Tag: slush

Interview over at SF Signal

It’s been a busy week, I’ll tell you that much. I’ve reached 9.6k for my new space opera novel. That’s roughly 1k a day, and will be more if I manage to reach 11k by the end of today. But I want to take the time today to really cement the fundamentals of the world in my head and have that high-concept, ultra-epic coolness that helps the universe stand out from the rest. I’ve literally got a note stapled above my screen that reads “up the weird, add the cool, mix it up”. And that I will do!

But in the meantime I also managed I do an interview over at SF Signal, talking about me, my writing process, my job as an editor, how I managed to get onboard as an editor for a Hugo-winning podcast at the age of 19, etc. If you ever had a burning sensation to know what it was like working with William Gibson, Christopher Priest, Robin Hobb, and George R. R. Martin while Season 5 of Game of Thrones was airing, you can settle that satisfaction right now! It was almost surreal, typing that all up and realising just what we managed to achieve.

Anyway, the interview is here if you want to check it out. Enjoy!

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StarShipSofa: Slush Update #1

A little update for you all.

Me and Ralph are slowly carving our way through the slush. We’ve gotten a pretty high amount so far, and the decisions of what to take and let go off are getting difficult. Ralph is finding it hard to let go of some of these stories, and so am I. Make it harder for us. And for those of you who are following the Grinder, I can tell you now it’s wildly inaccurate in our case. It doesn’t list even half of our rejections. Charlie was right when he said better authors use it. 😉

We’ve responded to everything up until <b>December 16</b>. If you haven’t gotten a response, you are in the second round hole pile. I don’t have a date estimate for a response then, but just know that you’re getting another look.

Also, if any of you guys are interested in narrating stories for District of Wonders (or know people who are interested) send over a sample. We’re looking to expand our narrator pool and diversify it.

Tales to Terrify is looking for more UK male narrators. SSS is looking for more female narrators of any time, but especially UK. We recently got a South African narrator on board, but we’re still searching for others.

That’s it for now! Keep sending those stories in!

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StarShipSofa: Final Slush Update

Hello everyone,

The slush is done. It’s done. It’s over. And now I know how Frodo felt after throwing the ring into Mt. Doom.

I’ve been so ridiculously busy. Over the course of the submissions I’ve suffered two illnesses, traveled around the globe and back, and a bunch of other personal issues that I’d rather not discuss publicly. On top of that I’m in my final semester of university, and I’ve barely had a second to myself. But you guys all understood and gave me your unending patience, and for that I am grateful. I’ll definitely be looking at getting both an intern for StarShipSofa permanently and a few slush readers to help me out. But right now, I’m so busy that I don’t have the time to hunt down an assistant to help me out because I’m so busy. If that’s not a paradox, I don’t know what is.

It’s been an incredible experience for me, not as just as an editor, but a writer as well. I’ve never really been on the other side on the coin, as they say, in terms of submissions and shifting through slush. But the experience was worth it.

There have been stories I absolutely hated letting go off. There were some that I wrestled with for days and days, completely unsure of what to do. Damn, do you people write fantastic stories. I hated myself for saying no, and writing that letter came with a heavy heart. But the decisions have been made and the acceptances and rejections have been sent off.

For those of you who got acceptances, I’d have given you my personal email address. If you haven’t already, please send your story file and your bio (pasted in the email) over to it. Do not try to reach me via the submissions email – that’s purely for reading slush.

StarShipSofa will absolutely be reopening to submissions. When? I don’t know. I definitely need to graduate from university first, and we’ve got a lot of stuff to sort out over at StarShipSofa. When I get a second I’ll be writing more detailed blog posts about my experience doing slush and the common pitfalls, what to avoid, etc, etc. And if I rejected you, don’t give up. Drag yourself back up and shoot me a story that kicks me in the gut (not literally) and one that I cannot say no to. But more on that later.

It’s been an absolute blast to read your excellent stories, and it’s going to be even more fun working with you all and seeing what the final production looks like. I’ve heard some of them already and they’re excellent. I’m hoping you guys will be as proud of them as I am.

Until then, thank you all so much. And never, ever, ever give up.

Jeremy

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StarShipSofa: Slush Submission Update and Episode 400 Special

So I’ve been slowly, slowly hacking my way through the slush pile of StarShipSofa. It’s a process that simultaneously fun and wondrous, but daunting and difficult. I love being able to see what other people have written and nothing can compare to finding that diamond in the rough and knowing you have to take it, shooting off an acceptance and getting an excited email back filled with thank yous and how they can’t wait to see the finished product.

But.

But it’s also very hard to let go off some of these stories. Very, very hard. But unfortunately that’s part of the process and it has to be done. And there’s always another story for you to send.

Okay, enough of the petty sentiments: At this point, I have read and responded to everything up until July 3. If you haven’t heard back, you are currently in the 2nd round. I will not be tackling this until I finish the rest of the slush, as there was a barrage of last-minute submissions. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.

The other major thing? That would be the very special episode 400 of StarShipSofa. We’ve got a groundbreaking author lined up, one responsible for making SF/F what it is today. This author is without question of the most popular and well known writers in and outside genre. A pillar of contemporary literature. StarShipSofa has been graced with the mammoths that are George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock, Lisa Tuttle, Kim Stanley Robinson, and now this author.

Who is it?

You’re going to have to find out yourself. It’s taken months of planning, but it’s nearly here. And I can’t wait to see what you think.

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StarShipSofa: Submissions and Slush Update

Hey guys,

Just an update for you in regards to StarShipSofa’s submissions. I’m so sorry that it’s taking so long – I got far many more submissions than I could possibly have expected, many of which were in the 8k+ and upwards length. Additionally, I became very ill at one point and couldn’t muster the strength to sit up in bed, let alone read slush. And now that I’m back at university, things are more hectic than ever. I’m starting to read submissions during my lunch breaks between classes, it’s the only way I can keep up.

But enough excuses. At this point, I’ve read and responded to everything up to June 23. If you haven’t heard back from me at this point, I’ve put your story in the 2nd round and I’ll be holding onto it before making a final decision. And good lord, you guys have made those decisions hard as hell. Seriously, there have been some pieces I’ve found so hard to let go, but ultimately had to. This is both a good and bad thing, as it means I can take the crème de la crème, but also makes it very difficult to send that rejection. But if I took everything that I wanted to, StarShipSofa would be backlogged for years. Several years. Yes, I got that many submissions. You guys are awesome.

Also, just so you know I always personalize my rejections, and I try to give some feedback as to why I had to say no. And if I asked you to submit next time we’re open, I definitely mean it.

I’ll keep reading as fast as I can. If I haven’t gotten back to you that means you’re still under serious consideration. Please be patient, and thanks again for sending me your work.

– Jeremy

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