Submissions
The submission period is closed and everyone who submitted during the open window should have heard from me. Let me know if you have not received a response yet. During this submission cycle, the average response time was <7 days.
Intermission
Once the initial parsing was completed, I took a break to reset and clear my head. My last acts during the intermission were (a) purchasing a Lottery ticket for the $1.5 billion drawing and (b) a two hour self-directed fantasy where I was Trumpianly rich and able to piss people off in wholesale lots. The cost for the whole experience was less than a movie ticket. The infernal villainy - priceless.
Short List Parsing
At this writing, I’m back in editor mode; re-reading shortlisted stories and making lists, revision notes, and first-pass line edits. This is the exciting and frustrating part of the book creation process. In order to create a work that appeals to a broad range of readers, I sometimes have to say, “No thanks” to very good stories.
And Finally…
The State of the Book is strong and we hope to start making notifications in mid-February.