As an editor, I try to respond to all of the submissions with ways to improve…The problem is sometimes it is harder to deal with the mess that is sent to us. So I thought I would do a post about the proper way to submit, in hopes that it helps those considering our calls.

First, Send it as an attachment. If you put it in the body of the email you are just making my job harder. Believe me when I say my job is hard enough without adding work.

Second, Make sure it has the title and your name at the top of the first page. This keeps me from forgetting who wrote what. I have to be able to attribute it to the right person.

Third…Please don’t add any weird fonts or odd images to the file! That really ends up with me having to change it just to read it.

Fourth, Include a Bio and a clear picture. The picture should be a professional looking headshot of at least 300 dpi and the bio should be in third person. The bio should not be more than a single page (250 words or less please) as I have to be able to fit it in the anthology reasonably.

If you send us art or poetry we still need that bio and picture. We want to showcase your work, and we cannot do that if you only send the art/poetry.

The word count limits may not be firm but the submission limits are. Sending me 10 or more poems will result in my being overwhelmed and refusing to choose. You may submit up to 2 stories, 5 poems, and 5 art to any single call. More than that and we will just not be willing to read any of it. We are human and need to have boundaries too.

Most of this is etiquette. Think how you would feel if you were the editor. It takes just a moment to follow the rules set. Please do me the kindness of following these…

Thank you.

Patti and Cyndi.

Editors at Fae Corps