Starting with the submission period in July, I have need of two people to help with submission for Necrotic Tissue. At NT, we have four submission periods each year (January, April, July & October). The current volume is approximately 500 submissions in that time frame. With the addition of these two people, we will have four people handling submission, so each would get about 125 over the month.
Our goal is to respond initially within two weeks to all writers with either a personal rejection (with at least one piece of feedback as to what could be improved), or a notification of making the Short List. At the end of the month, each associate editor is allowed only 12 stories in their short list. For the 15 days after submissions close, all associate editors read everyone else's short list and create a new revised list in order from best to worst in one of 4 categories (100-Word Bites, Flash up to 1,000 words, 1-3,000 and 3-5,000). We then meet on Skype for a BATTLE ROYAL CAGE MATCH. When the dust settles, we have chosen around 40,000 words of fiction and usually between 20-24 stories for the issue due out in 4.5 months (so the stories from July's reading period will be used to select stories for the issue coming out January 2011).
When stories come in, the Editor in Chief distributes them randomly so it is fare. Cronyism is not tolerated, so if you get a story from someone you know well, you should let the Editor know so someone else can read it.
For your hard work, you will get:
1. Credit as an Associate Editor
2. Invaluable experience that will help you as a writer and give you insight into the small press publishing world
3. A free subscription to NT (if you already have one, your subscription will get extended)
4. A discount on all NT products
5. The praise an admiration of your peers and family
6. And last but not least, a warm fuzzy feeling that comes with doing a great job and helping to put out a fantastic product.
Requirements:
1. Prior editing experience is preferred but not required
2. A great attitude and the ability to give actionable feedback
3. Skype
4. Must be reliable. I realize this isn't a paying gig, but if you agree to take the job, we expect you to be conscientious and complete your stories in the time allotted.
To apply, send me an email at rscottmccoy@necrotictissue.com . A resume and cover letter are not required and there is no "right" format, but please describe your writing and editing background and tell me why you are interested in the position and what you are looking to gain from the experience.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Issue #10 is out the door
Oh the sweet ache of accomplishment. It's not secret that I'm not getting any younger and my back is reminding me of that this morning. It's a good ache because it means that last night I mailed out all of the contributor copies and all of the subscriptions, to include our newest subscriber, Mark Wholley (thank you Mark).
I watched the latest episode of Spartacus, then drove to the post office with my overburdened SUV. I go late so I'm not interrupted. It takes about fifteen minutes at my top speed to stuff all the envelopes in the big mouth blue receptacle. Now, to clean up the refuse of print label wrappers and packing material.
I will say that this is very early for us to be mailing out an issue. January ran late (though still in the month of January) due to issues at the printer and holidays. Our goal is to mail out the issues the first weekend of the month they are due so that most people will get them by that Friday, and most will except for Greg Hall. I send his on an intentionally long and indirect route, and he knows why.
Please stop by and let us know what you think of #10. Both my Staph and the writers would love some feedback. Now I'm off to get some Motrin.
I watched the latest episode of Spartacus, then drove to the post office with my overburdened SUV. I go late so I'm not interrupted. It takes about fifteen minutes at my top speed to stuff all the envelopes in the big mouth blue receptacle. Now, to clean up the refuse of print label wrappers and packing material.
I will say that this is very early for us to be mailing out an issue. January ran late (though still in the month of January) due to issues at the printer and holidays. Our goal is to mail out the issues the first weekend of the month they are due so that most people will get them by that Friday, and most will except for Greg Hall. I send his on an intentionally long and indirect route, and he knows why.
