A CLOSER LOOK AT ON SPEC EDITOR, LAURIE PENNER

IT'S BEEN A BUSY WEEK. TOMORROW, THE DEADLINE for voting for the Aurora awards looms. If you are a member of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, I hope you've already voted. If you haven't, please consider voting for my debut novel, The Tattooed Witch and also for this blog, Suzenyms. I don't expect to win - the competition is really stiff. For Best Novel, I am up against both Guy Kaye and Robert J. Sawyer, two of the most seasoned SF/Fantasy authors here in Canada. As for Suzenyms, I am competing against On Spec! (Wish I wasn't, but the blog was moved to Best English Related Work from a different category than to what it was originally nominated.) No matter how it turns out, I wish all the nominees the best of luck. As for me, I hope I place well.

 

ALL OF THAT ASIDE, I AM HAPPY TO INTRODUCE one of our latest new editors to our On Spec team, Laurie Penner. As with Eileen, Constantine, and Brent, I put the following questions to her:

 

1). What kinds of stories appeal to you most? Do you lean towards a particular type of story or style? So many genre stories feel like carbon copies of each other. I like it when a writer shows me something I've never seen before, which is pretty rare these days, or an old trope done up in a way that feels fresh and new, from an angle the writer might not have originally approached. If you can't do that, at least populate your cookie-cutter world with well-developed and fascinating characters who will make me not care if the setting feels like it's been done in a million other books.

2). What types of stories don't appeal to you? What are your pet peeves, writing-wise? I'm pretty over the generic Dragonlance-type sword and sorcery style - "Five ragtag heroes must band together to find the Dark Crystal and stop the evil Dragon Lord from taking over blah blah blah...." . And any story where some random guy is transported to a fantasy world and becomes inexplicably awesome - no Mary Sues, please. That being said, I don't believe there is any genre of story that can't be awesome when done in the right way by the right author.

3). What advice would you give to a writer submitting to us? Be original! We get a ton of submissions, so give us a reason to read your story past the first page. Great characters, fascinating settings, snappy dialogue. And here's the biggest secret - I'm not even sure my editors will allow me to tell you this, but here goes nothing: We love to get stories from authors all over the world, but at heart we are Canadian and proud of it. (I guess there may be a little something called 'minimum Canadian content requirements' too....) Does your story have a hockey team of vampires in it? Do aliens take over a Tim Horton's and demand to be allowed to 'roll up the rim'? Or do you just have something profound to say about life in Newfoundland or small-town Manitoba as reflected through a science fiction, horror, or fantasy lens? Send it over, and our editors might just give it a second look. You'll definitely have the edge over the 100th guy who sent in a 'stand-in for the author who is transported to a fantasy world, and becomes inexplicably awesome' story.

4). Please list any credits you'd like mentioned (ie. book pubs, editing/publishing involvement), followed by a small bio: I've been (and still am) a proofreader for On Spec and a former copyeditor for Company's Coming Publishing, currently paying the bills with government administrative work and the odd freelance editing job.

 

(Thanks, Laurie. It's great to have you with us in a more editorial capacity. I'm looking forward to working with you. - Susan.)

A CLOSER LOOK AT ON SPEC EDITOR, BRENT JANS

On Spec Cover by Dan O'Driscoll

AS I DID WITH EILEEN BELL AND CONSTANTINE KAOUKAKIS, I put the following questions to new editor, Brent Jans. 

1). What kinds of stories appeal to you most? Do you lean towards a particular type of story or style? I’m a big fan of Urban Fantasy, so I love stories set in our world (or even a future world) with a fantastic or mythological aspect. For me, those types of stories harken back to early fairy-tales in that they have the potential to teach us about ourselves and our world by contrasting it with the fantastic. Moonheart, by Charles de Lint, was my earliest exposure to the genre. It has continued to set the bar for what I consider to be good writing, not just in Urban Fantasy but for speculative fiction in general.

