John Joseph Adams's Blog, page 31
October 5, 2013
Codex Q&A: What do you wish you were seeing more of in the slush?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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What do you wish you were seeing more of in the slush? Particular themes, styles, content, details, settings…? This doesn’t mean we’ll spam you with those things, but insights like this are always interesting to hear!
Oh, you SAY that, but I totally would get inundated if I specified such things! So because of that I always try to avoid saying much of anything on that topic.
I guess if I’m being more general, it’s safe to say I’d like to see more Hard SF. I never see enough good Hard SF submitted.
Also, I’d be interested in seeing more stories in the 1500-4000 word count range. Seems like I’ve been getting a lot of (good) stories at the upper edge of our word count lately.
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
Codex Q&A: How do stories progress through the slush system?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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I’m interested in how the editorial process works at Lightspeed. For example: Do you have a big pool of slushers? How do stories progress through the system?
We do have a pretty big team of slush readers; the idea is that by having more on staff, it means that more attention can be devoted to each submission, and there’s less pressure on the readers to plow through everything. And if we’re going to keep to our goal of a 2-day turnaround, we need to have a large team just so the slush process can be flexible for the readers–not everyone has free time to devote every day, of course.
How our system works is:
All the stories come into the submission system and display in the order they are received.
A reader can login to the system and “claim” a submission, to let other readers know to work on something else.
Once the reader has read the submission, they process it by leaving a comment for me explaining what they thought of it and also assigning it a numerical rating on a scale of 1-10.
A score of 6 or higher makes the story a “Recommended,” meaning it goes into my reading pile and I’ll take a look at it. A rating of 5 or lower means that it’s not quite good enough; such stories I may or may not look at, depending on the reader’s comments and/or the author. There are a lot of authors I’ll look at their stories no matter what the reader says about it, just because I’ve read other good stuff by that author, etc.
I send out all the rejection letters myself, so a slush reader can’t accidentally reject something I wanted to look at. It takes a little extra time on my part to handle it that way, but it’s a good safeguard against anything being rejected by mistake.
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
October 4, 2013
Codex Q&A: Have you seen any particular themes or motifs in recent SF/F stories that strike you?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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This isn’t so much a question as a writer to an editor, but wondering if your TON of reading has given you insight: Have you seen any particular threads in recent SF/F stories, as far as themes or literary motifs, that strike you? Cultural shifts? In how the speculative elements are handled, for instance. Things that, looking back, you see are emerging in the SF/F scene of literature since you started editing?
Well, I detect resurgences of themes in the slush pile all the time; that’s one of the ways I identify what theme anthologies to pursue.
Otherwise, I’m not sure how to answer that without, like, doing Doctorate-level research into the last 10 years of my career or something. That kind of complex critical analysis isn’t really my forte, which is one of the reasons I hate writing introductions so much!
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
Codex Q&A: What are your favorite stories that you’ve published?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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What are your favorite stories that you’ve published? Perhaps, particularly, ones you feel didn’t get accolades/weren’t widely read?
Oh man, that’s almost impossible to answer! Restricting myself to say Lightspeed in 2012 (not counting anything published this year, since any accolades for that stuff is still potentially TK), off the top of my head I’d just say I was surprised that the following stories didn’t get more attention:
“Her Words Like Hunting Vixens Spring,” by Brooke Bolander
“How Many Miles to Babylon?” by Megan Arkenberg
“Family Teeth (Part 6): St. Polycarp’s Home for Happy Wanderers,” by Sarah Langan
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
October 3, 2013
Codex Q&A: What do you consider to be the most unusual story (or stories) you’ve published, and what made them successful?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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What do you consider to be the most unusual story (or stories) you’ve published –either in terms of character, plot, execution, or structure, and why do you feel it was successful?
“Arvies” by Adam-Troy Castro probably meets all of your criteria, and I think a large part of the reason it was so successful was that it was so unconventional and unlike anything I had ever read, and yet despite all that was a gripping story.
Another unconventional story that comes to mind are Jake Kerr’s “Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince,” which I think is successful largely because of how the world he built feels SO LARGE, even though the story is under 5000 words long. Another story of Jake’s–”Requiem in the Key of Prose”–is also very unconventional structure-wise, in a very different way.
Otherwise, Kat Howard’s “Choose Your Own Adventure” (Fantasy Magazine) and Vylar Kaftan’s “Civilization” (Brave New Worlds) both use the tropes of the choose-your-own-adventure narrative to great effect. (And Vylar’s story has one of the best last lines I can think of. Out of context it won’t sound like anything special, but in the context of the story it’s perfect.)