Please stop by and let us know what you think of #10. Both my Staph and the writers would love some feedback. Now I'm off to get some Motrin.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
April Update
Big boxes of issue #10 are making their way to my house via pack mules. I know this because even a delivery truck that is restricted to 8 hours of travel per day could make the trip in half the time, so either they are using pack mules, or they are intentionally slowing down delivery in a vain attempt to make me pay for faster shipping. Foolish mortals! I'm aware of this slow transport and my Staph and I have worked it into our schedule. Not to worry, if you are a subscriber, your issue will be whisking its way to your door via half dead snails in about a week and you should have it in your hot little hands the first full week of April as predicted. If you're not a subscriber, now is the perfect time to join the Necrotic Tissue family (depending on your preference, I either will or won’t show up to your family reunions).
Some of you have been with NT from the very beginning and we thank you for your support. Many of you subscribed as soon as we went to print. I was cautious then, not wanting to over extend and be unable to deliver, so I only offered a one year subscription. Many other magazines have either gone out of business or switched to E versions, but NT print is going strong. Issue #10 marks are 4th print issue and the last for all of the people who started with our first print issue, #7 back in July, 2009. The good news, for all of you that fear NT withdrawal, is that we have updated our store and we now have 1, 2 and 3 year subscriptions available.
The price point between the US and Canada is low enough and I am physically close enough to Canada, that I am offering US and Canada subscriptions at the same rate. International subscriptions are a bit more, but radically less that many other US based magazines. Subscribing for multiple years reaps amazing savings. Bear in mind that these numbers might look larger than usual because most magazine only advertise the cover price, not tax and shipping. Unlike most magazines that look less expensive until you get nailed for shipping fees on the checkout page, I have it included those costs in the overall price, so what you see is what you get. US and Canada: Individual issues are $10 a piece. 1 Year (4 issues) = $30 a savings of $10 off the cover price. 2 Years (8 issues) = $55 for a savings of $25 off the cover price. 3 Years (12 issues) = $80 for a savings of $40 off the cover price. Once again, there are no additional charges when you hit the checkout page, tax and shipping is included. These prices are insane!
If you don't like to subscribe but you still want your fix, you're in luck. NT is available on the US, Canadian and UK Amazon sites.
A quick reminder to all writers: We're on Duotrope, Ralan and list the dates on our own web page, but I realize that it is easy to have time sneak up on you. I also realize with great sadness that some of you (I'm not going to mention names) submit stories to other markets. We do allow simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know, so I guess we are enabling your cheating ways. Simultaneous and not, we are open to submission four times a year (January, April, July & October). April 1st is coming up fast, so if you are a writer and think you have a story we'd love to read, here is your reminder to send it our way soon.
But wait, what's that I hear? Someone out there is asking what they get for their hard earned coin and I'm here to tell you. Every issue has around 40,000 words of horror fiction, from our 100-Word Bites to 5,000 words of the best horror fiction from established and brand new writers. We choose the best stories not the names. Here are some interesting stats:
In the first ten issues, we had slots for 200 writers. Of those, 40 were women (that's 20%). I've heard that it is harder for women to get into some markets. I don't doubt this, but it isn't the case at NT. We pick what we feel are the best 20-26 stories to get to 40,000 words, regardless of what gender the writer is or what country they come from. US writers don't get an advantage, but we do get a larger percentage of US writers submitting. I'm also very proud to say that NT has been the first publishing credit for an astounding 31 writers. While it is our goal to help new writers improve their craft, we don't do charity work. Every writer that made it in NT earned their slot and competed against as many as 500 other submissions to do so.
If you've never tried Necrotic Tissue, now's the time. If you love NT, please help spread the word. In order to reach our goal of paying pro rates, we need more subscribers. I'd like to reach that goal in 2010. Just two hundred more people in the entire world would be enough, so whether you are a writer or a fan, please help us reach our goal, because when you treat writers well, the fiction can only get better.
R. Scott McCoy
Publisher/Editor
Necrotic Tissue
Some of you have been with NT from the very beginning and we thank you for your support. Many of you subscribed as soon as we went to print. I was cautious then, not wanting to over extend and be unable to deliver, so I only offered a one year subscription. Many other magazines have either gone out of business or switched to E versions, but NT print is going strong. Issue #10 marks are 4th print issue and the last for all of the people who started with our first print issue, #7 back in July, 2009. The good news, for all of you that fear NT withdrawal, is that we have updated our store and we now have 1, 2 and 3 year subscriptions available.
