self-publishing. Show us how it is done. Provide information that may not be available to everyone. I’m not looking for generalities or fancy language. I want something that is accessible and clear.


SQF: Will you publish an article that has been previously posted on a personal blog?

SB: Yes. One of our other regular contributors, AJ Brown, writes an excellent blog, and we often cross publish him. And we’re happy to link back to the personal blog. But there must be a point to the article, and I like to know when an article has been previously published.


SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

SB: One question that comes to my mind is: why non-fiction in a magazine such as Liquid Imagination, which so strongly seeks creativity, intensity and awe in their poetry and fiction? My answer is that not only do we love to read and write, we want others to love it, too. And by publishing non-fiction articles related to the creative process, or to any phase of writing, we hope to encourage and educate authors to keep writing, to never give up, to write what they love, and to remember to read.


Thank you, Sue. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

NEXT POST: 5/28--Six Questions for Chrissy Davis, Poetry Editor, Liquid Imagination

Six Questions for Chrissy Davis, Poetry Editor, Liquid Imagination

Liquid Imagination publishes fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories and poetry and articles on writing. Beginning in May of 2010, the magazine will add literary fiction to each issue. The editors accept short stories from 200 to 5000 words. (Stories around 3000 words are preferred.) One aspect of Liquid Imagination that distinguishes it from other publications is its use of imagery, music, and voice to enhance the written work that appears on the site. 

(Ceased publication)


SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a poem and why?

CD:

• Fresh or vivid imagery—I want the poem to paint a picture in my head. If you’re writing about being stalked by a rabid troll or the time you met a fairy, I want to believe it happened.
• A strong sense of emotion—We are a fantasy/horror/sci-fi e-zine, so obviously the majority of the poetry will not be from real life experience; but I want to be drawn into the writer’s world and feel it happening as if it were real. I want it to make me catch my breath and be compelled to read it again.
• Consistency with the rhythm or tempo of the poem—Rhyming is not necessary but following a consistent rhythm makes for a better poem. And sometimes it will start off this way but by the end of the poem it is completely on another track.

SQF: What are the top three reasons a poem is rejected, other than not fitting into your answers to question one and why?

CD:

• It doesn’t fall into the genre of Liquid Imagination
• Forced rhymes. If you do choose to use rhymes, make sure they don’t feel forced. It makes it seem like the writer was desperate to keep the rhyme going.
• No structure whatsoever. A good poem will usually have some kind of structure or form to it. For example, think about stanzas or line breaks. Decide if you will use punctuation; and if you do, then be consistent throughout the poem.

SQF: What other mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a poem?

CD:

• Clichés. Some things have just been played out, so I like a turn or twist on the usual. Make it unique.
• If it’s too long. Sometimes you can say more with less.

SQF: Do you provide comments when you reject a poem?

CD: Sometimes yes and sometimes no.  I think that I am still uncomfortable with this because I look at myself and say who the heck am I to tell someone what to do with their poem. I may offer a couple of suggestions on how I think it can be improved; but I am passionate about poetry, and I have this belief that a poem comes from your inner core or your guts. It is raw emotion sometimes; and if that is what someone has to say, then it is beautiful in its own way. . . just maybe not for Liquid Imagination. :)


SQF: Approximately what percentage of the poems submitted do you accept?

CD: That is hard to say because it would depend on how many submissions I received for that issue. I can say that I am limited in the number of poets and the number of poems for each issue that I can use. I think the last one has 10 poets on there. This is a big reason many are not accepted. I have to choose what I think would be best for that issue. And I really try and give new or emerging poets a shot. I know what it feels like to be accepted for the first time. 


SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

CD: Hmmmmm, good question. . .. Well how about :

When someone makes these mistakes does it turn you off to that poet so they will have a hard time being accepted later?

