Constant harping on the same subject

Here's Last Gasp editor Bucky Sinister with some blunt words for new authors. Funny and all too true.

Your child is not brilliant and neither is your novel. Ever notice there's all these supposedly genius children but the world is full of average adults? The first thing any editor feels when he or she learns of a "brilliant" novel is "what to say about an ugly baby" anxiety. However, there's nothing wrong with writing a novel that is good but not great, enjoyable but not mind blowing, saleable but not blockbuster.

I would love to have a really good manuscript. There's not that many of them out there. I'm sitting next to a submission box that metaphorically resembles a septic tank. Old lady cat poems, Grandpa's war stories, and 9pt single spaced conspiracy texts are the norm. Your submission is lost in all this.

Actually that whole page is full of good advice from good writers, not just Bucky. Read the whole thing -- you'll learn something, and be entertained at the same time.

I guess I sort of have writing and publishing on the brain, after returning from the writers conf. 10 days ago. Sorry for the lack of variety in the posts.

Bucky Sinister, creative writing, editors