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Editor Interview: Dialogual

This interview is provided for archival purposes. The listing is not currently active.

Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.

Dialogue-only stories.

What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?

I don't really follow publications or publishers, but Eastlit has attracted my attention because they publish Asian-flavored writings, and I'm into Japan and Japanese culture.
Matchbook is also nice because they publish small stories that have a bit of flavor into them.

If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?

Stephen King, Dr. Seuss, Ed McBain, Roald Dahl, Roland Topor

What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?

There aren't any other publications that do dialogue-only stories.
Bartleby Snopes is the only one that has a yearly contest with dialogue-only stories, and that's about it.

What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?

Think of something cool to write, make sure it's nicely written and send it over.
If I say no, I'll also say why.
The worst thing that will happen is that you can come up with a better story.

Describe the ideal submission.

Something that has my name at the start, and not "Dear editors". "Dear Dialogual" is fine, although I chuckle when I see it.
Writing how many words are in the submission, and putting it in .doc or any of the other formats posted in the guidelines also helps.
A brief bio is also a plus.

What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?

I don't know. I've had people submit poems, short stories, or fancy written things in different formats I've never seen before.
But that probably has to do with them not reading the guidelines properly.

How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?

I'm not a stickler for cover letters, but an usual one is fine. I don't want to open the email and just see the file. Or see you write something that makes me think you're desperate.
Regarding previous publications, that's best left for the bio, if you want to do it there.

If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?

Depending on the piece. If I read something and my mood falls, I stop and come back another time.
I usually read things 3-4 times before I make a decision, other than on my first read.

What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?

It doesn't.
If there are edits needed, and you want to edit it, we can work on it.
That's kinda what differentiates me from others. If I like his story, but I feel there are some things missing, we can work on it to make it the best possible story.

What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?

Um...next question?
I really don't have anything on this.

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