In more general terms, I tend to like stories with strong characters - not necessarily characters I like, but characters that make their presence known. I love well-written first person narrative; when it's done right it can be like listening to a friend tell you a story. I also tend to like stories that sound good when read out loud. I will sometimes read books or stories to people. I can always tell when a writer didn’t read their work aloud before submitting it.

2). What types of stories don't appeal to you? What are your pet peeves, writing-wise? Characters that go nowhere. If your protagonist is the same at the end as he/she/it was at the start, then you didn’t tell a story. There seems to be a trend towards focusing on mood, detail, and setting these days. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you remember to tell me a story while you’re at it. If you don’t have a protagonist, or if your protagonist is just a mannequin upon which to hang your fantastically moody setting, then you don’t have a story. At best, you have a compelling writing exercise which I’ll be happy to read if/when you turn it into a story.

3). What advice would you give to a writer submitting to us? Follow the submission guidelines. If I’m staring at a list-filled screen of submissions I have to get through, I am looking for any excuse to lighten my workload. If you didn’t follow our guidelines (over word count, didn’t follow formatting instructions, and so on) you’ve given me that excuse. At this point you might think, “What a lazy jerk!” but how well you follow the submission guidelines gives me a glimpse of how you’ll be to work with as we go through the editing process. Don’t disqualify yourself. If any of the guidelines don’t make sense to you, please contact us. We want your stories, so we’re happy to answer questions.

4). Please list any credits you'd like mentioned (ie. book pubs, editing/publishing involvement), followed by a small bio: Brent Jans is the most junior of editors for On Spec Magazine and a lifelong, unapologetic sci-fi and fantasy geek. He’s that guy you know who re-reads The Lord of the Rings every year, yes, including The Silmarillion. When not copy-editing, proofing, maintaining the website, or dipping his toe into the slush pile for On Spec, he freelances as an editor for independent game publishers (such as Mystic Ages Publishing’s Foreign Element RPG), as well as Wayfinder, a long-running fan publication for the Pathfinder RPG. Brent is a devout gamer, keeping the faith for over thirty years by playing more tabletop games than you might think possible.

Thanks, Brent. It's great to have you as part of our team. For those of you who have been reading these posts, you can see we are a very diverse bunch at On Spec, which is a good thing for both readers and writers. If you haven't checked the rest of us out already, the links below are an indication of what we personally like and don't like to see in the slush:

For Diane Walton

For Barb Galler-Smith  

For Ann Marston  

For Eileen Bell 

For Constantine Kaoukakis 

For Barry Hammond (poetry) 

and for myself, Susan MacGregor.)

A CLOSER LOOK AT ON SPEC EDITOR, CONSTANTINE KAOUKAKIS

THE FOLLOWING GUEST POST IS BY CONSTANTINE KAOUKAKIS WHO RECENTLY JOINED our On Spec team as an editor. As with Eileen Bell, I asked him:

1). What kinds of stories appeal to you most? Do you lean towards a particular type of story or style? Original and thought-provoking stories appeal to me. Fascinating and complex characters enhance and make the story.

2). What types of stories don't appeal to you? What are your pet peeves, writing-wise? I loathe clichés and overused plots. Sometimes, authors try too hard to impress, and that backfires. I believe the craftsmanship of the writing is equally important to the plot. I have read stories with intriguing plots but poor writing. In the end, it defeats the goal of the writer. I abhor sexist, racist, ageist, and homophobic stories. I am not a fan of stream-of-consciousness stories.

3). What advice would you give to a writer submitting to us? Proofread, proofread, and proofread!  Don’t be afraid to alter the story in order to improve it. I find some writers tend to resist editing. Writing is like painting. One has to try different colours, hues, and combinations to create a story. Writing is a process, a discovery, and an evolution. The writer should research properly and have the correct information when writing about science-related stories. I realize it's science fiction, but it has to be believable. Readers today are very sophisticated. If an author insults their intelligence, they will never forgive him or her for it.

