Diary of a Mad Editor

Archive for 2003

Burning Your Bridges Until You Are a Played-out Minion Overlooking a Chasm at the Gates of Hell

Last week, out of a seemingly endless stream of submissions, I managed to find one piece of fiction I deemed worthy of acceptance. The author, while talented, was not someone I’d consider noteworthy. He was published, but not widely published. He was not a “name.” Therefore, it’s safe to say his work was accepted purely on the merits of the writing, which is as it should be. This is important to note because as an unestablished voice, he needs to be discovered by editors such as myself who can bring his words to the public in a useful way.

I accepted the story for online literary journal 13thWR. I was pleased to do so and I hoped he would also be pleased with the news. Unfortunately, within twenty-four hours of accepting his story, I received an e-mail from him stating that he was not interested in having his work in 13thWR, because he prefers ” print publication.”

Okay, it’s his choice, but it is a bit of a head scratcher, when you think about it. He’s seeking publication. He gets accepted for publication, but refuses because his thinks he can trade-up to a better publication. Well, this might actually make some sense if he had been simultaneously accepted by The New Yorker. I wouldn’t argue the logic if that were the case. However, he rejected my offer of publication without the immediate prospect of another acceptance.

Let us consider the state of publishing. There simply aren’t that many paying markets for literary fiction. Most commercial publishers won’t even read un-agented fiction anymore and the ones that do usually pawn the slush pile off on interns and assistants. Rarely do these manuscripts ever make it across the editor’s desk. The markets available to most writers are either non-paying markets, or those that pay only in contributor’s copies. There’s nothing wrong with these markets. Their readership is small, but loyal and some of them offer a certain amount of prestige. However, it is patently false to believe they are more respectable than a good online publication. In terms of average readership, a well-trafficked webzine can attract more readers in a single day than the typical small press publication attracts in a single year. Let’s consider 13thWR, for example. I won’t say that it’s the biggest dog online (not yet, anyway), but it does get regular traffic from over thirty countries and the readership has grown with each issue. As I write this, 13thWR is being read in the Czech Republic and South Africa. Do you suppose most small circulation literary publications see much action in these countries? Probably not. In fact, most little magazines will only be read by a few hundred people and quickly forgotten. As such, is it the smartest thing for a writer trying to build his reputation and appeal to dismiss a market that guarantees that his work not only will be read but that readers will return to his work over time? It takes a very calculating and ambitious writer to weigh the value of a publication in terms of his reward and judge it unworthy, and I suppose there is nothing wrong with this on the surface. But, consider this: I’ve since replaced this author’s story with another. He, on the other hand, in addition to all the other publishers who are likely to never publish his work, has added one publisher who will now no longer even read his work.