I’ve got a few short stories in the bank, and have started the process of sending them off to magazines and sites for potential publication. Since I’ve been focused on plays and IF for the last few years, it’s been ages since I tried this in earnest.
So, there’s this thing called the internet now. No longer must you print out a copy, put it in a piece of folded paper, figure out how much the thing weighs, affix appropriate governmental tender, and drop it into the designated bin. And then you hear back quickly via something called “email”. What a time to be alive!
I sent a story over to Lightspeed, and received a response in days. That’s right– days. As in, a division of time smaller than a week. Amazing. One down, on to the next.
Sure, online submission existed last time I tried a major blast, but it was a rarity. Now it appears to be the standard. I find myself wondering whether or not publishers have found the number of submissions increasing since the paper days. And, if so, what about the quality? Did we put more care into our submissions because we knew we had pay for the paper?
I say nay. I’m just as cautious with digitext as I was with paper. The only difference is now I watch my gmail inbox rather than my mailbox.
