The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Nick Douglas:

Show all comments by Nick Douglas.

Posted on entry Slushkiller ::: February 07, 2004, 03:37 PM:
Scalzi, if you're slogging through "Confederacy," I think you accidentally picked up "Harry Potter" with the wrong binding. Perhaps your bookstore has been overtaken by Italo Calvino, because "Confederacy" is gold.
Posted on entry Slushkiller ::: February 02, 2004, 11:03 AM:
Heh, sorry John, that was knee-jerk of me. Thanks for telling me about the user-participation vs. magazine-style divide; should've seen that.

Is there a chance I can copy this and use it as my rejection form letter? I'm talking under 100 submissions a year, so this page has seen more eyeballs this morning than it will for my 3-year (assuming I do graduate from college) editing career.

And the third bird for the stone: Any of these writers could splurge for a "Writer's Market" copy and save themselves all this pain and suffering. In fact, most publishers could merely send the Library of Congress info for "Writer's Market," followed by the words "Buy this," as their rejection slip.
Posted on entry Slushkiller ::: February 02, 2004, 10:29 AM:
Wow. AOL turns down submissions. To look at "hot or not" you could never tell.

I'm a violent (yes) proponent of the amateurization of communication and entertainment, especially on the web, but I must admit that it hasn't helped editors when every schmuck thinks he deserves "The Atlantic Monthly."

Humor is the worst. I'm about to kick off an independent college zine, and I want to hire a stranger to tell kids, "You are not funny. If you were just a bad writer, I'd be comfortable telling you, but this is personal. When you suck at jokes, you suck at life."

Then again, as an editor who uses "suck" in business communication, I shouldn't set my standard too high.

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