Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: Rural fiction and poetry
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: Granta, Ploughshares, The Paris Review, Poetry, Agni
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: My favorite authors tend to be classic authors: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Poe, Kerouac, Hermann Hesse, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Oscar Wilde, George Orwell, H.G. Wells, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Kafka, Nietzsche, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Byron, Truman Capote, Jack London, etc. I have been into horror for many years and so some of my favorites are King, Barker, Poe, Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood, William Peter Blatty, Robert Bloch, Robert W. Chambers, W.W. Jacobs, M.R. James, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Mary Shelley, etc. I have been interested in playwriting recently and so have been reading or watching the film adaptations of Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, and Peter Shaffer. That's all I have time to list for the moment. You can find most of the books I have read on my Goodreads page.
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: There are several things. First, although I want to have a positive, upbeat publication seeking mainstream and literary works for the most part, you will find dark and even horror stories published in it to balance it out. I don't want to have a stereotypical Pollyanna-ish, all puppies, sunshine, and rainbows type of publication. Being somewhat Taoist in my philosophy of life, I believe all things should be in balance. The light is meaningless without the dark and vice versa. "Variety is the spice of life", after all. Second, Rural Fiction Magazine aims to help people relax and enjoy life in (to some degree) pleasant memories, reminiscences, of an idyllic, rural past, but still with an occasional touch of darkness or serious look at life to balance everything out. These times (in many ways) are stressful. I feel helping people relax and enjoy life or escape the rigors of their daily lives is a noble cause. I am not by any stretch of the imagination a good Christian, but I do feel helping people de-stress is a Christian thing to do. Third, 99% of the time, I read every story and poem published. The only time I might not is if I am publishing for the umpteenth time a respected writer who has had consistently good submissions. Fourth, I strive to reach a global audience and accept works from around the world. I would like to be able to connect with every nation and culture. All peoples have good stories to tell. I would like to find and publish them for the world to enjoy. Fifth, because I cannot pay my contributors, I try to give them the maximum exposure worldwide that I possibly can. Sixth, I try to treat writers and not as cattle or chattel or numbers. When I have submitted stories for publication in the past, I have sometimes been surprised at how cold some of the publishers can be in their rejections. As I said, I cannot afford to pay my contributors, but I can at least treat them civilly and with respect for them as writers and as fellow humans. These are the first differences that spring to mind.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: As you will hear from almost every other publisher: read at least a few of the stories in the magazine to see what I like. Second, follow the guidelines. It is easier for me to reject a story than to work on trying to get the format right with the author. Like everything else, running a magazine is a matter of time management. Third, be professional in formatting and submitting. I recommend using standard formats, because then it is easier for me to copy and paste the story/poem into the website. Shunn Manuscript format is fine. I can tolerate a few minor variations on it, but not many. These are just the first things to spring to mind (on as little sleep as I have had recently). For more detail, visit the Submissions page of Rural Fiction Magazine.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Professionally formatted and meets all the guidelines published on the website. It should have a brief cover letter/intro paragraph and an author's bio of fifty words or less. Since I am trying to reach a global audience with RFM, mentioning the names of countries/cities/regions where you have lived helps attract more readers, because those names function as keywords on the website and helps establish connections with other nations, peoples, and cultures.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: They send bios that are much too long. I ask for bios in fifty words or less for a reason. Often, instead of posting an excerpt on social media or elsewhere, I post the writer's bio notes. This gives the author more exposure, but may also help build a connection between the reader and the story. How many people actually decide to read a story based on an excerpt? But if you spot a connection with the author (maybe you live in the same city or province, etc), then, I think, you may be more likely to read the story. And if the author has a good background, good credentials, and an established, positive reputation, might you not be interested in reading his/her work?
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: I would like to see a bio of about fifty words (a little more or less doesn't matter), but it might present a problem if the length goes over 75. I would like to know if they have published any novels or short stories in any major magazines. I would like to know the country or area where they reside as it might help establish a connection with readers. A few words on any degrees they have is nice. That's the essentials, just a few brief, concise words to summarize their writing career and bone fides.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: If it's badly written (grammar is lousy, plot is nonsensical, contains anachronisms or blatant errors in logic or fact, etc), I may not finish the finish paragraph must less the first page. As I said in an earlier answer, the key to being a publisher (or professional in general) is time management. Sometimes though, I may read the entire submission through and then contemplate it a little while before rejecting it on any of a number of grounds.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: None. I am a one-man operation, although I am gradually introducing my wife into the magazine's operations. My process is simple: I read the piece and if I like it and it fits in well with the magazine overall, I will publish it.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: I have a regular 40-hour a week job from which I will soon retire. These days, I usually go home after work, sit a bit for a breather, then I may start reading submissions. Posting them in the magazine is easy. At other times during the day or late into the night, I may work on publicity or expanding the readership or refining the website.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: It's very important. The success of a magazine lies in how it grows its readership. You have to be familiar with all the means available particularly those of the Internet, because founding a traditional hardcopy magazine is extremely expensive and time-consuming. Technology should be used to your advantage with max effect and efficiency. A publisher also needs to have a working knowledge of technology so he/she can spot frauds, plagiarists, and cheats who use AI to write fiction or poetry, which to me is reprehensible. I will never knowingly publish anything written in the smallest degree with AI. That author will never publish with me again--ever! AI does have its uses, like in writing ad copy or other time-consuming, administrative tasks that are not of an inherently creative nature, but publishers need to be familiar with it in case he/she receives a submission from an unscrupulous writer.
Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?
A: I don't waste my time publishing anything that would have anything more than a few simple, honest typos to correct. It is easier for me to reject a work and move on to the next writer rather than waste a lot of time working with only one. Besides, the writer submitting to RFM should be professional enough to make everything is formatted correctly, the grammar and spelling are excellent, and that the guidelines are followed. If they can't do those few things, why should I bother with them?
Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?
A: I nominate for the Pushcart and any others for which I can nominate someone. I will try to nominate writers for every award I can.