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By mixed-media artist and editor of The Ekphrastic Review Lorette C. Luzajic.
Even the most seasoned writers can find the submission process intimidating. You write out your heart and soul and then wait for the judge to weigh in on your words.
You might be waiting for months on end, fingers crossed, only to have your hopes dashed when you finally hear back. If the response is swift, that may be worse—did anyone even read it? And if so, weren’t they moved, challenged, amused, or impressed by your storytelling prowess?
If your short stories go out into the ether, and return without fanfare in an anticlimactic fizzle, can you change course?
As an editor of the literary journal,The Ekphrastic Review, I can honestly attest to the fact that we turn boatloads of amazing work away. Most journals simply receive far more submissions than we are able to use. Even the greatest writers in the world can be cut, due to simple space limitations.
On the other hand, lit journal editors have to publishsome stories. That is, after all, what we do: publish literature. We arelooking for stories.
1. Follow the rules
Your best chance of publication is based on something quite simple: follow the rules of the publication.
“Ekphrasis refers to the literary and rhetorical trope of summoning up—through words—an impression of a visual stimulus, object, or scene.” (Oxford Classical Dictionary)
You would be amazed at how many submissions I get atThe Ekphrastic Review that start out, “This story isn’t ekphrastic, but I think you will like it…” It hardly matters whether I like it, because we only publish ekphrastic stories.
2. Unfollow the rules
On the other hand, some rules are meant to be broken.
There are hard and fast criteria that won’t change. No matter how brilliant your how-he-quit-drinking story is, the editors ofSports Stories Anthologydon’t care. Unless the triumphant teetotaler cleaned up for the big race, of course.
3. Originality
There is nothing new under the sun—and it is cliché even to say so. Every story has been told before. Boy meets girl. Girl meets God. Human alone in the wilderness (or the urban dystopia). And every variation thereof.
4. Something has to happen
Not every story is a high-octane car chase and crash, with villains leaping over rooftops and bodies and bullets flying.
But even if your story is a quiet pastoral or the riveting behind-the-scenes account of watching a kettle on its slow path to boiling,something needs to happen. Your editor wants to know how your narrator got to where she is, or how your character has changed in response to events or observations.
This is sound advice, although it may miss the mark in a couple of ways. Firstly, the “vignette” holds a robust role in the history of the short story. Just ask Anton Chekhov, Margaret Atwood, or Ernest Hemingway, all considered masters of short literature.
Secondly, poetry is our oldest form of literature—our earliest manifestation of written storytelling. You know, theEpic of Gilgamesh, or theIliad.
Poetry does not preclude plot.
5. Poetry
You will often see poetry on an editor’s list of what NOT to do when submitting a short story. Many journals are vehemently clear: NO POETRY.
What editors mean when they sayno poetry is they don’t want flowery, shmaltzy, maudlin, gooey, cringeworthy reads.
They don’t want you showing off without the substance to back up your words. They don’t want ostentatious displays of grandiosity.
They don’t want cheap sentimentality. They don’t want a bunch of words you found in a thesaurus that you are wielding to impress, to opposite effect. They don’t want elaborate, empty descriptions and an endless flood of adjectives.
6. A change of scenery
Stories with a strong sense of place transport us into the story, something tougher to pull off with generic settings.
What we do want is vivid, smart, succinct staging. Use key details and specific references to paint a picture of where in the world you are.
Close your eyes and think about where your narrator is.
Really visualize the alien landscape of Planet Zed or listen carefully for the noises you would hear in 17th century Amsterdam. Share a few salient features of that space or place with your readers.
About The Author
Lorette C. Luzajic is the founder and editor of The Ekphrastic Review, a journal devoted entirely to literature inspired by visual art. Her prose poetry and small fictions have been published widely in hundreds of journals and anthologies and nominated for several Best of Net and Pushcart prizes. Her most recent book, Pretty Time Machine, is a collection of ekphrases, and she is working to complete another this year. Her flash story recently won first place in a contest at Macqueen’s Quinterly. Lorette is also an award-winning visual artist with collectors in over 25 countries.
Visit her at www.mixedupmedia.ca or www.ekphrastic.net.
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