Submitted by eddycurrents on Thu, 08/14/2003 - 8:17pm

These guys are probably the most popular market, since they are a newsstand staple. I have sent two stories there and both got prompt rejections (same wording, even) that made me feel they didn't even open it.

Leafing through the submissions, I saw that maybe one story out of every second or third issue comes from an unknown author. Most of their stories come from authors that have been regulars for years. I guess they can afford to be picky.

Some of the stories are excellent. However, most of the stories from their "regular" authors have vague, nebulous endings. That appears to be the fad nowadays -- leave the reader confused.

What is wrong with a story that everyone can follow? I think the fuzziness covers up a lack of premise. The reader has to make up the story's message for himself, in which case, you might as well make up the whole story too. The author can just describe the characters and setting and let the reader do the rest. :roll: