Submission Guidelines

• Reasons I Put This Site Up
• Steps To Getting Published
• Individual Stories
• Individual People
• Things I Won't Take

I have put the Writers' Showcase site up for a few very simple reasons. They are:

• I'm an egotist and would rather like to see some of my writings published somewhere!
• I feel guilty being an egotist and would like to see other people's stuff published at the same place as my stuff.
• I like reading people's stuff. It makes me feel foozhy.
• I know what it feels like to be a muse-driven writer, and would rather like to keep other people from feeling it.
• I can.

That about sums it up.

1. Write it!
2. Edit it.
3. Send it to me (preferably via e-mail) with the following.
   • Your name, e-mail address, and some kind of site handle.
   • A short treatise on why you wrote this story (maybe a paragraph)
   • Another short treatise on what your opinion of the mood of the story is (sad, happy, sappy, had, sick, funny, sinny,...never mind)
   • Any artwork or quotes that you have done or are willing to cite and would like to include with a story (see Things I Won't Take for information on other artwork)
4. I'll edit it and send my corrections back to you.
5. You'll hate them and tell me to put it back.
6. We'll hopefully pass dialogue back and forth on how you want this piece of work published (i.e. backgrounds, fonts, maybe (maybe) mood music, formatting, stylistics, etc.)
7. When I'm satisfied, I'll put your work up.

That's pretty much all there is. It's not all that hard.

What I will ask you to write (not in HTML, or anything, otherwise I would be out of a job) other than the story, is a set of Notes for your story. For an example look at the notes on one of my stories, The Antithesis of Reality. This is basically just a quick overview of your thought processes, your writing situation, your opinions, and whatever else related to the story you want to talk about. This is a seperate thing from the above-mentioned paragraphs to me. These notes can be any length, and can discuss a wide range of subjects related to the topic.

Every piece of work ever composed, be it music, art, print, dance, theatre, whatever, is different. Each and every painting, no matter how similar they are, are miles apart. No one has ever been able to truly copy the Mona Lisa's smile, or the way she holds her hands.

The same goes for your writing. It has a mood and a flow and a feel that is uniquely yours. This means two things. Number one; you have a right to your own work, and number two; it has a way to be presented.

The first means that no one, not me or God or the federal government has the right to copy your work. It's yours. I, in publishing it for you, am merely a vessel, carrying your words to the Internet at large. You have the right to tell me how you want it done. And I have the right to say that I flat don't want to do it that way, and refuse to publish you. I can't edit your work without your permission. This is a matter of law.

The second is a matter of philosophy. I personally believe that every story has a way it can be presented anywhere. I think that some of my best stuff is best read aloud. But, even using printed word, there is a way it can be done most beautifully and artistically. My job in this is to find that way, either for you or with you. This way can include supplements of pictures, artful fonts and backgrounds, sounds or music, or simply stark black words on white space. This is up to you to decide, or to decide to let me decide for you, your call. When I publish things on this site, I want them to be beautiful. And they will be, both to see and to read.

Thank you for listening to me blither. For two wildly different examples of number two, look at The Antithesis of Reality and I Am Martian. For examples of number one, note the Copyright © symbols at the bottom of each story.

I will probably not be handing people's names out on the site unless they specifically request it. I would prefer to both organize works and identify authors by handles, such as my rather simple Callandor. If you want your name on the site, include that fact with your story, and it'll go up.

I'd like to try not to barge in on people's privacy. I will include e-mail addresses with stories, unless I am asked not to by the author. I'd also like to make this thing a sort of free-for-all workshop, and let writers (or readers) critique each other's work. If you don't want to join in such activities, tell me, and I will write a notice that you'd rather not be bugged next to your e-mail address.

If you have any complaints, by the way, about conventions errors in stories, those are directed to me. Complaints about any of the other six traits head towards the author.