Home Forums Ganymede & Titan Forum Attention fictionists! (And…fictionettes.)

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  • #2302
    Phil
    Participant

    SNAFU Anthology is accepting submissions for its second issue, this time in the “cowboy” genre. (As distinct from “Western” in the way that it offers you a lot more flexibility in your space/time placement.)

    Go here to read up, and get some idea of what they’re looking for:
    http://www.snafuanthology.com/html/issues/currentissue.html

    SNAFU is a Canadian-based publication that I happened to get involved with for their first issue (which is due out next month). I saw that they were soliciting for “paranormal” stories, so I wrote up one that I’ve had in mind for several years–it was vaguely paranormal, at best, but I think they like “loose” interpretations quite a lot–and they purchased the story from me. Since then I’ve been in contact with the editors and they’re excellent, wonderful people with a true love of fine literature.

    (In a pleasant aside, Austin Ross, another G+T regular, had his story purchased as well.)

    I got involved with SNAFU too late to do much in the way of advertising for the first issue, but since the deadline for the cowboy issue isn’t until August, I thought some of you out there might like to challenge yourselves to get a story done (or, if it’s already done, then prepared) by that time.

    I’m not sure how many of you write, but I know for a fact that a few of you do (I won’t embarrass you by singling you out) and this is something that will look good on your publication history.

    If anyone has any questions, feel free to either get in touch with the editors through the site or post them here. I’m offering the second option mainly because the core group is busy getting issue one together so I might be able to lessen their load by responding instead.

    For those interested, issue three is going to be themed “cyberpunk.” That’s something I know much, much less about…but a good deal of the fun of writing is the challenge. So start brainstorming. You’ve got a cowboy hat and the whole world to play with, and I hope to see your submissions soon.

    #122373
    Ridley
    Participant

    Past issues: “The Ghost of John Hoare”

    Hm.

    #122374
    John Hoare
    Participant

    I love Phil greatly.

    #122375
    Phil
    Participant

    It’s been long enough now that I can’t remember if the title “The Ghost of John Hoare” came to me, and from there the story more-or-less-immediately came from that, or if I had the idea for the story and then decided to name the “ghost” after John.

    But I do know that basically everything about the story happened at the same time…it just took me several years to get it down on paper. Which was probably for the better.

    The character isn’t based on John (I feel obligated to assure everybody of that, if only to protect his fine reputation) but the name fit, in some odd sense, and as the writers here probably know, once you get a character and a name together, it becomes very hard to separate the two, and though you can rename her or she easily enough, it never feels quite as natural, and sort of reminds you that you’re working with words and paper–which, depending upon your approach to fiction–may not be the best thing to keep too strongly in mind.

    My cowboy story is called “Cappsy’s Leather Chaps.”

    #122376
    Ridley
    Participant

    How long did it take you to actually type then?

    Any idea how thick this magazine is or is that something for May?

    #122377
    Phil
    Participant

    I don’t remember, to be honest, but since I had very little brainstorming to do, I’d imagine I got it “down” over the course of a weekend…maybe a little longer. After that I read through it, addressed what was missing from the story, and spent a lot of time filling out the gaps I didn’t notice the first time through. (Things are always more complete in your head than they are on paper.)

    Taking into account rewrites, and fine-tuning, and things along those lines, I’d say the typing/reworking probably took me between 12 – 15 hours of just writing. I ended up with about 12 pages, typed, but I’m not sure what that translates to in magazine pages.

    Not absolutely sure how thick the magazine will be…I’m guessing it’ll run about the same length as your average short-story magazine, which is generally in the neighborhood of 200 pages, but I can check with the editors if you’re interested in knowing that beforehand.

    #122381
    pfm
    Participant

    Got a great idea for issue 3: Cyberpunk fiction. Malcolm Mcdowell is trapped in the future, he’s being pursued by a cyberpunk from the past played by Rutger Hauer. It’s gonna be great. As for the cowboy one, Jet from Gladiators to host a millennium barndance at Yeovil aerodrome. Properly policed, it must not, I repeat, not turn into an all-night rave.

    #122383
    Seb Patrick
    Keymaster

    :D

    #122397
    Ridley
    Participant

    Not absolutely sure how thick the magazine will be?I?m guessing it?ll run about the same length as your average short-story magazine, which is generally in the neighborhood of 200 pages, but I can check with the editors if you?re interested in knowing that beforehand.

