Editor Interview: JayHenge Publishing

Spec-fic anthologies

I have so many, but I particularly love those that give unknown writers with amazing writing skill and talent a chance. I love that this is how Gardner Dozois started out, and I too aim to get these skilled writers out into the world more where they can get the appreciation they deserve.

Some of my favorites include Kimber Camacho, Johannes Toivo Svensson, Narrelle Harris, Damon L. Wakes, and Sara Uckelman, but there are so many more.

Read the guidelines. Have a look at the website. :D That's pretty standard, right? Getting our names right is a bonus, but it sure does let us know you've taken the time and had a look. That means we can also count on you when the rush time prior to publication comes, in case we need a quick answer or extra information from you. Communication in this online world is vital.

Oh, gosh, that's very hard. I guess it's more than about just being well written. It's also a story that really just has that certain something that is extremely difficult to define. It's a story that keeps you reading more; that interests you until the end. That leaves you wanting more. If I could tell people exactly what ideal submissions were, I'd probably be a zillionaire! :)

I've had someone flat out tell me I was stupid for asking for queries prior to submission. That's not a great way to start a relationship. Mostly, I'm pretty easygoing about submissions and allow a lot of leeway.

I know a lot of publishers care about this a great deal, but I usually read the stories first and if I like them, I might go back and read any other information they've included. For me, it's the story that matters most.

This gets easier with experience. That's lucky, because the sheer numbers of submissions makes it difficult to read every one all the way through. I do try to thoroughly read at least the first couple of pages, and if they haven't grabbed my by then, I'll skim through to the end. But after this many years (15+), I can pretty much tell pretty quickly if something just isn't write for the particular anthology we're doing.

On rare occasion, if a story has a lot of potential, but is just missing a small element or two, we have made recommendations to the author, who can then decide for themselves if they're willing to make the additions/changes. Generally, though, we'll do a light edit on a story to fit in with our style guide and it will go into the folder of accepted stories for that anthology.

After some much-needed coffee, we first respond to all the emails, letting people know they're welcome to send their submissions, and then we put the submissions in the Unread folder for whichever anthology they're submitting to. We try to work through as many as we can. It's not very glamorous. :) My cats also demand a certain amount of attention. They're not as appreciative of speculative fiction as you'd think they ought to be. :D

This varies, depending on the story. There's less time to do major substantive editing, so that's another side of my business. I rarely request major changes to anthology submissions. Any I do make, I of course ask the author if they're okay with them. I do make small style guide changes, or insert a comma here and there.