Absolutely not! I believe the only way to write good poetry is to write bad poetry first. All these mistakes I mentioned I have made plenty of. Even after the release of my book Raven’s Brew, I would look back and go “Wow, I really put that one in there??!!”  But, oh well, we all learn and become better that way. As long as I have lots of really great poems too, then I can be proud of my mistakes. Now I am working on Volume II and feel much more confident. It’s the only way to learn! So please keep the submissions coming! I love getting each and every one whether it is accepted to Liquid Imagination or not.


Thank you, Chrissy. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

Six Questions for Kevin Wallis, Fiction Editor, Liquid Imagination

Six Questions for Kevin Wallis, Fiction Editor, Liquid Imagination

Liquid Imagination publishes fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories and poetry and articles on writing. Beginning in May of 2010, the magazine will add literary fiction to each issue. The editors accept short stories from 200 to 5000 words. (Stories around 3000 words are preferred.) One aspect of Liquid Imagination that distinguishes it from other publications is its use of imagery, music, and voice to enhance the written work that appears on the site. 

(Ceased publication)


SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a story and why?

KW:

1. An actual story to tell. I receive many stories that don't fulfill this requirement. If I find myself scratching my head after the end and wondering what exactly the point of the story was, it's not right for Liquid Imagination, no matter how well written it is. I notice this more in flash pieces, which are a particularly hard sell with me. There's such a fine balance between a well-written flash that tells a complete story and one that would be better suited for a longer format.
2. Intensity. The story has to evoke some kind of emotion as I read, whether it's tension, suspense, humor, sadness, whatever. But emotion has to be a part of it. Make me laugh, make my heart race, bring tears to my eyes, just make me react physically to the words on the page.
3. Good writing skills. This doesn't mean it has to be 100% error-free, or contain prose that would make Steinbeck envious, but I want to see evidence that the writer has studied the art form at least a little, has a decent grasp on the basics such as punctuation and grammar, and takes his or her work seriously.

SQF: What are the top three reasons a story is rejected, other than not fitting into your answers to question one and why?

KW: This answer coincides closely with my answer for question 1.

The story needs to be complete. In other words, it needs a beginning, middle, and end. This may be one reason why I don't accept too much flash fiction. So much of it feels incomplete to me; and although I've been told by flash writers that I am merely ignorant of the art form, I can't help but feel that way. I want a complete story. This doesn't mean the ending has to be spelled out and wrapped up neatly; I actually prefer the opposite--ambiguity, mystery, leaving some things to the reader's imagination.

I also reject many stories that are so full of typos, grammar mistakes, and punctuation errors that it would take me too much time to correct. Inattention to the details leads me to believe the author either does not take his or her work seriously, or does not take Liquid Imagination seriously. I am more than happy to edit the story and correct a few inevitable mistakes here or there, but I now receive enough quality submissions that I can afford to pass on stories full of errors.

The number one reason I reject stories is probably due to lack of intensity. We state in LI's guidelines that we are looking for intensity and awe, so I find myself passing on more and more stories that don't elicit these emotions as I read, regardless of how well-written the story may be.


SQF: What common mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a story?

KW: This isn't so much a mistake, but I don't usually accept unoriginal stories. In other words, if a story is cliched, or involves a plot line seen a thousand times before (The narrator turns out to be a ghost! It was all a dream! They're really on Earth!!!), it's gonna be rejected.

I really don't adhere to the standard "rules" when deciding if a story is worth accepting. I don't scream every time I see passive voice, or throw a manuscript in the trash because the story starts with dialogue. If it's an intriguing and emotional story and is well-written (not perfectly written), then it is strongly considered.


SQF: Do you provide comments when you reject a story?

KW: Always. If LI ever gets to the point where I'm receiving fifty subs a day like some of the big dogs, maybe I'll have to resort to the dreaded form rejection; but I'm gonna do everything in my power to avoid that. Having a rejected writer respond with gratitude for whatever advice I might have given is one of the reasons I love doing this.


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?

KW: Anyone who has ever received a rejection letter--and I've received hundreds more than I've given out--knows that thick skin is a necessity in this business. That being said, I encourage replies to my rejections as long as it is done professionally. It's never personal. I've had many rejected writers reply, either asking for clarification as to my reasoning, or if they can send more work, although I usually state in a rejection if I'd like to see more from a particular writer.

