When I heard that Cat Sparks had been appointed editor of Cosmos Magazine I did the Happy Dance. The first thing I did was email and congratulate her and the second thing was ask her for an insight into what she is looking for as editor of Australia’s premier SF mag.
Take it away, Cat.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that authors want to sell their stories to the best venues possible – right? Therefore, a glossy magazine with newsstand and international distribution paying $300 for 2-4,000 word short stories would be utterly swamped with submissions – right?
Wrong.
My name is Cat Sparks. I’m a writer just like you and I’ve recently been appointed fiction editor of Cosmos, a glossy Australian popular science magazine which has to date scored itself forty publishing industry awards. I’m replacing Damien Broderick, one of science fiction’s grand masters. My own score includes five Aurealis awards, nine Ditmars and a Writers of the Future trophy.
A few years back Damien bought a story of mine for Cosmos magazine entitled ‘Street of the Dead’ [http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/fiction/print/505/street-dead]. I was truly thrilled when the issue came out. Big shiny pages with an illustration commissioned especially for my work. It was my third ‘pro’ sale and it meant I qualified for admission to Science Fiction Writers of America, a goal I’d been aiming at for years. Best of all, the magazine was everywhere in newsagents across the country. Most of my previously publications had been in magazines and anthologies with tiny print runs and limited distribution, making it difficult to show off my achievements to friends and relatives.
Back then Damien told me something I found difficult to believe. He said he didn’t get many submissions from Australian authors. After a few weeks replacing him in the editorial saddle, I’ve realized he wasn’t pulling my leg.
Practically everyone I know reckons they’re a writer and seems desperately hungry for the acclaim and accord that occasionally goes along with the profession. I observe them squeeing with excitement on mailing lists, blogs, Twitter, etc whenever a small sale to a low paying or perhaps even no paying market is achieved. And yet my fiction@cosmosmagazine.com inbox is far from bulging at the seams. All but a handful of the submissions I’ve received so far have come from overseas.
I have a theory and here it is. Is it hard to write a popular science themed story in 4,000 words or under? You bet. But you know what – it’s hard to achieve anything of true worth. Slopping paint randomly upon a canvas does not an artist make. It takes years to qualify as a hairdresser – why should storytelling be dead easy?
In a society where most people are literate, the mere act of writing has become commonplace. Storytelling, literature, writing – whichever words you prefer – must, by necessity, involve more than the mere accumulation of sentences on a page. Style, substance and setting are the keys. Without all three, you don’t have anything much. Yet there are plenty of venues out there in Internetland publishing cookie cutter ‘stories’ that do little more than tick the boxes. A protagonist? Tick? A beginning, middle and end? Tick tick tick. Something happens? Tick – or close enough. Anyone with a blog can ‘publish’ stuff. The often overlooked part of the equation seems to be the readers themselves.
Some writers play it as a numbers game. They boast a CV filled with publications I collectively refer to as ‘Chthulu’s arsehole’ zines. Work out for yourselves what I mean by that, but suffice to say that it’s a safe bet there are more people subbing stories than there are checking in for a quality reading experience.
As a writer, I want as many readers as possible to appreciate my work. Reading is an important part of my life and an important part of why I’m bothering to write in the first place. The term ‘publishing’ originally implied distribution. Whacking something up on a blog is not nearly enough. The site must attract readers and readers currently have a wealth of free material to choose from.
Cosmos boasts a readership of 400,000 per month. As fiction editor, what I’m looking for is a damn fine reading experience, for which I am offering to exchange real money. Seems like a reasonable proposition to me.
How ‘bout it?
Cat Sparks
Fiction editor, Cosmos Magazine
fiction@cosmosmagazine.com
www.cosmosmagazine.com
BIO
Cat Sparks lives on the sunny south coast of New South Wales. She works as a graphic designer and author and was recently appointed fiction editor of Cosmos Magazine.
Past experiences of note have included winning a trip to Paris in a major photographic competition, working as a media monitor, being appointed official photographer to two NSW Premiers, volunteering as archaeological photographer in Jordan, winning five Aurealis, nine Ditmar and one Writers of the Future awards, surviving six weeks at Clarion South ‘bootcamp’ for sci fi writers in Queensland and editing five anthologies of (mostly) Australian speculative fiction.
