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SFReader Forums > Book, Magazine, and eZine Publishers > Editor's Roundtable > Do you want a bio with a submission?

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crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 4749

Posted 1/10/2008 1:54 PM (GMT -4)

when you receive a submission from an author, do you want them to include their bio, or would you prefer that they only sent it to you if you asked for it?

von Darkmoor
Small Press Publisher (and Dancer still)

Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 2992

Posted 1/10/2008 2:38 PM (GMT -4)

I know editors of both beliefs. Personally, I like to see some - not a mega list or paragraph - and not even particularly for the publications - but I am interested in the names of the editors who've previously accepted the author. I think there is much to be learned by this, and it holds much more import if I know the editor, or at least the work ethic/standards/reputation of that particular editor.

For examp - if you submit something to me and list that you've been accepted by Mr. Santa for one of his anthos, I can immediately credit you with being able to write a pretty decent tale - at least once. If I know nothing else about you, how can I do this? Simply because I know that Rob knows stories. He writes and recognizes quality tales. As he and I are pretty much in the same market and seem thus far to enjoy many of the same things, I can properly justify my being slightly more eager to read your tale than that of an author who submits a story that lists no credits or, even worse, lists credits at publications with editors I am less impressed with.

~~~~~~~~~~
Jason M. Waltz
Assistant Managing & Anthology Editor Flashing Swords Press
~~~~~~~~~~
Ever waltz with the Devil? Visit von Darkmoor's thoughts to find out (and read a review or two).
~~~~~~~~~~
Critical Eye of the Dragon Avatar courtesy of crystalwizard

Jordan Lapp
ppaL nadroJ

Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 2585

Posted 1/10/2008 2:48 PM (GMT -4)

But, Jason, you're already reading their submission! So you're bound to soon find out for yourself if you'll like it or not.

I'm sometimes interested, because I'd like to know what kind of fan base they can draw on. If they've been published in prestigious markets I feel like they might have some name recognition that might translate to sales. If they're markets I've never heard of, then I pay it no mind.

Jordan Lapp

Managing Editor

Every Day Fiction

von Darkmoor
Small Press Publisher (and Dancer still)

Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 2992

Posted 1/10/2008 2:49 PM (GMT -4)

Yes, but anticipation baby! Sooner or later, all ya got is the twins of expectation and anticipation!

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4503

Posted 1/10/2008 4:11 PM (GMT -4)

I dislike including a bio, because they are a hassel to write. Do you realy want to know where I've lived or what I do for my money? Does anybody? A pub-list is fine, relevant and easy to produce. But does the fact that I've been married for twenty-four years and my adult age children still live at home with me really matter?
Most of my bios are so generic as to be pathetic, but occasionally I liven them up. Here's one I've been using lately:

Erazmus's bi said...

After helping to defeat the invasion of the Iguana-men in the Yucatan, narrowly escaping the wrath of an Aztec Mummy while vacationing in Mazitlan and surviving being shipwrecked on a dinosaur infested island in the south seas, Michael D. Turner settled down to a quieter life working and writing in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife of twenty-five years and three sons.

Mike

MysticWino
anarchist fringe monkey boddhisatva

Date Joined May 2007
Total Posts : 1632

Posted 1/10/2008 4:12 PM (GMT -4)

This is one of the wonderful freedoms of having a 4tL markets: skip the bio until I ask for it. I'm more interested in the work as its own animal. Once I decide to have it over for a playdate with my journal, then I'll get to know the breeder and fostering person of the work. I've been beat over the head many times in emails castigating me for not including author bios, but it hasn't swayed me to use precious space for that.

I am flirting with the idea of having a feature each issue with a bio on the feature. But, in general, I still prefer to use page-space for verse and prose content. If I were to set up a hybrid (web-supported print journal), I would likely place the bios in the website and continue to omit it in the print version.

Read me soon in The Return of the Sword!

Blog: http://bitterhermit.wordpress.com

Poetry Blog: http://fringemonkey.wordpress.com

Swashbuckler
One-man sword-and-sorcery machine

Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 1255

Posted 1/10/2008 4:29 PM (GMT -4)

As an editor I'm only interested in the submitted work -- but as a reader and a writer, I find the bios helpful. They sometimes include markets I haven't heard of, and give me a chance to expand my reading and perhaps discover a new market to send stories to.

So, I don't mind if writers stick a bio on their subs.

Steve Goble

Visit my blog, Swords Against Boredom, for news on published fiction and upcoming stories.

darkbow
Rabbit lord

Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 1647

Posted 1/10/2008 4:48 PM (GMT -4)

If I use any kind of bio, I try to make sure it is stuff relevant to my writing. I usually try to include a brief list of recent writing credits, but I'll even skip that if it's an editor I speak with or e-mail to on a regular basis (because I'll probably already have told them about any recent successes).