I've been lucky, however. To date, I have had only one rejected writer respond with anger and ego, and his reply was so arrogant that I could only laugh.

As for blacklisting, I don't really believe in it unless 1) plagiarism is involved (I had to deal with a case of plagiarism several months ago), or 2) an author has repeatedly proven difficult and unprofessional to work with. In those cases, I would simply write the offending person and ask him or her to stop sending me submissions.


SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

KW: Who has been the biggest influence on your early writing and editing career?

John "JAM" Miller and AJ Brown have easily been the two biggest, most positive influences in helping me become a (hopefully) competent editor and writer. I owe them more than I can repay. I hope to buy them a beer one day; but since neither of them drinks, I plan on drinking their beers and buying them Diet Vanilla Coke Zero. Or anything but Kool-Aid. Never let AJ drink Kool-Aid. It's . . . not pretty.

Thanks a million for your time, Mr. Harrington. I sincerely appreciate it.

Thank you, Kevin. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

NEXT POST: 6/2--Six Questions for Ellen Parker, Editor, Frigg

Six Questions for Sherri Ellerman, Flash Fiction Editor, Liquid Imagination

Liquid Imagination publishes fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories (to 5000 words, 3000 preferred) and poetry, articles on writing, literary fiction, and flash fiction from 200-999 words in any genre. One aspect of Liquid Imagination that distinguishes it from other publications is its use of imagery, music, and voice to enhance the written work that appears on the site. 

(Ceased publication)

SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?

Sherri Ellerman: 

Depth: I often over-think things, and I seek a deeper meaning in most everything. Both of these are factors in the choices I make with submissions. I tend to look for meaning behind a story or at least a revelation within it.

The author’s trust in the reader: I would rather miss something in a story than have every little detail spelled out. One of my favorite authors, Ann Marie McDonald, demonstrates perfectly how to trust the reader. She is able to show so much without coming right out and saying it. This can sometimes lead to unanswered questions, but that is often a trademark of flash fiction anyway.

Clarity of the characters: A writer of flash fiction has so few words in which to develop his characters. His ability to do so efficiently is something I look for in submissions.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?

SE: Besides a lack of the above mentioned, it would be an obvious disregard for proper grammar and usage. I am strict on myself concerning this when I write, so those mistakes bother me. Because of that, they are a distraction from the story. I will accept a piece that I have to edit and work with the author on, but it has to be really good in every other way that matters.
SQF: Will you publish a submission an author posted on a personal blog? 

SE: We prefer pieces of writing that aren’t already available to readers on the internet. How can we surprise our readers with fresh ideas if we are publishing something that they may have already seen?

SQF: Your guidelines state stories that "surprise us with fresh ideas and language” have the best chance of being accepted. Is there a particular story (or stories) that stand out as examples of this? Why?

SE: Going Under by J.J. Roth

This story drew me in with all of its subtle metaphors and symbolism. It could technically work even if the reader misses both, so it took a lot of trust from the author to let the readers see what he intended for them to see. He kept the language simple yet was able to show so much with the details he chose to include in his descriptions
SQF: What magazines do you read?

SE: To be honest, I can’t recall the last time I bought a magazine. If I have a lot of time to read, I will pick up a book. For a small window of time, I will go to the internet—to online magazines. I know that sites put together well, like Liquid Imagination and Fabula Argentea, will always have something to offer.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

SE: When I submit a piece for possible publication, I often wonder about the editor who will ultimately decide to decline it or consider it. If I could ask just one question of an editor who will be reading one of my flash submissions, it would be this:

“How did you become interested in flash fiction?”

His answer will give me a strong indication of what he is looking for in submissions.

My Answer: Because I have a limited amount of time to write, I was getting bogged down in finishing my longer projects. Flash gave me an opportunity to write shorter pieces that contained complete story arcs but took less time to complete. I found the same satisfaction in reading flash fiction.

