Editor Interview: Inner Circle Writers' Group Galaxy Anthology Series

New and established

Favourite writers are many, but include Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

Personal, one-to-one engagement with each author, plus a totally unique approach to story-telling as contained in the book How Stories Really Work.

Please read the submission guidelines for each publication.

The ideal submission would follow the guidelines exactly and contain fiction which also applied the principles contained in the book How Stories Really Work, which are the axioms behind all successful fiction.

Failure to apply Shunn format; failure to include a short bio; failure to recognise fundamental elements of storytelling.

I need a short 100 word bio. Cover letters are not important, nor are previous publication details unless they affect the rights pertaining to the story being submitted.

I can generally tell within the first few paragraphs, though some stories require me to read to the end to see if the author has been able to pull off an overall effect.

Does it fit into the current anthology? Does it fit into the magazine (if submitted to the magazine)? Does it contain gratuitous violence of sex scenes? Is the writer applying (consciously or not) the principles outlined in the book How Stories Really Work?

My editing day tends to be divided into slots, with each slot being preparatory work for a different publication - thus, in the mornings I might be reading submissions for various anthologies, while in the afternoons I might be working on magazine layouts. Accepted submissions are immediately entered into a master document which eventually becomes a book or magazine; rejected submissions are put into a separate file for contacting the authors later.

To accept a story, it has to already be in good shape and require no more than basic line editing/proofreading. Authors submit on the understanding that only technical alterations will be made to their work; anything more substantial will need a quick exchange with the author or result in rejection.

No.