www.tyjohnston.blogspot.com

"Hot Off the Press" Ray Gun Revival #25, 2007.

"Deep in the Land of the Ice and Snow" upcoming in the Flashing Swords anthology, "The Return of the Sword: A New Age of Heroic Adventure."

HTKuehl
Kaylee is watching you

Date Joined Jun 2007
Total Posts : 537

Posted 1/10/2008 10:45 PM (GMT -4)

Cute! I have a bio saved to my computer that's similar: Heather Kuehl is a writer of fantasy, horror, and the occasional science fiction. She is in cahoots with a library gnome and has to lock up her husband on the night of the full moon.

Then I add my website and that's that. If an editor says that they want a list of places I've been published, then I give them one. But other than that, this is what they get.

**~**~Heather~**~**

"Learn to paint pictures with words." ~ Brian Jacques

"I never considered that I wouldn't make it. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. If I had known how hard it would be, I might have given up." ~ Kim Harrison

------------------------

Forthcoming:

"The Final Goodbye." Ruins Metropolis. Hadley Rille Books, 2008.

"Pluto: a Ghostly Planet With a Million Possibilities." The Drabbler Issue 10: Haunted Spaceports, 2008

"Raising the Dead." Bewildering Stories: Issue 289, 2008

"The Date." FLASHSHOT, Feb 08, 2008

von Darkmoor
Small Press Publisher (and Dancer still)

Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 2992

Posted 1/10/2008 11:00 PM (GMT -4)

Nice, Mike. We're trying to have a serious conversation here and you post that.
I like it.

crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 4749

Posted 1/11/2008 12:27 AM (GMT -4)

von Darkmoor said...
Nice, Mike. We're trying to have a serious conversation here and you post that.
I like it.

Why do you think he wasn't serious?

von Darkmoor
Small Press Publisher (and Dancer still)

Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 2992

Posted 1/11/2008 12:46 AM (GMT -4)

because everyone knows you can't settle down to a quiet life in Colorado Springs, CO!! Come on, CW! ;)

tchernabyelo
Acolyte

Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 434

Posted 1/11/2008 7:51 AM (GMT -4)

I dislike bio-writing intensely, and only produce on if expressly asked (which is usually on acceptance, not submission).

I use a brief cover letter which now mentions that I have sold stories to "a number of markets, including...", and the list is mainly the higher-end ones, though I sometimes tweak it to include markets with similar requirements to the one I'm submitting to.

In theory, I believe every story should be read "naked" (and I know of some magazines that do this), with no personal details or context whatsoever. However I can see that publicatoins want to attract readership, and a recognisable name can do that, so I would certainly expect most markets to jump on a "big name" story whether they liked it or not.

Brian Dolton

Yi Qin stories:

"The Box Of Beautiful Things" - IGMS#3

"The Man Who Was Never Afraid" - Abyss and Apex #20

"Where No Wind Blows" - Staffs & Starships #2 (forthcoming)

"At Blue Crane Falls" - Abyss and Apex (forthcoming)

"What The Sea Refuses" - Black Gate (forthcoming)

"What The Heart Bears" - Black Gate (forthcoming)

Other Land Of Wind And Ghosts stories:

"The Dragon Path" - Fictitious Force (forthcoming)

"Three Out Of Four" - Sorcerous Signals (forthcoming)

Stories in other settings:

"The Unicorn Hunter" - OG's Speculative Fiction #8

"Call Centre" - Necrotic Tissue #1

"When Winter Came" - ASIM #32 (forthcoming)

"Cold Fire" - Flashing Swords #9 (forthcoming)

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4503

Posted 1/11/2008 8:15 PM (GMT -4)

von Darkmoor said...
because everyone knows you can't settle down to a quiet life in Colorado Springs, CO!! Come on, CW! ;)

Jason,
I said quieter. I was most specific. No life with Silverdrake could ever be "quiet".
That is my Con bio, for program books.

Mike

Lyn
Adopt

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1359

Posted 1/11/2008 11:51 PM (GMT -4)

LoL on the bio talk.
I prefer that a subber gives a 3 sentence bio with the story. And if I want more, I'll ask.

Lyn from ResAliens

Rob Santa
Sage

Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 1423

Posted 1/14/2008 11:14 PM (GMT -4)

Truth be told, I couldn't care less about an author's bio or publishing history. It's the story that speaks for itself. So imagine my surprise when I asked for bios from authors whose work I accepted and found them to be rather well known (except by me of course, I must get out more often).

Rob Santa

Hopelessly Addicted Writer of Speculative Fiction

and CEO of Ricasso Press

C.Cevasco
Paradox Forum Moderator

Date Joined Sep 2003
Total Posts : 953

Posted 1/16/2008 3:36 PM (GMT -4)

I definitely don't need a "bio" per se (with all sorts of personal info), but I do like a short list of at least some of the author's prior publications, if any. If the author has attended a major writer's workshop, that's also something I'd be interested to know in the cover letter. The only time other personal info should be in the cover letter, in my opinion, is if the author has some unusual background or experience that gives the author some degree of expertise directly relevant to the story being submitted. But even that should be kept to a short sentence...

But, as Rob said above, the story must rise or fall on its own, regardless of what's in the cover letter or whether a cover letter is even included.

Chris

Christopher M. Cevasco, Editor/Publisher
Paradox: The Magazine of Historical and Speculative Fiction
http://www.paradoxmag.com

crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 4749