Thank you, Sherri. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

NEXT POST: 9/5—Six Questions for Dash, Editor, Expanded Horizons

Six Questions for Robert James Russell and Elizabeth Schmuhl, Editors, Cheap Pop

Cheap Pop publishes micro fiction of no more than 500 words. Read the complete guidelines here.

SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?

Elizabeth Schmuhl: Pop-i-ness, originality, and clarity.

Robert James Russell: Quality, resonation, unforgettable-ness

SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?

ES: I'm not excited by clichés, furthering hetero-normative behavior or stereotypes, or clunky language.

RJR: 500 words isn’t a lot of room. We want to see a story that pops—that, in a small amount of room, elicits some sort of reaction. It’s entirely possible to do this, to write a story in a small amount of space, so for me, the number one thing that turns me off is not taking a chance. Hell, your story could be about your grandpa sitting on a comfy chair musing about the world, but I want to see you taking a chance with it—unique dialog or an interesting approach. Make us not be able to stop thinking about your piece after we read it.

SQF: Will you publish a submission an author posted on a personal blog? 

ES: We are interested in submissions that have not been published before, whether on a personal blog or other personally managed site.

RJR: Not much more to say! We want to see only original work at this time.

SQF: What is it that makes a story pop?

ES: For me, a strong, clear voice makes a story pop. I enjoy work that takes me immediately into the world of a story. I want to be transported. I also like texts that offer new ways of seeing. The marginalized, the bizarre, the unthinkable, all of these catch my attention.

RJR: Hate to just agree, but I’m going to: No matter what your story is about, I want to be immediately taken into it. I want to be able to picture it in my mind and feel it. Make me not be able to forget you or your story. And this doesn’t mean every piece has to be experimental or “weird” or anything like that—I just want it to stick with me, no matter what it’s about. That, to me, is what “pop” is all about.

SQF: What magazines do you read?

ES: A hell of a lot of literary magazines and Sports Illustrated, especially issues with Kate Upton on the cover.

RJR: Right now I’m obsessed with Lucky Peach. Also: there are so many fantastic journals out there in the world (print and online) that I can hardly keep them straight. It’s a good time for journals.

SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

ES: Authors whose short fiction you enjoy because it pops? Etgar Keret, Aimee Bender, and Haruki Murakami.

RJR: Best literary-themed cocktail? Tequila Mockingbird.

Thank you, Elizabeth and Robert. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

NEXT POST: 8/29—Six Questions for Sherri Ellerman, Flash Fiction Editor, Liquid Imagination

Six Questions for Jon Konrath, Editor, Air in the Paragraph Line

Air in the Paragraph Line publishes "fiction and non-fiction with an emphasis on outsider, absurdist, and experimental writing." AITPL is published twice a year, and each print  issue (also available for the Kindle) is based on a theme. Themes and word counts are posted online. 

(Ceased publication)


SQF: Why did you start this magazine?

JK: I did a music zine back in the early nineties, during the huge zine explosion back then, and got bored of writing record reviews for obscure European death metal bands, but really enjoyed reading some of the personal zines I got in the mail. There was an abundance of titles like Cometbus, where a person would pour out their heart in a 64-page photocopied booklet, and I wanted to do something similar to promote my own writing, or at least have a way to keep current with my readers between bigger projects in the pre-blog era. I also got my first corporate job in the tech industry and found a photocopier in one of our buildings that nobody knew about, and absolutely had to come up with some kind of project to burn up thousands of pages of paper and toner.

After doing a few issues of just my own writing and news, I realized I'd have a lot more cross-pollinization if I opened things up to a few friends who were also writers, so their loyal readers would see my writing and vice-versa. 


SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a story and why?

JK: Readability is a big factor in what I choose. Even though I'm a big fan of nonlinear and experimental writing, I enjoy a story with a strong narrative that keeps the pages turning. A big part of AITPL's focus is having a solid book of immersive fiction, instead of things that are completely asemic simply for the purpose of being complicated.

That said, I really do like something unconventional. There are plenty of lit journals out there within the academic-industrial complex that churn out a constant stream of MFA-produced Raymond Carver derivatives, and I like anything that's firmly outside of that box.