The price point between the US and Canada is low enough and I am physically close enough to Canada, that I am offering US and Canada subscriptions at the same rate. International subscriptions are a bit more, but radically less that many other US based magazines. Subscribing for multiple years reaps amazing savings. Bear in mind that these numbers might look larger than usual because most magazine only advertise the cover price, not tax and shipping. Unlike most magazines that look less expensive until you get nailed for shipping fees on the checkout page, I have it included those costs in the overall price, so what you see is what you get. US and Canada: Individual issues are $10 a piece. 1 Year (4 issues) = $30 a savings of $10 off the cover price. 2 Years (8 issues) = $55 for a savings of $25 off the cover price. 3 Years (12 issues) = $80 for a savings of $40 off the cover price. Once again, there are no additional charges when you hit the checkout page, tax and shipping is included. These prices are insane!
If you don't like to subscribe but you still want your fix, you're in luck. NT is available on the US, Canadian and UK Amazon sites.
A quick reminder to all writers: We're on Duotrope, Ralan and list the dates on our own web page, but I realize that it is easy to have time sneak up on you. I also realize with great sadness that some of you (I'm not going to mention names) submit stories to other markets. We do allow simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know, so I guess we are enabling your cheating ways. Simultaneous and not, we are open to submission four times a year (January, April, July & October). April 1st is coming up fast, so if you are a writer and think you have a story we'd love to read, here is your reminder to send it our way soon.
But wait, what's that I hear? Someone out there is asking what they get for their hard earned coin and I'm here to tell you. Every issue has around 40,000 words of horror fiction, from our 100-Word Bites to 5,000 words of the best horror fiction from established and brand new writers. We choose the best stories not the names. Here are some interesting stats:
In the first ten issues, we had slots for 200 writers. Of those, 40 were women (that's 20%). I've heard that it is harder for women to get into some markets. I don't doubt this, but it isn't the case at NT. We pick what we feel are the best 20-26 stories to get to 40,000 words, regardless of what gender the writer is or what country they come from. US writers don't get an advantage, but we do get a larger percentage of US writers submitting. I'm also very proud to say that NT has been the first publishing credit for an astounding 31 writers. While it is our goal to help new writers improve their craft, we don't do charity work. Every writer that made it in NT earned their slot and competed against as many as 500 other submissions to do so.
If you've never tried Necrotic Tissue, now's the time. If you love NT, please help spread the word. In order to reach our goal of paying pro rates, we need more subscribers. I'd like to reach that goal in 2010. Just two hundred more people in the entire world would be enough, so whether you are a writer or a fan, please help us reach our goal, because when you treat writers well, the fiction can only get better.
R. Scott McCoy
Publisher/Editor
Necrotic Tissue
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
January Update
It's been awhile, so I thought I would send out an update on what's happening at Necrotic Tissue and Stygian Publications in general.
One of the writers that we accepted in Necrotic Tissue recommended we join the Mystery Writers of America. I applied and was just informed that we were accepted. There are currently only eleven periodicals approved and it’s nice to be listed among such magazines as Cemetery Dance, Strand and Sniplits. http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=ApprovedPubList
This now means that any story published from now on is eligible for an Edgar award and also that stories published in Necrotic Tissue will qualify toward membership.
Issue #9 is coming out later and I would have liked due to the holidays and a few technical issues with the printer. When we were PDF, the issues were always ready on the 1st of the month, and even with the first two print issues, we had them in the mail by the 1st. All subscription and contributor copies will be mailed out by Saturday, January 23rd. We should be much closer to our usually timeline for April and beyond and while it is still being sent out during the month printed on the cover, I'm sorry for the delay.