    No, no, it’s not important, was just part of considering taking a look at it with some spare change.

    #122421
    Phil
    Participant

    >No, no, it?s not important

    I’m curious now as well…I’ll check into it.

    I haven’t read any of the other submitted stories (well, that’s a slight lie…I read an early draft of Austin’s) but it’s an interesting literary experiment they’ve got going with the rotating genres, and I think it’s going to be fun keeping an eye on them.

    Do you write, Ridley? Or are you just more of a reader?

    #122430
    Ridley
    Participant

    Reader. Anything I wrote would be a crummy world of plot holes and spelling errors.

    #122432
    Phil
    Participant

    Really? You’d have written The Time Traveler’s Wife?

    #122582
    Phil
    Participant

    Regarding length, here’s the skinny from April Ford, the editor:

    “The anthology is…210 pages, I think (105 double-sided). I don’t have it here in front of me, but it’s somewhere between 208-211 pages.”

    Which is good to have confirmed. I’ll post more info when the issue is available for public consumption. I believe I’m scheduled to get my copies sometime before the close of the month, but I’m still not sure when it’s hitting news stands.

    #80547
    Phil
    Participant

    It’s coming:

    detail

    Looks lovely, too. I’ll have my copies early next month as I’m heading up to Montreal for the big launch event. I’m just hoping all the other authors are young, skinny, attractive women who really like knock-knock jokes.

    #80588
    Ridley
    Participant

    Gah, I forgot all about it. How long will back issues live in a box?

    #80592
    Phil
    Participant

    Back issues will probably be available based on existing supply…I’m not sure they ever intend to print anything more than the initial batch. I’ll post here when the ordering info is available.

    In case you’re concerned that you missed the first issue, don’t worry…you’re not. It’s still marked March 2008 so that it won’t affect their second issue publication date. :-) You’re not late at all. If anything, you’re still early!

    #80962
    Phil
    Participant

    ’tis now available:
    http://www.snafuanthology.com/html/issues/order.html

    While I encourage those interested to buy a copy (and the writers among you to submit something to the next issue!) I do want to stress that I don’t make any money from sales of this issue. I got my whopping $50 for the rights to my story and that’s all I’ll ever see, dagnabbit.

    Still, it’s an excellent venture that I’m proud to support.

    Submissions for the Cowboy Fiction issue have already started arriving, so if you’re interested in contributing, now’s the time that you might want to get something down on paper.

    I’ve already sent mine, but I doubt they’ve read it yet. If they have read it, they’re all dead from awesome-writing-overload.

    #80984
    Austin Ross
    Participant

    Technically they haven’t bought any rights, which is why you can send your story elsewhere.

    Even so, buy issues! And write cowboy stories. Lots of them. And then submit the good ones under the name “Austin Ross.”

    #80985
    Phil
    Participant

    Out of curiosity, then… what DID they buy?

    #80994
    Austin Ross
    Participant

    Didn’t they just call it an “honorarium”? As though they’re giving us a gift. A gift of money! Which is the best kind of gift there is.

    #81001
    Phil
    Participant

    Awesome! I assumed the money was a token sum in exchange for the rights.

    But yes, a $50 bonus just because my story was so awesome it blew their wallets open…that’s something to brag about.

    #81145
    Ridley
    Participant

    My copy came this morning. More VCP, please. :D

    #81287
    Phil
    Participant

    >More VCP, please. :D

    For that, check out Shooting Star, which is the final story in God Ran Out of Faces. That’s where the Very Cancerous Physician idea first came up. I don’t want to spoil it for you if you DO decide to track it down, but it’s more than a little interesting that, by the time of The Ghost of John Hoare, it’s taken the shape of a stage musical. It implies that something very specific happened between Shooting Star and Ghost.

    Glad you enjoyed it! John Hoare is a very atypical story for me…the one I submitted for issue two (Cowboy Fiction!) is actually much closer to the sort of thing I naturally produce.

    The launch party for the magazine was this past weekend, and I have about 30 pictures from the event in an album on myspace, if you’re interested.
    http://www.myspace.com/chickenbrutus

    For anyone else interested in the magazine, get your orders in. They printed a very limited run because they didn’t know what to expect in terms of first-issue sales and they’re nearly sold out already.

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