As I was reading a new submission (a RE-submission, as the email stated) my mind wandered, admittedly. But only a bit. Not because of the story, which was good, but because I'd read this story before. I passed on it. And I was going to pass on it again.
By the second paragraph I realized, no, this is not the same story. That one (the one we passed on) was a roughly 2000 word short story about a girl in handcuffs, in the back of a police car, being hauled off to jail after a huge fight with her mom. It was EXTREMELY well-written, professional, not-a-typo-to-be-found perfect, but unfortunately not a good fit for a lit-mag like Stinkwaves. I wrote her an email touting her story, telling her to try Glimmer Train or a few other highfalutin lit-mags, not us. We publish Zombie Haikus and stories about Scottish cats that play the bagpipes and protect babies from evil Sand Gnomes.
I kept reading, getting pulled in by each sentence.
The story started out in brutal fashion. As it went along, I wondered just how awful and disturbing the ending was going to be? It was intense, making me nervous about what I was going to read. A thought flashed in my mind about how to tell this lady that Stinkwaves doesn't publish anything "gory."
By accident, I flipped to the backside of the page just to see how long the story was, since I was running late. Seeing that I didn't have long to go, I decided to finish it, slow reader that I am. That's when I saw one word that instantly made my brain relax. I suddenly realized that I wasn't about to read some gory, gruesome, abrupt ending that would haunt my imagination for days. This wasn't a horror story. This was really, really...clever.
I texted my wife: "Scoop this story before somebody else does. Really good."
She texted back: "She's only 13."
I won't mention the young ladies name here, but remember...10 years from now (or even 5) when she signs some huge contract with one of the big publishing houses, and people can't wait to read her next novel...remember that she published her first short story with us, Stinkwaves Magazine.
(PS--or she could sign a publishing contract for her upcoming debut novel with Handersen Publishing, which is going LLC come January 1st, 2016...hint, hint....)
(PPS--Definitely check out the next issue of Stinkwaves, April 2016, so you don't miss out on this amazing story!)
By the second paragraph I realized, no, this is not the same story. That one (the one we passed on) was a roughly 2000 word short story about a girl in handcuffs, in the back of a police car, being hauled off to jail after a huge fight with her mom. It was EXTREMELY well-written, professional, not-a-typo-to-be-found perfect, but unfortunately not a good fit for a lit-mag like Stinkwaves. I wrote her an email touting her story, telling her to try Glimmer Train or a few other highfalutin lit-mags, not us. We publish Zombie Haikus and stories about Scottish cats that play the bagpipes and protect babies from evil Sand Gnomes.
I kept reading, getting pulled in by each sentence.
The story started out in brutal fashion. As it went along, I wondered just how awful and disturbing the ending was going to be? It was intense, making me nervous about what I was going to read. A thought flashed in my mind about how to tell this lady that Stinkwaves doesn't publish anything "gory."
By accident, I flipped to the backside of the page just to see how long the story was, since I was running late. Seeing that I didn't have long to go, I decided to finish it, slow reader that I am. That's when I saw one word that instantly made my brain relax. I suddenly realized that I wasn't about to read some gory, gruesome, abrupt ending that would haunt my imagination for days. This wasn't a horror story. This was really, really...clever.
I texted my wife: "Scoop this story before somebody else does. Really good."
She texted back: "She's only 13."
I won't mention the young ladies name here, but remember...10 years from now (or even 5) when she signs some huge contract with one of the big publishing houses, and people can't wait to read her next novel...remember that she published her first short story with us, Stinkwaves Magazine.
(PS--or she could sign a publishing contract for her upcoming debut novel with Handersen Publishing, which is going LLC come January 1st, 2016...hint, hint....)
(PPS--Definitely check out the next issue of Stinkwaves, April 2016, so you don't miss out on this amazing story!)