Stygian Publications is coming out with three titles in 2010. The first is the Graphic Novel, "Bad Billy", written by John P. Wilson, and art by OD. The tentative release day is May 15th. The novel "Samhane" is coming out late summer from Daniel I Russell. It was previously released electronically, but will be out in trade paperback. The last confirmed project is an Anthology of stories set in the Abyss Walker World. This is dark fantasy and a bit of a departure from the horror projects we have focused on for the last three years. The emphasis is on the "Dark", as you have grown to expect from Stygian Publications.
I have been working diligently on NT for ten issues. Because I wanted to take a bit of a break and because I believe in developing people, whether it's writers or our own NT Staph, I have decided to let both of my associate editors take on the roll of Editor in Chief for an issue. John has already taken the reigns during the January submission window, which will be used to fill issue #11, coming out in July. Daniel will take over for the April window that will be used to complete issue #12, coming out in October. I will take over in October in preparation for issue #13, WOOT!!
Being Editor in Chief for an issue is more than just deciding the TOC. They will also be responsible for all the nonfiction, which includes the Editor's Crypt, The Help section, The Rant and the Final Words. If only I could find a way to get them to pay the writers for those issues, hmmmm………..
One of the writers that we accepted in Necrotic Tissue recommended we join the Mystery Writers of America. I applied and was just informed that we were accepted. There are currently only eleven periodicals approved and it’s nice to be listed among such magazines as Cemetery Dance, Strand and Sniplits. http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=ApprovedPubList
This now means that any story published from now on is eligible for an Edgar award and also that stories published in Necrotic Tissue will qualify toward membership.
Issue #9 is coming out later and I would have liked due to the holidays and a few technical issues with the printer. When we were PDF, the issues were always ready on the 1st of the month, and even with the first two print issues, we had them in the mail by the 1st. All subscription and contributor copies will be mailed out by Saturday, January 23rd. We should be much closer to our usually timeline for April and beyond and while it is still being sent out during the month printed on the cover, I'm sorry for the delay.
Stygian Publications is coming out with three titles in 2010. The first is the Graphic Novel, "Bad Billy", written by John P. Wilson, and art by OD. The tentative release day is May 15th. The novel "Samhane" is coming out late summer from Daniel I Russell. It was previously released electronically, but will be out in trade paperback. The last confirmed project is an Anthology of stories set in the Abyss Walker World. This is dark fantasy and a bit of a departure from the horror projects we have focused on for the last three years. The emphasis is on the "Dark", as you have grown to expect from Stygian Publications.
I have been working diligently on NT for ten issues. Because I wanted to take a bit of a break and because I believe in developing people, whether it's writers or our own NT Staph, I have decided to let both of my associate editors take on the roll of Editor in Chief for an issue. John has already taken the reigns during the January submission window, which will be used to fill issue #11, coming out in July. Daniel will take over for the April window that will be used to complete issue #12, coming out in October. I will take over in October in preparation for issue #13, WOOT!!
Being Editor in Chief for an issue is more than just deciding the TOC. They will also be responsible for all the nonfiction, which includes the Editor's Crypt, The Help section, The Rant and the Final Words. If only I could find a way to get them to pay the writers for those issues, hmmmm………..
Friday, January 1, 2010
It's that time again. Necrotic Tissue is open to submissions from January 1st to the 31st. The stories selected from this submission window will be used to fill Issue #11, coming out in July.
John P. Wilson is the Head Editor for this issue. He will write all of the non fiction pieces and make final decisions on acceptances and story order. Daniel I. Russell will be Head Editor for Issue #12 coming out in October 2010. Both men have a lot of experience in editing and writing and I wanted to give them this opportunity to control an issue of NT while simultaneously giving myself a little break. I've been at is stead for issue 1-10, and it will be nice to let someone else drive the train for awhile.
Issue #9 for January is almost ready. The printer is backed up due to the holidays, so I have yet to receive the proof. Once I do and assuming there are no major corrections, I will be mailing out issues around January 20th.
