Submission guidelines (aka, Good copyeditor, bad copyeditor)

[Phy]

So here's the thing - we're always on the lookout for great new stories, but if you want an edge when submitting stories at Ray Gun Revival, there's a dirty little secret you'll want to know about before you do.

• Read the Submissions Guidelines
• Follow the Submissions Guidelines

I mean, really - it doesn't get any more simple than that.

Let's say one of our Slushmasters approaches Overlord Lee:
"Overlord Lee, could you read these two stories? We're a story short for this issue, and are considering buying one of these. They're both good, however opinions are divided, so we want you to choose."

"Most certainly."

*she begins to read first story*

Her face, initially so calm and beatific, clouds over.

I feel the disturbance in the Force, and look over. "What is it," I ask.

She gestures wildly, nearly knocking over <edit: nix 'coffee'> a nice darjeeling. "The author didn't use centering, but tabbed to the middle of the page. Grrr. And he's using two spaces after a period."

I clear my throat. "You know I can't help doing that last one myself. The old double-blam's hard-coded right in."

Lee glares. "I don't like it when you do it, either."

*reads more*

"Oh my. This guy doesn't use a consistent format for a dash; in some places he uses an em dash, in some two hyphens, and here—he's using an en dash! And, joy, he's inconsistent in the name of his aliens. Here, their racial name, 'Gooberpickers,' is capitalized, over here it's not capitalized, and on this other page, it's two words: goober pickers. Nothing like having to proof through a story to make sure details are consistent..."

"So, consistency, and appropriate proofing."

*sighes and reads some more*

"Oh goodie! This guy ignored our if-you-want-italics-use-italics rule and instead uses the dead-tree method of underlining when you want italics. And double-goodie, he puts extra hard returns between scenes above and below the scene divider."

"We'd just reformat if we were to buy it anyway, right?"

"To an extent, but understand this—look at all the time I'd have to waste in basic formatting changes before you even get it, formatting the author should have done himself—assuming we even buy his story."

"You have a second story?"

*nods and reads second story*

Her face, so cloudy, clears up, and her finger relaxes off The Vaporizer, the big red button that is positioned, for some reason, on her console.

"Hm, very little formatting to change in this story."

"How's the writing?"

"It's as good a read as the first one."

I'm playing straight man by this time, so we take it on home. "So what do you want to do?"

"All things being equal, guess we'll go with story number two."

I nod. "So we're not vaporizing anyone tonight?"

Lee takes a deep breath and wraps her hands around her <edit: nix 'coffee mug'> tea cup. "Not tonight, thanks to a good story and some decent formatting."

She sips her <edit: nix 'coffee'> tea and smiles, and I take a deep breath. That was a close one.


So there you have it. Learn the RGR submission guidelines, and save your puny planet.


http://raygunrevival.com/guidelines.html#Formatting

http://raygunrevival.com/styleguide.php
_________________
Johne (Phy) Cook | Overlord, Ray Gun Revival magazine |
| http://raygunrevival.com/ |

[AstonWest]

With the prevalence of word processing programs, I can't imagine why anyone couldn't follow guidelines. I could see a slip-up now and again, but an abundance of issues just floors me.

[SelenaT]

Thanks for this. I needed a good laugh this morning and this is so funny I nearly spit hot tea on my laptop.

But don't get me wrong, it's funny because it's true. All things being equal, I'd go with the one who followed directions too. As an editor, nothing makes me crazier than people who clearly haven't read the guidelines. (Except maybe people who can't use "it's" and "its" correctly. That makes me pretty crazy too.)

I'll confess to being a two-spacer though. It's a hard habit to break. I've had to start doing a global search and replace whenever I am ready to submit something, just to catch all the ones I missed.
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Selena Thomason
Managing Editor
MindFlights magazine

[gsemones]

Quite funny, and painful at the same time.

On the topic of double-spacing, I've finally broke myself of the habit (all the way back to freshman year in high school when space bars were real space bars. ahem). So recently I cleaned up an ancient-silly-little-fairy-tale and decided to find it a home. Tough to find a market fit. Found an online mag that might fit. Read the guidelines. Read them again. Even read them once more. Yep, they wanted double spaces after the period. Insisted on them. So, in go the extra spaces, and off goes the story to their slush pile.

Gave me pause though, quite honestly. First time I've seen that in recent memory, especially for a web-only market. On the other hand, I've not been back long enough to writing to be considered one that's been around the block, though I think I can see the corner ahead.

[Loriendil]

In our zine, with columns and right-left justify, double spacing can take up lots of room.
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~Lee S. King
Overlord, Ray Gun Revival
Deuces Wild: Beginners' Luck Now in print!
A bereaved cowboy and cynical space pirate are forced to work together for their own survival.

[shenandoah]

But ... but ... Overlord Lee does not drink coffee!

One must also do proper research ...

[Phy]

headdesk - headdesk

Well, for the sake of the planet, maybe she should!
_________________
Johne (Phy) Cook | Overlord, Ray Gun Revival magazine |
| http://raygunrevival.com/ |

[Loriendil]

bwahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa
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~Lee S. King
Overlord, Ray Gun Revival
Deuces Wild: Beginners' Luck Now in print!
A bereaved cowboy and cynical space pirate are forced to work together for their own survival.

[Red Baron]

::mental note:: once I finally get around to finishing something I want to submit - Find/replace double space for single
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Eagles' Wings Writing

[gsemones]

[AstonWest]

[SelenaT]

[Loriendil]

[AstonWest]

You can also use the find-and-replace method (at least with MS Word) on italics and underlining...not a problem here at RGR, but many other places still demand the underline.

I had to do that with a novel of mine, where one of the major characters is a mute telepath...yikes.

[Phy]

I watch the holy wars flare up and rage in the technical writer community over 'one space or two' and I refuse to be baited by it. For myself, just be consistent. Frankly, I'm more concerned with the quality of the story.
_________________
Johne (Phy) Cook | Overlord, Ray Gun Revival magazine |
| http://raygunrevival.com/ |