She’s currently working on a trilogy. Isn’t everybody?
Congratulations Cat on your appointment as Fiction Editor with Cosmos. Thanks for your post – it’s given me something to think on. With only one flash science fiction story ever written, this is something to think on
Making a comment after waking up from a nap – not a good idea. Look at the repetition. Sigh.
Never mind, Eleni.
All the best with your writing.
Yes, Rowena, Cat,
I have a story slated to go to Cosmos. That said, do you know how hard it is to write hard SF under 4000 words? Most of my really good stories are about 10K.
Fingers crossed for you, Patty!
YES!
10k gives you room to move! This is why ASIM is our friend
Back in May, when I first started looking for magazines to sibmit to (and before I’d gathered a list of great links from Rowena) I simply Googled Sci Fi magazines Australia. What I got (and still get) is Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways and AntiSF. I’ve since had stories accepted at Amdromeda, AntiSF and am waiting on a response from Aurealis.
Cosmos doesn’t even make the second page! I guess it’s a profile thing but I wouldn’t have submitted to Cosmos simply because I didn’t know it was around. And to be frank, the cover doesn’t scream ‘Fiction Magazine!’
Chris, I’m not sure but I think there are only one or two pieces of fiction in the mag each time.
It’s more like Playboy, lots of other things and some fiction.
Is this right, Cat?
Hi Chris and Rowena,
Cosmos is an Australian popular science magazine which publishes one work of fiction per print issue as well as other stories in its online fiction section. The magazine is listed in the fabulous http://www.duotrope.com. To be frank, Chris, researching appropriate markets for your fiction is part of a professional writer’s process. It takes time and effort too.
Every time I go to send a story out, I check COSMOS’s submission guidelines. I don’t seem to get a fit. Usually it’s because I mix it with magic. My problem is writing a scientifically plausible story. Like everybody else, I guess and I extrapolate but how can I really know what will be possible/plausible in the future? Wasn’t it Arthur C Clarke who said that technology too difficult to understand is magic?
Hi Rita,
Clarke said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” A scientifically plausible story doesn’t have to contain a whole lot of actual scientific process or data. It’s the concept and execution that matters. There’s no science whatsoever in the story I sold to Cosmos a few years back. It’s about a family’s reaction to something mysterious and frightening that appears to be changing the earth. Personally, I tend to dislike stories involving magic. What’s that other famous quote… If *anything* is possible, nothing is interesting? Something like that
Cat is absolutely right. I can highly recommend the experience of being published in a lovely glossy mag, for real readers, and being paid real money. And if another of my ideas ever turns into sf, I’ll zip it straight off to her!
Go Jenny!
I’m actively seeking out new markets all the time and I had no idea Cosmos published fiction until you announced you’d taken over, Cat. While it’s true that we need to search out this stuff, it’s also important for the publication to promote itself to writers too.
We all submit to the pro zines before seeking out “Cthulhu’s arsehole” I’m sure, but competition to score a publication there is massive. So a little give and take on both sides goes a long way. Even you have Antipodean SF listed in your biblio just like the rest of us.
Hey, that’s a historical document, not a biblio!
Ah, an interesting distinction.
Yes it is. I like to keep a log of where I’ve been. Not something I’d be submitting to a publication along with a story.
Certainly not. My point being that we’ve all sniffed around Cthulhu’s arsehole and there’s only limited space at the pro end of town.
Haha, awesome interview, Cat.
Chris, I didn’t know Cosmos existed as a fiction market, either, until I went off New Scientist a few years ago and started looking for a replacement popular science magazine. I was idly flicking through the latest copy of Cosmos in the Uni library and went “Brian Stableford story? Huh!” I’d never had a story published, then, though, so it didn’t occur to me to submit. Without a bit of confidence, instructions along the lines of, “if you don’t think your story is the best ever written then don’t bother” are a bit intimidating
More recently I saw Cosmos in the newsagent with Jenny Blackford’s name on the cover, bought it immediately, loved her story and went immediately to submit one of mine. In the same month, Damien’s 2010 snapshot appeared online and I was encouraged by his wish to see more Aussie writers. Now Cat continues in that vein.
