From the Cloud: 20 things learned in 25 years of submissions

Aurealis has a proud history of publishing fiction in Australia. Since our first issue, we have introduced new authors to the reading public and given established authors a means to continue their relationship with their audience.

These are some of the things we’ve learned over nearly twenty-five years of selecting stories for publication.

1. If you don’t read in the genre, you’re unlikely to create an original, refreshing genre story.
2. One idea is rarely enough to sustain a story.
3. Many stories would be far better off if they were a third shorter.
4. If you use genre trappings, then your story will end up in the reject pile. ‘Trappings’ implies something added after the event, mere decoration. Respect the genre.
5. Short stories are short. Don’t waste time—get into the story.
6. If you can’t handle dialogue, your story will suffer badly.
7. If nothing happens in your story, you don’t have a story. You…