I’ve started taking submissions for Thrilling Tales quarterly — our guidelines, which have been echoed in various places, clearly state:
Hero Pulp tales of up to 20,000 words. Query for longer material — we will consider standard-length pulp novels (60K words), but primarily as serialized fiction or stand-alone book releases. We want tales that are true to the spirit of the pulps — as such we prefer that they be set during the “pulp era” — the 1930s.
So far, I’ve been mailed about 20 submissions. All have included SASEs, cover letters, notes as to whether the manuscript is disposable, etc……
….and not a single fucking one of them is a hero pulp tale set in the 1930s.
Not a one. Not a SINGLE BLOODY ONE.
It’s so bad, it’s gotten to be a joke here — the_themiscyran hands me the day’s mail, saying “here’s more stuff from people who haven’t read the guidelines” — even before we’ve opened a single envelope.
That’s not even going into the people who have emailed submissions (against the guidelines), or emailed queries asking if we were interested in Cthulhu stories or Swords-and-sorcery (hell, at least those are from the pulps — but not hero pulps). One guy wanted to know if we published modern gothic vampire stories.
Jesus Fucking Christ.
So yeah — frustrating. On the plus side, though, completely outside of my work as a publisher — this experience is filling me with a lot more confidence about my future as a writer, given what the competition out there seems to be like…. :)
Did you ever get together that last of pulp characters who are p.d.?
That is funny, in its own bizarre way. I know most of the kids out there are too young, in our cultural-memory-deficient society, to have really even heard of Doc Savage, but, damn, they have to have heard of Indiana Jones …
Now he said “Chopper! Sic, boy!” but what I heard was “Chopper, sic balls!”
Hmm. Now I’m tempted to write a pulp story and send it in to you…
Wow…
That doesn’t seem to bode well for the magazine. :(
It’s so weird… like everyone on my F-List has this weird cosmic connection. Every editor/publisher-type I know seems to be having a case of idiot submissions today!
As I said to someone earlier, I don’t understand why people don’t research things before sending stuff in! I am writing something that takes place in the thirties (it doesn’t fit your guidelines, and I’m not brave enough to send submissions out anyway) but I’m reading a history of the Interwar Years so as to get things right.
I am confused by stupid people.
I just emailed you a story, see if it falls within your parameters.
Working on it. Trying to narrow it down, actually, to ones that we’re going to use.
Cool. I’ll have to see what I can come up with for you. I’ve got one idea in mind, but it will require some serial number filing-off to make it ready, I think.
Drop me an email, and let’s hear it.
I was contemplating taking a try at this, but no time lately. But, I promise to read your guidelines.
Well, not to mention it’s pulp. You don’t even have to try that hard. Avoid cell phones, keep it two-fisted. :)