4). Please list any credits you'd like mentioned (i.e. book pubs, editing/publishing involvement), followed by a small bio: I am thrilled and honoured to be a new editor of On Spec magazine. I have degrees in Education, English, and Classics which have enabled me to teach Latin, ancient and modern Greek, ESL, English literature, ancient Greek and Roman literature at the high school, college, and university levels: Concordia University (Montreal), Queen’s University, and minor colleges. I have founded The Wisteria Lodgers – the Sherlock Holmes Society of Edmonton. My interests include comic books (Marvel & DC), Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Greek mythology, Doctor Who, British murder mysteries, ancient history, and literature. I am currently writing a murder mystery.

Thanks, Constantine. It's great to have you on board. For those of you who want to see what the rest of us like and don't like, check out these previous posts:

For Diane Walton
For Barb Galler-Smith
For Ann Marston
For Eileen Bell
For Barry Hammond (poetry)
and for myself, Susan MacGregor.)

A CLOSER LOOK AT ON SPEC EDITOR: EILEEN BELL

WAY BACK IN MAY, 2013, I POSED SEVERAL SHORT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS to the On Spec editors (including myself) so that writers might have a better understanding of our tastes and what we are looking for in the stories submitted to us. As we are about to open a new submission window for both the Punk themed issue and our regular issues, I thought it would be a good idea to pose those same questions to our new editors, Eileen Bell, Brent Jans, Constantine Kaoukakis, and Laurie Penner. Here is how Eileen Bell answered my questions: 

1). What kinds of stories appeal to you most? Do you lean towards a particular type of story or style? I will read almost anything speculative, but lean toward the dark and/or the humorous. The story with the most appeal for me will have a definite beginning, middle, and end. Yes, I’m actually looking for a plot! I want believable characters that leap off the page. Good, crisp dialogue. Enough description to bring the story to life, without overwhelming it. Oh, and there is a special place in my heart for stories set in Canada. 

2). What types of stories don't appeal to you? What are your pet peeves, writing-wise? High fantasy does not appeal to me, and lately I’ve found that I’m reading much less historical fiction. Absolutely nothing wrong with either -- they are just not what I’m reading right now. Pet peeves? If there’s too much description, no matter how beautifully written, I’ll skip it to get to what happens next. For me, in a short story especially, too much of it is the kiss of death. I believe that every bit of description must have a reason for being there. If it doesn’t, take it out. Another peeve is an unsatisfactory ending. If I’ve decided to go on this journey with you, please give me an ending that is well written and as thoughtful as the beginning. Oh -- and don’t get too clever with your writing. Some like that, but I find it distracting. I’m there for the story. 

3). What advice would you give to a writer submitting to us? Read back issues of the magazine to make sure that your work fits. Before you send your manuscript, proofread. Just using spell check won’t do it. (We can tell when you do that, you know.) Follow the guidelines. But above all else, write a story you love. 

4). Please list any credits you'd like mentioned (ie. book pubs, editing/publishing involvement), followed by a small bio. I’ve had short fiction published in magazines and several anthologies, including the double Aurora Award winning Women of the Apocalypse and the Aurora winning Bourbon and Eggnog. My first novel, a paranormal mystery called Seeing the Light, (Tyche Books) http://tychebooks.com/books/seeing-light/ will be out in October, 2014. When I’m not writing, I’m living a fine life in my round house (that's in a perpetual state of renovation) with my long suffering husband and two dogs. Oh, and the first story I ever had published was in On Spec!

Thanks, Eileen. For those of you who want to see what those of us who represent the 'old guard' like and don't like, you can check out these links:

For Diane Walton
For Barb Galler-Smith
For Ann Marston
For Barry Hammond (poetry)
and for myself, Susan MacGregor

(P.S. And I, for one, adore Historical SF, so if you've written one, don't worry! Eileen and I will battle it out. And Barb might wade in to wage war with us, too. - S.)