INTERACTION

If you're looking for an answer to this question and it isn't explained on the submissions page or the editors haven't responded to an email, or something, I'd recommend you just send them your story laid out the same way as you normally would. Double spaced, not justified, breaks only to signify an actual break and not a new paragraph (I'd mark a break in some way as well, especially if you do leave a blank line between paras, something like this ***), first lines of paras indented, name and keyword on each numbered page, italics in italics. That's what I'd do. Having said that, if you;re supposed to submit in the body of an email and not as an attachment, I'd make sure italics for example were signified in _some way_ in case any formatting is lost. If it was me, I'd want a proper text file as an attachment.

The way their submission box changes your formatting or typsetting is a bit alarming and once you've pasted your text into it you can't manipulate it in any way. I've sent in a sub and in a few places I've noticed that it hasn't recognised a particular item and has exchanged it for a hash sign # However, the basic story is understandable and I imagine if you get on a short-list or whatever then there'll be an opportunity to get it typeset properly?
The main worry I have though Andy (apart form my story being crap) is that try as I might I couldn't keep it to 5,000 words. Even pruned back it came in at 5858, I hope that won't disqualify it from being read?

_________________
My Blog: http://bob-lock.blogspot.com/

Debut novel site: http://www.flamesofherakleitos.com/

Wouldn't have thought so, Bob. Unfortunately I'm the wrong person to ask. I'll try to get the editors to swing by here and answer these questions, you know, officially.

Thanks for that! Since we have to paste the story into a form, I think I can't include page numbers/headers, but I'm sticking to double spacing with indented paragraphs. Just to be sure, I'll mark italics like _this_ (it would be confusing if they don't show up in the submission).

Makes sense to me. Worry about other stuff later.

Btw, I asked, when I said I would, all three mundane-sf editors to visit the thread and answer your questions.

Not my fault if they don't turn up. Postal strikes not my fault either.

Thanks Andy.

The strikes are causing a lot of mayhem all around, I can imagine!

Hi,

I've just been prodded to come over here and answer a few questions.

Someone asked how many submissions there are. I've got about 190 on the disk. Originally I was going through and rejecting them as I saw them, but Geoff didn't like me doing that since he preferred that we batch them all up and consult about them as a group at the end of the period. Unfortunately this means we'll pick what we want and reject the remaining. I probably won't be able to leave comments as I was doing before, because there won't be anything to say; they just won't be in the chosen list. We'll see if there's anything I can add as the emails go out. I submit stories myself and I don't like getting form letters back containing no information.

As a warning, the hit rate will be really low. A magazine has under half the word count of a book anthology, and Geoff has managed to source some stories from professional writers by invite. This has been an interesting process to watch. There was a glossy British SF magazine a few years ago which was going to take stories only by invite and not accept any slush submissions. Can't remember its name, but it didn't last long. I am not surprised.

The good news is that there's no cross-over with the submissions to Interzone, so you can always submit it there if it doesn't get here.


The other questions were about the submissions webpage converting everything it doesn't like to # and not letting you format anything but sensible paragraphs.

Well... ok... I did the program myself. What it needs to do is convert whatever ridiculous smart "quotes" or whatever else word-processors tend to insert into the text into something that is compatible with a web-browser -- as well as not let any malicious javascript or other viral stuff through. The code is a little brutal (anything I don't know becomes #) but gets the job done, and at least you get to preview it in the form we'd see it.

If the formatting is really important and totally garbled by my system, you can leave a note in your submission and email the doc to mundanesf@gmail.com. But most things aren't like that.

err. Have I answered enough questions?

I tend to do my ranting over on the blog, but ought to be reading stories over the weekend... if I don't get side-tracked into a lot of other projects I get up to, in particular www.undemocracy.com at the moment.

Thanks for the update.

_________________
http://www.icarusquay.org

Thank you!

I didn't know we get to preview our submissions, so I guess I can repair some of the damage if the formatting is mangled. It shouldn't be, since I'm using a basic text editor.

It might be a silly question but I've just finished a story which is even more mundane than the one I submitted (makes it sound soooo great doesn't it). What are the rules on submitting more than one story?
Ta.

Damn.
I've just discovered this board and was intrigued by the task of writing a Mundane SF story... then I see the closing date... 3 days from now.

That's an awful long way away from the publication date of next May. Is this the norm in story magazine circles?

Oh well. I've still got a few idea's for some less mundane stories bubbling around in my head (some of it's on paper, too). I may well submit something in the near future.

For print magazines, a delay of six to nine months between acceptance and publication is the norm. I submitted a story yesterday for the issue (and had to resubmit it because my browser crashed during the sub process--if the editors receive two copies of the story, I hope they'll let me know so I can do the proper writerly duty and order my computer to commit seppuku. )

Anyway, according to a new post on the Mundane SF blog, the guest editors are trying to respond to all submissions by next week.

I am the Interzone rep on a magazines panel celebrating 25 years of IZ at Novacon. 4:30 Saturday (3rd Nov) along with Peter Weston, Mark Plummer, Andy Sawyer and Geoff Ryman.

Beyond that Geoff and I have a slot at 12:30 that day when I have a few Interzone submissions statistics to reveal and Geoff has a Mundane SF ‘crusade’ (my word, not his) to discuss.

Submitted - rejected - bummer. (Hey - but I got feedback which very much appreciated!)

Oh well, never mind. I veered too close to a non-mundane issue for comfort and got sucked into its event horizon. Even so, I'm glad they decided to do a mundane issue (a) because It'll make fascinating reading, and (b) because it gave me some great inspiration for a story that I am particularly pleased with (despite the "is it a wormhole or not" conundrum).

Looking forward to the issue when it comes out. Might be interesting to see other occasional special editions like this? (Especially ones that focus on otherwise neglected subject areas?).

Cheers
Jon A

mine bounced too but the feedback was very useful.