I've been silent for awhile, so I thought I'd post a quick update for those of you submitting or planning on submitting work.
Submissions are still open for Fiction. I've accepted several pieces, but still have room for more for the upcoming year. I do have a backlog of about 30 unread stories today, so it will take me some time to get back to you. I am still reading all stories submitted personally, and I am trying to respond personally to all submissions, but I can't guarantee a response.
Some tips on getting your Fiction submission accepted:
1. Don't send poetry!
2. Proofread your text submission. After you convert it from Word, you should review it to ensure no strange characters have crept in.
3. Send just one piece at a time. If you send more than one, I'm more inclined to compare them against each other vs. reading each on their own merit. (Though if your sending a few short flash-fiction type pieces, I'm ok with that.)
4. Don't send a grammatically incorrect cover letter. I've never seen an awful cover email followed by a good story. I don't mind if you're informal, funny, eccentric, etc--I actually enjoy those notes. But a lack of grammar will bias me against your piece at the outset. You can skip a cover letter, too, and I won't mind.
5. Don't cc me on an email submission going to 20 other online editors. (Or even 10.)
6. Engage with your characters (or your words) and take a stand. Stories that taper off into a flat, morally ambiguous ending generally don't thrill me unless it's a brilliantly worded morally ambiguity, and usually it's not.
7. Write brilliantly. Send me your best. People around the world will be reading you in BMR, and you want to make sure you've got clean underwear on.
All of that said, I also want to thank all of the people who've sent work already. You're all the reason BMR has been able to publish great work for the last 10 years.
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