erastes

Writers: if you make resolutions this year, make one of them to READ THE WORDS carefully.

It amazes me how many people do not. I'm just as guilty as anyone else, especially with firing off emails without checking them through. I sent a submission to Penguin last year with the sentence: "I hope this will peak your interest" in it. In fact I'd changed it from peek to peak because I couldn't work out which one it was. It wasn't until I'd hit send and done other emails (therefore making it impossible to get back) when I remembered the third spelling of the word. Headdesk. Senior moment, probably, but I doubt the editor bothered to read my partial after that gaffe. Time and effort wasted, and as far as I know I may have blotted my copybook with Penguin for ever.

But I'm not just talking about editing, I'm talking mainly about submission processes. When I was in the panel accepting stories for the I DO! anthology, it staggered us all how many authors not only sent very unedited and unbeta-ed work in, but that, clearly, they had not read the guidelines of the anthology itself and many stories that we got in were unsuitable for that publication.

Similarly when people would apply to join the Erotic Authors' Association—now in the hands of Kathleen Bradean—they would either not bother to read the joining instructions or perhaps they thought that the instructions could not POSSIBLY apply to them! No back up email address ("I don't have one" was the commonest excuse) – they would simply say "you can find out about my work on my website" when I had stated I wanted specific links – and often they weren't even published, despite it being very clear about that. I had in fact changed the guidelines to make them incredibly clear because I noticed from the first month that people didn't seem to follow the instructions. But it didn't make much difference however clear they were.

They do the same for Speak Its Name too, despite there being very clear submission for review guidelines on the site, I get review submissions that are heterosexual and contemporary or fantasy…Some authors bypass me entirely and send their manuscript to the reviewer who did their last book which is incredibly rude! That reviewer is likely busy (most of them are writers) or they may have even stopped reviewing for the site. Whatever—the guidelines SAY WHAT TO DO!! One thing I notice when I'm sending out my books for review is that every site will have some different instructions: some want a query only, some want submission online, some ask for an emailed version in a specific format, some want hard copies only…

so if you want what you are setting out to do—be it a submission for review, or submission to a publisher – MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS – however silly they may seem to YOU.

The rules DO apply to you. You are not a special snowflake.