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Editor Interview: Chrome Baby

Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.

Literary science fiction

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

Graffiti artists. That guy who threw a shoe at Bush.

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

Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe, Ursula K Le Guin, Robert Charles Wilson, Michael Cisco, Zamyatin

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

Many seem to publish science fiction whose writing is just as bad as our fond pulp roots. Luckily, our taste is superior.

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

Please do so! Thank you.

Describe the ideal submission.

Written in (or mostly in) English. Between 50 and 5,000 words. Literary science fiction.

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

They send stories that have no science fiction in them. It doesn't have to be a lot, but the speculative element does need to be there somewhere.

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

I need a complete sexual history, list of crimes committed and crimes contemplated, a full dossier on your travel history and projected travel plans, all known confidants and acquaintances, a thorough voting history, photographs of you and your family, the current whereabouts of any secret valuables you own, your PIN number, bank account and credit card numbers, and a fascimile of your signature.
I also need the same for all members of your immediate family.
In addition, please send all submissions with the following loyalty oath:
I swear, now and in future, to be loyal to Chrome Baby, so help me God.

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

Anywhere from one sentence to the whole thing.

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

Are the optics right?
Will this be good for me politically?
How do I feel today?
Is this writer a good person? A bad person? How do I know this, and how do I feel about it?
Will I ever see that cute girl at the supermarket again? She had a dynamite smile.

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

I spend my days at an undisclosed location reading dossiers submitted to me by my informants about writers like you.
These data are fed into our mainframes in Colorado Springs, where Mother Computer analyzes them for any possible threats to our national security.
If Mother Computer notices any threats, I immediately dispatch the Writer Taskforce (Obama trusts me with this Taskforce) to eliminate the writer's family and friends via drone. The writer we leave alive. We still need more writing from them.

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