Machine of Death, Vol 2

THE MARKET

• Antho: Machine of Death, Vol 2
• Editor(s): Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, David Malki !
• Pay Rate: $200 flat fee
• Response Time: We will respond by October 31, 2011
• Reading Period: submissions are due May 1 - Jul 15
• Description: Sequel anthology to Machine of Death (released Oct 2010). Every story has a shared premise: a machine that uses a blood test to predict with total accuracy how a person will die.
• Submission Guidelines: machineofdeath.net

NOTE: Some questions in this interview were purposefully skipped. Unlike most markets, Machine of Death is looking for EVERYTHING (or almost everything). So the editor only answered the questions where he felt he had productive guidance to give.

THE SCOOP
2) What are your favorite genres? Which genres would you like to see incorporated into submissions to this market?
We’re looking for EVERY genre—or as many as possible. Every story in the book shares the same premise (a machine that uses a blood test to predict with total accuracy how a person will die), so we’re looking for writers who can interpret that concept in new and creative ways. Part of that is figuring out how this invention works in other genres that we haven’t printed yet.

We have yet to find the story that we decided to exclude on the basis of its genre or setting. So surprise us!

3) What settings most intrigue you? Ordinary or exotic locales? Real or fantasy? Past, present, or future?
We love locations that feel “real”. We like a story that gives us a sense of place and time, no matter where or when that might be. We love it when writers draw on their own experiences, research, or expertise to create a vivid, compelling, “lived-in” world. Write about what interests you, or what you know best. But the more you can place your story in a specific time and place, the better. Invented settings are fine too, but generic settings don’t excite us.

4) Explain the type of pacing you enjoy, e.g. slow building to fast, fast throughout, etc.
The pacing should match the story you’re trying to tell. We’re planning to publish stories that cover the gamut. But make sure that something happens in your story. Events must occur, characters must grow, ideas must be shared. (At least one of those—but more is better.)

Regardless of pacing, when the end comes, the reader should be satisfied. It’s okay to have loose ends or even ambiguity, but the main plot or character arc should be resolved. Don’t simply present a premise and end the story with the main character embarking on an adventure. Tell the story. Share the adventure with us.

5) What types of characters appeal to you the most? Any examples?
We’re looking for characters that the reader will want to spend time with. They don’t need to be likeable or virtuous all the time (or any of the time), but there should be some reason why we like being with them. We’re looking for all types of characters with all types of backgrounds, but in general we like to read about people who try to solve the problems they face and who can make us understand what they want and why.

We don’t like reading stories about unpleasant people who do nothing but complain, mock, argue, procrastinate, lecture, or cower. We do pass on stories if we can’t find any characters we like or care about.

6) Is there a specific tone you’d like to set in your publication? What kind of voices grab you and keep you enthralled? Any examples?
Every story in the anthology is about death in one way or another. But we don’t want this to be a book full of nothing but grim, sad tales. We’re looking for stories that contain a dash (or more!) of life. Give us humor, adventure, romance, excitement, compassion, big ideas, vivid settings, and memorable characters.

7) What is your policy for vulgarity, violence, and sexual content? Any taboos?
We don’t have any strict prohibitions regarding content. But we’d like this book to be something that the majority of adults would recommend to their friends. For that reason, we’ll be considering whether the handling of any vulgarity, violence, and sexual content would be unpleasant, offensive, or disturbing to most adults. If it is, we might have to think twice.

It’s important to add that this policy doesn’t extend to accommodating prejudices. We welcome stories with characters of any sex, race, nationality, religion, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation, and whatever else you can think of.

10) Any last advice for submitters to this market? Any critical do’s or do not’s?
Make sure to read our submission guidelines, and check out the free PDF of the first book to get a sense of the shared premise. But above all: surprise us!

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For more scoops, go to www.dlsnell.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth thrice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City, Apocalypse of the Dead. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.dlsnell.com.

To reprint this article, please contact D.L. Snell.

