I interviewed Gordon Clemmons, Editor In Chief of ShadeWorks, an ezine that specializes in “the land of make-believe.” We talked about the joys and challenges of running an ezine, common mistakes writers make, and why there will always be a place for good, scary fiction.
LT: What sparked your interest in starting a horror website?
GC: I looked around the web for good horror zines, and while there were some, they were few and far between. Most were either hideous with no standards, or they were long-dead. I know a thing or two about building websites, and I work with authors and publishers every day, so I thought, why not create a clean, ad-free space for aspiring horror writers.
LT: What obstacles did you encounter?
GC: The biggest obstacle was getting on writers’ radar. I knew what to do to up our page ranking in Google, but getting traffic was only half the battle. Establishing trust with writers was the other half. It took several months and two published issues before a regular stream of submissions started coming in. I’m grateful to those writers that took a chance and submitted their stories to ShadeWorks before it was a proven entity.
LT: What have you learned about writing from being an editor?
GC: A lot! But probably the biggest revelation for me was the importance of length and pace. The best tip I can give to writers is: keep it short. Trim and trim some more. I’m sure a lot of aspiring writers think about short story length as measured by the anthologies they read. I know I did. Read through Night Shift and you think that 7,000 to 15,000 words is typical–that a slow build with lots of character development is normal. Those things are normal when you’re successful and publishing regularly, but when you’re trying to get your foot in the door, keep it short and sweet.
LT: What appeals to you in a story?
GC: Believable characters and good pacing. If the characters are cliché or the story drags though pages of mundane narrative, I put it down. That may sound like a contradiction to question 3, but it isn’t. A character can behave believably without the reader ever knowing anything personal about them.
LT: What pitfalls would you like to see authors avoid?
GC: There are quite a few. We put together some tips for writers on our site that cover the pitfalls we regularly see:
http://www.shadeworks.org/tips-for-writers/
One of the most common is a good story ruined by a lack of self-editing. The author has the writing chops but hasn’t learned what to fix in the redrafts. Hopefully our tips are helpful.
LT: How did you find your submissions editor?
GC: Bill was the first good writer to submit a story to ShadeWorks. He was a breath of fresh air, and we struck up a personal dialog through emails during those early months. It turned out that, not only was he a good writer, he taught creative writing (among other things). So I asked him if he would be willing to help out and, lucky for me and for ShadeWorks, he said yes.
LT: What plans, changes, or goals do you have for your site?
GC: We’ve talked about a few next-steps. We’d like to host an annual Halloween writing contest, and we would like to release a printed anthology each year. Initially I think we need to find one more editor–perhaps an art editor.
LT: What would you like to see more of in the horror genre?
GC: I’d like to see more blurring of the lines between horror and other genres. Despite the conventional terminology, I think that all fiction is speculative, and I really enjoy works that illustrate this by bridging into mainstream “literary” fiction, sci-fi, mystery, etc.
LT: What authors do you like to read in your spare time?
GC: Bill Bryson, Weis & Hickman, Kelley Armstrong, J.K. Rowling, and Stephen King.
LT: What scares you?
GC: Loneliness.
LT: Are there any particular types of stories that you’d like to see that haven’t crossed your desk yet?
GC: A good old-fashion, well-written haunted house story. And, while we’ve had a few, I can never get too many werewolf stories. I have a soft spot for lycanthropes.
LT: What do you find enduring about horror as a genre?
GC: Oh, I think our innate love of being scared in a safe way. We love the thrills and the spine-tingling that keep us turning the pages and pulling the covers a little tighter.
LT: Is there anything you’d like to add?
GC: Just a word of encouragement to aspiring writers: keep reading and keep writing. You have stories that no one else has. Find them and tell them as best you can.
To take a peek at ShadeWorks latest issue, click here:
http://www.shadeworks.org/in/crypt/v2-issue3/
©2009 Lori Titus
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