Huzzah for Cosmos! May it receive many Australian submissions!
Thoraiya
Cheers Thoraiya,
I don’t read too many general science mags. Get enough of it in my day job, so perhaps that’s the disconnect. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to start though.
I don’t know much about Cthulhu’s arsehole but most people I’ve come across in this profession have been very happy to help and are incredibly supportive of both me, and each other. Something to be cerished when you consider we are actually competing in a tight little market.
I agree that comments like “We only publish the greatest hard SF in history” can be quite daunting, but at the stage I’m at with my writing, it’s more a case of I just don’t want a story tied up for months when there’s bugger-all chance of getting it over the line. By that I mean <0.05% chance. Anything above that I'll give a go
I also agree that ASIM are awsome for their feedback, their acceptances, but mostly for just being there.
I should’ve added a couple more zeros to that % chance come to think of it
Edit: It has been brought to my attention that Damien never bought a piece of fiction by Brian Stableford. Whether it was a non-fiction article or simply a false memory implanted by aliens, I shall never know
Thoraiya.
I presumed you meant Joe Haldeman or Greg Benford… but the alien hypothesis does seem reasonable to me.
Cat–
First: congratulations with the Cosmos job: woot!
Second: if your submissions inbox is *still* overfilled , then stipulate that you want *near-future*, *optimistic* SF.
For SHINE, I had to post rabble-rousing, controversial essays just to wake up the SF writing community, and extend my deadline in order to get sufficient stories.
The myth: SF writers like a challenge.
The truth: SF writers are scared to death to set stories in a complex, near-future setting, because, you know, they might be wrooooooong. With very few exceptions (Kim Stanley Robinson, Ian McDonald, the latest Greg Egan).
The majority of SF writers are quite afraid to move out of their comfort zone: otherwise Cosmos would have been swamped with submissions.
Finally, it’s my impression that apart from Greg Egan, Sean McMullen, Sean Williams, Damien Broderick (who was the previous Cosmos fiction editor) and Chris Lawson, there are very few *core* SF writers in Australia, and that the Aussie scene focusses much more on dark fantasy and horror. I might be wrong, but this would also explain your lack of submissions from Australia.
Hey there Jetse, good to hear from you. Thanks for the woot — it’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it…
There *are* some very fine Australian spec fic writers out there aside from the excellent gents you mentioned. They just need poking with a sharp stick is all, a task I believe I am well suited for. I do agree there is a lot of dark fantasy and horror dominating down under and it’s no secret that I find much of it to be unimaginative dross. Personally, I’m hoping 2011 sees a burst of enthusiasm for smart, stylish spec fic prose right across the board. Stories that propel both readers and writers out of their comfort zones and beyond the stars.
I subbed to Cosmos. I was then told it was under consideration. That was September. 2009!
Despite a couple of very polite enquiry emails, I’ve heard nothing.
Don’t plan on subbing there again……
Dear S,
I’m sorry you had such an unsatisfactory experience submitting your story to Cosmos. If you email me at fiction@cosmosmagazine.com, I will investigate what went wrong promptly. Please accept my sincere apologies for your inconvenience.
Hey Cat. I didn’t even realise Cosmos published fiction until I bought a copy earlier this year — for the science articles. Trust me, now that I know I’ll be sending something your way sooner or later.
And yes, I agree 100% about publication-whoring. Being published is kinda neat, but it matters *where* you get published — it’s all about being the story actually being read. And if the story isn’t good enough to get published in a paying, well-read magazine — well, perhaps the story needs to be reworked. Sometimes it pays to shelve a story until you can figure out why it’s not good enough for the big (or at least bigger) leagues.
It’s all about motive. Are you in the writing game so you can boast about publication credits, or to have your stories read (and to entertain and engage people with them)?
Cool Nigel, I’ll look forward to your submission.
Cat