Dirty Magick Issue Three Available
Issue Three is now available. You can buy the individual issue on Patreon or you can subscribe at Substack or Patreon to get access: Buy/Subscribe on Patreon here Subscribe on Substack here Stories by B.F. Vega, Mark Mellon, D.J. Thiess The Dusty Lens reviews the Vincent Price movie “Theater of Blood”
Tales From the Slush Pile
As I start Dirty Magick Magazine, I thought I would, in the spirit of openness, reveal some of the process that goes into a new publication. As I wrote the Submission Guidelines, I was trying to be as clear as possible as to what I wanted compared to what the writers wanted to sell me. But as I was told at Balticon by a longtime publisher, “You’re going to get science fiction.” And I did. And I rejected it. I felt a little put out by that because of the numbers. I have 36 initial slots funded. I can’t go over that because I wouldn’t be a paying market. That’s a compromise I won’t make. So when I received over 250 submissions, I still had to read those which were never going to be accepted-science fiction, psychological horror, and genre misfits. The latter I’m okay with as I accepted a few stories which would fall into the “experimental” category. But if I saw the word “aliens,” I could close the story without any worry. But that was only a few stories. Overall, the submissions were within the guidelines. Some were not ready, some were damn close, and a few were heartbreaking because I had to choose with such slim margins. I decided to write this as an addendum to the Submission Guidelines. These are not formal rules, but general vibes that will make a story more acceptable. As always, these are personal to me and other editors may want something completely different. One: Embrace the tropes I got a lot of stories where it was a normal story for three-quarters of its length and then, near the end, the fantastical elements were revealed. While I don’t read a lot of horror, this structure seems to work best in that genre-the evil creeping in on the sides until it takes over. I didn’t take many stories like that. When I say gothic horror, I mean the big three-vampires, werewolves, ghosts. Cthulhu and his kind can sneak in, too. But, frankly, those stories are third on the list of what I want. I’d rather be thrown directly into a world unlike our own with the fantasy up front and emphasized. From that splashdown, I’m ready for the characters and story to entertain me. Two: Complete the story I was into mainstream fiction in the ‘90s when writers like Raymond Carver and his many disciples embraced minimalism. I wrote a few stories where it concluded before the actual end, leaving the reader to fill in the details. But now it’s 2024 and I want to see the ending played out. Because of digital publishing, I’m not tied to small word counts. I set the 12,500 word limit for a reason: take the story to its logical end. Don’t forego the climatic scenes because you think the story is too long. I’d rather invest in a story that gives me a full beginning-middle-end than one which feels short-circuited. Three: Balance plot, character, and style This is mostly about overwriting. I love beautiful writing but overdoing it at the expense of the plot gets me fidgety. I will be direct as possible: this magazine is for adventure fiction. Whether sword and sorcery, noir, or gothic, I want to be swept away. I want to open the story and feel the pull of an exciting yarn. But, and this can be sticky, I also want to follow someone who impresses me. I told this to my screenwriting students and I will continue to preach this: your main character doesn’t have to be likeable, but they must have charisma. The character must be someone who demands us to listen to their story. This can vary from the morally righteous like Frodo Baggins to the charming rogues like Conan to the psychokiller/sheriff in Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me. No matter their level of good or evil, I need to want to spend time with them. Four: Don’t be generic Continuing from the point above, this means your people, places, and MacGuffins must be specific. Work out a few details so the reader can picture in their head what’s on the page. The reason so many fantasy authors invest in world building is so they can make the world come alive to the reader. While one short story can’t have the depth of Game of Thrones, the writer can still take a bit of time to fill in the details beforehand so it seems real and, most importantly, visual. While I hope to expand the number of slots for Volume Two, I still expect to see as many submissions if not more. And while these personal rules might not help you get published in Dirty Magick, I do think they can help build better tales that lead to publication.