Thanks to all of you who support NT with your stories and by subscribing. I'm very happy with where NT is and believe we will only get better in 2010.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Necrotic Issue #8
#8 is our second print issue. I thought that one thing this blog would be good for was soliciting feedback about the magazine. Please feel free to discuss what you like and don’t care for about the latest Necrotic Tissue. If you dislike a story, please be respectful and constructive with your criticism.
Overall formatting had few changes, except for the transition from stark white paper to cream. We think it's easier on the eyes. The cover art is from Patrick McWhorter, a regular contributing artist. It's also the story art for the Editor's Pick, Smoke by Robert Millard. We think it's a fantastic piece that captures the essence of the story.
There will always be disagreement as to which is the best story of the bunch. Only 100-Word Bites don't qualify, otherwise all other length stories are in the running. It occurred to me that since I pay professional rates for what I consider the best story of the issue, that there would be speculation that my favorite story is one with a lowest word count :). I could try to assure you that's not the case, but you will either believe me or not. Smoke is not a short piece, but it isn’t pushing our limit either. In January, the winner is a shorter story than Smoke. While it’s too early to tell, I think this trend will be broken for April's issue.
David Dunwoody's story, Ellie Elemental kicks off the issue and it doesn’t let up. I think every issue has been strong. Certainly, reading any one of them is worth the time. Having said that, as we have become better known, we have also had more stories to draw from. We received 100 stories during our first submission month two years ago, and our most recent window we received over 400. The hardest part about getting so many is having to reject so many publishable stories. I think the eighteen or so we took for issue #1 gave us a strong start. Now, we are still getting about 18% stories that are without a doubt good enough to get in, but we are only able to take about 6%. That's leaving a lot on the table, but the only other choice is to accept stories years in advance and then temp closing while we catch up. We prefer to stay open more often and have our writers wait less than five months to see their story in print.
There is also the usual non fiction peices. I need help with these most of all. While I have no desirte to take on reviews of books and movies and many other online and print markets do, I want tomake sure the non fiction is worthwhile.
Please reply to this post with any feedback, positive or constructive.
Thanks
Scott…
Overall formatting had few changes, except for the transition from stark white paper to cream. We think it's easier on the eyes. The cover art is from Patrick McWhorter, a regular contributing artist. It's also the story art for the Editor's Pick, Smoke by Robert Millard. We think it's a fantastic piece that captures the essence of the story.
There will always be disagreement as to which is the best story of the bunch. Only 100-Word Bites don't qualify, otherwise all other length stories are in the running. It occurred to me that since I pay professional rates for what I consider the best story of the issue, that there would be speculation that my favorite story is one with a lowest word count :). I could try to assure you that's not the case, but you will either believe me or not. Smoke is not a short piece, but it isn’t pushing our limit either. In January, the winner is a shorter story than Smoke. While it’s too early to tell, I think this trend will be broken for April's issue.
David Dunwoody's story, Ellie Elemental kicks off the issue and it doesn’t let up. I think every issue has been strong. Certainly, reading any one of them is worth the time. Having said that, as we have become better known, we have also had more stories to draw from. We received 100 stories during our first submission month two years ago, and our most recent window we received over 400. The hardest part about getting so many is having to reject so many publishable stories. I think the eighteen or so we took for issue #1 gave us a strong start. Now, we are still getting about 18% stories that are without a doubt good enough to get in, but we are only able to take about 6%. That's leaving a lot on the table, but the only other choice is to accept stories years in advance and then temp closing while we catch up. We prefer to stay open more often and have our writers wait less than five months to see their story in print.
There is also the usual non fiction peices. I need help with these most of all. While I have no desirte to take on reviews of books and movies and many other online and print markets do, I want tomake sure the non fiction is worthwhile.
Please reply to this post with any feedback, positive or constructive.
Thanks
Scott…
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