The plan was to send this out on January 16th, but my website had other plans. After 4 1/2 days, numerous phone calls to my web host, and endless frustration, we’re back up and running. Apologies for the delay and any concern a non-functioning website might have caused those who submitted. And now, here’s the post:
The original callout for Moonlight & Misadventure was posted on October 1, 2020, with a deadline of January 15, 2021 (or until 100 submissions had been received). By adding the number of submissions caveat, I hoped that last minute submissions would be reduced, if only because I try to read stories in the week they come in. This allows me to separate stories into two piles, “No” and “Maybe, ” without feeling overwhelmed. Despite this, 12% of all submissions came in on the last day. Ah…mystery writers…mysterious until the end.
The objective, of course, is to compile the strongest collection possible from the submissions received. Even so, some great stories won’t make the cut, for a variety of reasons, including:
- Didn’t meet the theme. No matter how great, if there’s no moonlight or no misadventure, it’s out.
- Did not adhere to word count of 1,500 minimum to 5,000 maximum (there is some flexibility, but 1,000 words, for example, is not even close to 1,500, nor is 7,000 close to 5,000)
- Another story has a similar premise (can’t have two stories featuring black cats, as an example). These are the toughest to judge, and sometimes it comes down to word count: to have a balanced anthology, there has to be a mix of short, medium, and long. If Cat Story #1 has 1,800 words and Cat Story #2 has 5,000 words, and I need a story to fill either <2000 or over >5000, that will determine the one that makes it. Trust me, those decisions are tough.
- Excessive bad language and/or violence.
- Does not fit with my vision of the collection as a whole.
What doesn’t impact the decision?
- An author’s body of work/awards/name recognition
- I know the author
- Prior acceptance in an SSP anthology
For those who like statistics, I can tell you that 93 submissions were received, representing 4 Canadian provinces, 26 US states, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, New Zealand and India.
The first round of cuts (roughly half of submissions received) will be made this week and emails will be sent to those authors. Following this, the remaining stories will be reread and reevaluated. Updates (without author names, of course) will be posted on the Moonlight & Misadventure Submissions page as available.
All submissions have been acknowledged. If you submitted a story and did not receive an acknowledgment, please Contact Me.
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