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Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: We publish creativity
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: I admire the small publishers, who put in the effort to help great writers get noticed when they're passed over by larger publishing houses.
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: Bernard Cornwell, Tad Williams, John Scalzi, Robert Jordan, GRRM, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (Death Gate Cycle), Mary Stewart, Isaac Asimov
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: We don't just publish stories, we act as a community that helps each other refine their craft. We critique, we edit, we comment, we revise, and then we publish. Our goal is to help each other succeed in any way we can.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: Be brave, be confident, and be motivated. These are qualities that other people feed off of. When one of us is ready to blaze a trail, it inspires the others to do the same, or at the very least, to give everyone else a push when they hit those roadblocks and start to falter. We're all in this together at the4threalm.com, because if one of us succeeds, we all succeed.
Also, we can be brutally honest, but that's the point, right? If you want someone to tell you they like your work, you can just ask your parents. We are NOT your parents.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Anything that captures our imagination or makes us think. If it's not polished, or ready for publication, we'll tell you, and you'll have a chance to work on it. We're just as invested in the process of writing as we are about the end result. But once it's ready, and it's passed the gamut of our other readers/writers, we'll publish it, and share it with the world.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: We like for submissions to be at least readable. We can understand if they need some work, but they need to at least be grammatically correct, and the majority of typos cleared out. Don't rely on others to clean up your writing for you. You're perfectly capable of doing that before you submit. What we're here for is to see the things that you don't, and to make sure you're not missing it, or ignoring it.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: Cover letters aren't that important, especially since we take most of our submissions in our editing forum. We also don't care about prior publication, because basically, it doesn't matter what else you're published. We're concerned with what you're working on NOW.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: We don't reject outright. We offer suggestions and critiques, and it's up to you to revise it or not.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: None, save for the other readers on the site who want to offer critiques.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: My life includes a number of other responsibilities, but that's why I enjoy new submissions. They allow me to escape for a while.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: Very important. I think ebook publishing in particular is constantly getting new authors in front of new readers, and a lot of these are authors who wouldn't normally be given a chance, simply because agents and publishers aren't convinced their work can sell. Now, with ebooks, we can answer that question definitively.