Posted 1/17/2008 2:14 AM (GMT -4)

My personal preference:

I don't want to see your credits. I don't want that to color my reaction to your submission and I don't pass that information on to my first readers.

I honestly don't care if you are someone that's never had anything published before, if your submission is the first thing you've ever written in your life, or you are actually Robert Silverberg trying on yet another pen name. All I care about is the submission you sent me. Is it written well? Does it hold my attention? Does it fit my target audience and will THEY enjoy reading it? Are you someone I can work with if it needs revisions?

darkbow
Rabbit lord

Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 1647

Posted 1/17/2008 5:50 AM (GMT -4)

I'm with crystalwizard on this one. I feel the less I know about the writer, the better, because I'm then more likely to have an unbiased opinion about a given piece. Honestly, sometimes I'd prefer not to even know the name of an author when I'm reading slush, mainly because I might recognize the name. It's not that I'm more likely to let a known writer get away with a sub-par story, but just the opposite; I'm afraid I might be judging their piece too harshly. And, honestly, it sucks to get a story from someone you know and not like the story.

I'm sure it's no great shakes for the writer, either. Been there too.

Lyn
Adopt

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1359

Posted 1/18/2008 3:06 PM (GMT -4)

Ty, but now your talking anonymous subs. I'm not sure how that would work. I'll read slush from names I recognize whether or not they have a bio attached. Like CW, I'm not into credits in the bio, I just want a short blurb to know they are human. lol

Lyn from ResAliens

Jordan Lapp
ppaL nadroJ

Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 2585

Posted 1/18/2008 3:10 PM (GMT -4)

I'm not sure I agree entirely with this.

Purely from a business standpoint, big names attract readers. If you publish briliant stories by complete unknowns all the time, maybe you'll get noticed... maybe not. Surely, it will take your magazine much, much longer to grow.

Ignoring what kind of audience an author can attract is just bad business sense, in my opinion. That said, if the story is terrible, I reject it, but if two stories are identically good, I'll take the one from the more popular author every time.

SOMETIMES if I know that author A can deliver an audience of one (themselves) to the magazine, and author B can deliver thousands, I'll take author B's story even if it's slightly worse than author A's.

Jordan Lapp

Managing Editor

Every Day Fiction

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4503

Posted 1/18/2008 3:50 PM (GMT -4)

I think Jordan is probably right. You can't ignore the publicity factor for your magazine, keeping one afloat is hard enough. I know that when I get on a ToC with writers of stature, I feel I have accomplished something more than just a sale. I feel I've exposed my writing to those writer's fans, which in turn allows me the slight possibility of making some of those fans my fans.
So, while its a big negative if my story were the slightly better one passed over, its a big boost if I'm one of the lucky ones that made the grade. Trust me, I not only want to share the ToC, I want to outshine the "name" writer. It does little good to get a story between Harry Turtledove and Eric Flint if their stories are great and mine sucks. Do it the other way around and I might slip some of their readers into my pocket.

Mike

Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Dutchman Rescue"in Continuum SF #6
www.continuumsciencefiction.com/orders.htm

"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises:

www.fantasistent.com/books/anthologies/BASH.php
"Stains" in Tales of the Talisman 3-1 www.zianet.com/hadrosaur/index.html
"Morning Coffee" in Every Day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/morning-coffee-by-michael-d-turner/
"The Jewel Below" in Flashing Swords
flashingswords.sfreader.com/issues/issue8/vol2-iss8-05.htm
"Happy Landings" in Every Day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/happy-landings-by-michael-d-turner/
"Teller of Tales" in Every day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/teller-of-tales-by-michael-d-turner/

MichaelEhart
Sage

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 2324

Posted 1/18/2008 5:14 PM (GMT -4)

You know, Mike, I'm with you. But I do get tired of crutching those two slackers Hank and Rick. :)

Buy my book!

The Servant of the Manthycore available Nov. 17th from DEP

Illustrated by Rachel Marks, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock

Read me in 2007!

"The View From the Shotglass Floor" Ray Gun Revival, Feb 2007

"Voice of the Spoiler" The Sword Review, June 2007

"Servant of the Manthycore" The Sword Review, July 2007

"Darkling I Listen; and for Many a Time" Fear and Trembling, coming soon!

"Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" The Sword Review, August 2007

"Six Zombies Doing That Mick Jagger Strut" Damned in Dixie, Summer 2007

"Nothing But Our Tears" The Sword Review, September 2007

"Night of Shadows, Night of Knives" Magic and Mechanica, Fall 2007

"The Scarlet Colored Beast" The Sword Review, October 2007

"The Stars by Law, Forbidden" Unparalleled Journeys II, November 2007

"Who Comes for the Mother's Fruit" Every Day Fiction, November 2007

"Stand, Stand, Shall They Cry" Flashing Swords, November 2007

http://mehart.blogspot.com/

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4503

Posted 1/18/2008 5:34 PM (GMT -4)

Lol!
Mike

darkbow
Rabbit lord