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
Codex Q&A: What do you value most in a story above all else?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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What do you value most in a story above all else–either in ones submitted to the magazines, or ones you’re just reading for personal pleasure? That thing that makes a story truly stand out to you and stick in your mind long after.
That’s a hard question to answer in general. When I’m first reading a story, what usually grabs me first is the voice or the style. I think looking back on things that stand out in my mind long after…in most cases it’s the concept the makes them most memorable to me, or maybe a great character (or some heartbreaking/tragic/amazing thing the character does). A great last line tends to really stick in my mind as well. (Like the last line of 1984–oh man!).
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
October 2, 2013
Codex Q&A: What is the process of selling an anthology to a publisher?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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What is the process of selling an anthology to a publisher? I understand how it works with novels, but how does the pitch process work? Do you have some of the authors on board already? Your agent takes your idea and approaches multiple publishers at once?
You’ve basically got it. You put together a proposal, then you recruit authors. Once you have a good number of established authors on board, your agent will shop the anthology to multiple publishers at once.
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
Codex Q&A: What are some of the biggest challenges running your magazines?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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You’re known for keeping your magazines running like clockwork. What are some of the biggest challenges in doing that?
I guess the biggest challenge is the fact that I have to rely on so many other people. To keep things on track, I have to do a lot of wrangling. There’s a lot of moving pieces putting together something like Lightspeed every month, and it takes a big team to manage it all. I guess, ultimately, the biggest challenge is finding the right people to rely on to do what they say they will do. I’ve had very good luck in recruiting devoted people who excel at what they do.
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
October 1, 2013
Codex Q&A: Why did you decide to start your own SF/F/H magazine?
In July 2013, I served as the “editor-in-residence” for the Codex Writing Group, which meant basically I was asking a month-long AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) interview. With Codex’s permission, I’m re-posting the Q&As here on my blog. The questions were all provided by members of Codex.
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Why did you decide to start your own SF/F/H magazine?
I was approached about the possibility by Sean Wallace of Prime Books. He was already publishing Fantasy Magazine, but he was interested in launching a science fiction magazine as well, and asked if I might be interested in editing it. Sean had published a couple of my anthologies at that point, so he was familiar with my taste. Once I agreed, Sean and I worked together to develop and shape what Lightspeed would be.
But more to the point: The reason I left F&SF to edit my own magazine is because once I started working in editorial, I almost immediately knew that I wanted to do it as a career and that one day I’d want to sit in the big chair (i.e., be the one making the final editorial decisions). I was able to do that with the anthologies I was editing, but it’s not quite the same has the pure editorial experience of editing a magazine–something that’s ongoing, with no theme (other than genre). I couldn’t just stay at F&SF and hope that the editor would get fired or retire. He couldn’t be fired because the editor and publisher was the same person (Gordon Van Gelder), and I couldn’t wait around for him to retire since he was only 10 years older than me. So editing my own magazine was pretty much my only option if I wanted to be the one calling the shots at a magazine.
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From October 1 – October 31, I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!, an anthology of improbable, futuristic, magical, & alternate-world crowdfunding projects. Please check it out, consider backing it, and, if you’re so inclined, spread the word!
Help Fund HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!
In the October 2013 issue of Lightspeed, you’ll find a story written in the form of a fictional Kickstarter pitch by Keffy R.M. Kehrli called “HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!” My first thought when I read the story was: This story is really funny. My second thought was: I should build an anthology around it. My third thought was: Obviously the anthology should be launched via Kickstarter.
So that’s what I’m doing. I’m running Keffy’s story in Lightspeed as an original, and simultaneously launching a Kickstarter for HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!! & Other Improbable Kickstarters, an anthology of futuristic, magical, alternate-world, and entirely fictional crowdfunding projects.
In addition to the anthology itself, there are lots of great prizes available, like subscriptions to Lightspeed and Nightmare, and signed copies of my anthologies. So, if you enjoy Keffy’s story and would like to read more stories like it, please do check out the Kickstarter and consider backing it. In addition to Keffy’s story (which will be the lone reprint in the anthology), the book will include works by folks such as Seanan McGuire, Daniel H. Wilson, Tim Pratt, Tobias S. Buckell, and Mary Robinette Kowal—along with works by Kickstarter phenoms such as Monte Cook (Numenera), David Malki (Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination), Michael J. Sullivan (Hollow World), and Matt Forbeck (12 for ’12)—and more! The Kickstarter ends October 31, so don’t delay!