Mirror Shards, Vol 1 antho

THE MARKET

• Antho: Mirror Shards, Vol 1
• Editor(s): Thomas K. Carpenter
• Pay Rate: 2¢ to 5¢ per word
• Response Time: less than one week
• Reading Period: until July 8th
• Description: Augmented reality holds the promise of great social change in both the near and far-flung futures. It’s also a wonderful medium for storytelling as information and graphics overlain eye-screens challenges the doors of perception and creates mixed-reality worlds to work and play. The stories can be set in any place, time, or genre, as long as the story cannot exist bereft of augmented reality. Feel free to explore the edges of the technology.
• Submission Guidelines: blackmoonbooks.com

NOTE: Author D.L. Snell conducted the following interview to give writers a better idea of what the editors of this specific market are seeking; however, most editors are open to ideas outside of the preferences discussed here, as long as they fit the basic submission guidelines.

THE SCOOP
1) What authors do you enjoy, and why does their writing captivate you?
This could be a long list, but I’ll try to keep it to my major influences: George RR Martin, Gene Wolfe, Kris Rusch, William Gibson, Stephen King, Suzanne Collins, Cory Doctorow, Scott Westerfeld, Neal Stephenson.

As you can see, I’m all over the map and I was sticking mostly to the speculative fiction genres. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what captivates me, but I would say, great characters and interesting stories. Martin hits my reader cookies so completely that I will read anything of his, and usually multiple times as I study how he works his craft. He’s a master.

And while I have a few prose heavy writers on that list, like Wolfe and Gibson, it’s their storytelling that interests me, not their literary stylings. In fact, what usually disappoints me about their stories is I have a hard time getting friends and family to read their works because they’re rather imposing on the prose. It’s not that I don’t love what they’re doing, I do, it’s more that the average reader has a hard time connecting to them.

2) What are your favorite genres? Which genres would you like to see incorporated into submissions to this market?
This is by its nature a science fiction theme, but other genres can be mixed freely. The fun thing about augmented reality is the malleable nature of the technology allows for any genre to be valid, even if that genre was cowboy-spacesquid-romance.

3) What settings most intrigue you? Ordinary or exotic locales? Real or fantasy? Past, present, or future?
I like big, bold storytelling. A nuanced piece involving regular characters doing regular things is not what excites me. The type of stories I like show up regularly in the Writers of the Future contest.

4) Explain the type of pacing you enjoy, e.g. slow building to fast, fast throughout, etc.
That’s a hard one to answer. The pacing depends on the story being told. Pacing is like breathing, there’s purpose to the hesitation between the in-breath and the out. I would caution against all slow pacing, but unless there’s a stylistic reason, blazing through the story at mach ten without giving the reader a breath can be overwhelming.

5) What types of characters appeal to you the most? Any examples?
I have a sweet spot for flawed, but powerful characters.  Lisbeth Salander from the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes to mind first. Just about any character in Martin’s Game of Thrones. The Gunslinger and Wolfe’s Severion are other examples.

6) Is there a specific tone you’d like to set in your publication? What kind of voices grab you and keep you enthralled? Any examples?
Voice works when it works? I’ve been studying a lot of short fiction lately (even more than I usually do,) and I’ve seen a lot of differing voice styles work. There has to be some anchor to the reader, but if you can do that and hold interest, then it’ll come together.

7) What is your policy for vulgarity, violence, and sexual content? Any taboos?
No taboos as long as it’s for the story’s sake. The further away you get from the norm, the harder it is to justify. And shocking for the sake of shocking won’t get far.

8) What kind of themes are you seeking most in submissions to this market? In general, what themes interest you?Augmented reality can be used in a diverse enough way that any theme can be explored as long as it involves the human condition.

9) Overall, do you prefer downbeat or upbeat endings?
Prefer upbeat, but downbeat is acceptable as long as it serves the denouement.

10) Any last advice for submitters to this market? Any critical do’s or do not’s?
Understand what augmented reality (AR) is all about. Be creative and push the boundaries. Don’t just slap AR into a current story and send it in. That tactic is extremely obvious. But also, don’t let the story just be about the technology. We have to be invested in the character before we can care about how technology changes us. Fiction provides understanding into the human condition and science fiction just provides a unique lens.  Flip the lens to AR, turn it to eleven and send in your best stories.

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For more scoops, go to www.dlsnell.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth thrice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City, Apocalypse of the Dead. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.dlsnell.com.

To reprint this article, please contact D.L. Snell.