I also appreciate supporting writers who fall outside the herd, as far as people who are writing strictly because they enjoy writing, as opposed to people who are shrewdly career building and are more concerned about the art of self-promotion than the art of the actual story they're presenting.


SQF: What are the top three reasons a story is rejected, other than not fitting into your answers to the above question and why?

JK: The biggest reason, something that I loosely define on my requirements page, is when something is "the usual." I get a lot of stories that are either incredibly genre-specific, or are very pedestrian; and they don't stand out. I think if I can easily categorize a story, I'll pass on it. When I find myself saying "well, it's sort of sci-fi, but it's sort of absurd, but it's sort of drunken modernist, but it's also part DVD player manual"... that's when I earmark it.

I really don't like when people don't read or follow our requirements. Like I get at least a submission a month by a different college freshman that's an extremely formulaic story about how her grandmother died. Even after I specifically called out in my requirements that I would not publish a story about someone's grandmother dying (unless maybe their grandmother dropped bad acid at Altamont, started dressing like Josef Stalin, and eventually got sent to prison for stealing sex machines from a local gray-market Japanese industrial robot reseller), I still keep getting these stories. I'm actually thinking of publishing a collection of them.

I also don't like it when a contributor makes crazy demands from a layout perspective. The best contributors are those who send Word documents with no special formatting, no spelling errors, and no special requests, so I can easily pour their work into the general template of the book. When I get a tone poem from someone who insists that it has to be triple-spaced, published in Comic Sans with right-justified text, and gives me a file in the Spanish version of WordPerfect 4.2 for DOS with a floppy disk of Corel Draw pictures, I tend to move it to the bottom of the pile.


SQF: What is it about the characters in a story that makes them pop off the page and grab hold of you?

JK: We all know to not write characters that "say" and focus on characters that "do," but I've always enjoyed characters that did things, like little mannerisms or tics or oddities, that don't belong to the central plot or story, but define the character in some way that's compelling to me. And those stand out more when the writer adds some quality that's something I would do, but never thought of vocalizing.

One of my favorite examples of this is Richard Russo's The Risk Pool, and the way he crafts Ned's father, not only by his exploits, but how he moves, acts and does things with a certain groove that reminds you of someone you know from decades ago; but you can't remember who. Russo hasn't been submitting anything to me, but one of my favorite authors from AITPL's roster is probably John Sheppard. His book Small Town Punk is a study in describing characters from a run-down Sarasota of the Reagan era, and he keeps that going in a lot of the short stories we've published.


SQF: Will you publish a story an author posted on a personal blog?

JK: I'm not that uptight about not having first publication rights or reprinting something that was on the web or somewhere else. My main red flag about stories that originated on a blog is that blogs in general are a much shorter form of communication and have such a fire-and-forget quality that they don't foster as much depth or quality as I'd like. I prefer something that's at least a few pages long, maybe around the 5,000-word mark, and I think the average blog post is probably only a few hundred words long. That said, there are some people who are taking quality writing that was carefully honed and edited and breaking it up into bite-size chunks on blogs, and I'm all for that. 


SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

JK: I think everyone wants to talk about how horrible print-on-demand is and how it's a huge stigma and it will cause your teeth to fall out and give you adult onset diabetes and keep you in purgatory for a thousand years. We've used POD to publish, because it's a close analog to the web publishing paradigm; anyone can post, and there aren't insane up-front costs involved, but you get what you pay for. POD is not a magic bullet that solves the publicity issue, and maybe lowering the bar to enable anyone to publish a book does create some crap. But it lets me publish a lot of stuff by people who don't attract literary agents or huge book deals. And it lets me focus on writing as a craft, not trying to predict what the next big trend in lesbian vampire empowerment books or whatever's popular this second so I can make a sure bet and justify a huge print run.


Thank you, Jon. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

NEXT POST: 5/26--Six Questions for Sue Babcock, Non-fiction Editor and Business Manager for Liquid Imagination