Southern Fried Weirdness

 

T.J. McIntyre aka southernwierdo was kind enough to carve out a bit of his busy schedule to endure my personal torture session. Ok. I asked him ten questions. As you can tell, the answers are important to both of us! I am grateful he took the time to share his experience and wisdom with us. Give it a read then go check out his work!


1. Tell us a little about your current edition of Southern Fried Weirdness(SFW).

The Summer 2008 edition of Southern Fried Weirdness contains four stories and four poems. The pieces range in tone from the humorous to the horrific. There is some magic realism in there and a little bit of the surreal. All of the pieces manage to mix a Southern tone with elements of the fantastic.

2. How did SFW get started and how did you get involved?

I started SFW as a venue to combine two long-time interests: Southern Literature and Speculative Fiction. Initially I was looking to create a one-time anthology to learn more about the publishing industry. I possess a kinesthetic learning style. When learning any new industry I try to do a lot of cross-training to learn different aspects of that industry, and thought an anthology would be a good way to see the publishing industry from the point of view of an editor and publisher. I did a lot of research and a lot of networking. I used a lot of what I learned in my communication, journalism, and English classes in college, and worked out a tentative business plan. That plan involved the anthology and possibly making it an annual deal if it succeeded. Success is a relative term, but the initial anthology -- even though I never bought an ISBN block and only published it through the lulu.com POD service -- was a success. Readers and writers offered positive feedback. Thanks in part to some of the writers involved in the project and with minimal foot work, the anthology was placed in various library systems throughout Mississippi and Alabama. I've seen it in a few "Southern Author" and "Regional Interest" sections.

SFW Online started off as a marketing idea to promote the print anthology. It was designed to be a weekly webzine to feature flash fiction and help advertise the print anthology. A few of the stories on SFW Online were from authors whose works are featured in the 2007 anthology. This weekly webzine proved successful as well, but promoting a story a week, sorting through submissions, editing the story when needed, and updating the site became time-consuming. It was often rewarding, but I felt I was not able to give authors, or their stories, the individual attention I was able to provide when working on the anthology.

Southern Fried Weirdness in the present quarterly format is a merging of these two ideas: the print anthology and the webzine. It is not as time-consuming as the weekly publication and allows me to be more selective as an editor. I think it will offer writers more exposure, and it even allowed me to increase pay rates.

I am learning more and more about this industry as I go along, and enjoy watching SFW grow beyond my initial expectations.


3. What has the experience been like for you?

Exhausting, exhilarating, and everything in-between. There are days I wake up wondering what the heck I am doing, but then there are other days when I get positive feedback from other writers, editors, and readers that make it all worthwhile for me. Plus, I learn on the job every day. I understand how tough this industry is while also being surprised daily by the kindness of the people involved. Other editors, writers, and publishers are amazingly supportive of my endeavors and very willing to lend a hand any way that they can.

The most rewarding aspect of this project has been getting to know people, especially the writers involved. I have made friendships with many past contributors and enjoy watching them as they successfully venture forward to bigger and better things.


4. What is the process like behind the scenes?

Time-consuming and pretty boring to most outsiders looking in. It would not make for an entertaining reality show. I spend most of my time reading submissions and responding to writers. Even though my responses are often short, I try to write a personalized response for every writer who submits their work to me. I actually enjoy reading my slush pile very much.


5. How are you getting SFW out there?

I participate in a lot of message boards and writing groups. The library exposure for the first anthology proved beneficial. I also submit stories to various “Year’s Best…” anthologies and nominate them for various awards. I send out review copies of the print anthologies, and recently began announcing the publication of the Summer 2008 edition of SFW to several websites for review.

6. Do you have long range goals for SFW?

I would love to see this thing grow to the point where I can afford to pay writers professional rates. As it is now, all the funds come from my own pocket. I would like to see this project become a self-sufficient entity. I intend to continue to improve and evolve as an editor. I would like to see the writers I work with get the recognition they deserve, and will work to accomplish that goal by continuing to seek out reviews and nominating stories for recognition. From the beginning, this was intended to be a writer-friendly project, and I plan to keep it that way.

7. You are a busy guy. How do you balance writing in your life?

It is a challenge, to say the least. I have a full-time day job, a family with two young boys, I try to exercise with some regularity, and volunteer for various charities. My schedule stays pretty full. Luckily, I love everything I do, so my only real challenge is finding a way to fit everything in.

When writing, I create goals for myself and keep them. For the last few months, my weekly goal was to produce a story a week. When working on a novel, I will make myself produce a minimum of 5,000 words a week. This works out to be 1,000 words a day with two days off to devote to my family.

I block off times for editing others’ work and going through submissions.

My family is very supportive, and that helps. My children help me to stay focused and productive in surprising ways. I know how little time I have for writing, so I make the best of that time and start typing instead of staring at the screen and waiting on the muse.

On top of everything else, I am grateful for my supportive spouse. She believes in me when I don’t, and that keeps me going.

8. Set the stage for us. Give us your dream writing production day.

It would go like this: It would begin with a good jog or bike ride to get the blood flowing. This would be followed by a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper. The next two hours would be uninterrupted and I would manage to put down 4,000 words without any distractions. These words would be perfect, of course, and require no editing later. They would be the kind of words that I could come back to in a month and wonder who wrote such beautiful prose instead of finding the inevitable typos and tense problems that usually plague my own writing. After that, I would spend the rest of the day with my family playing outside, perhaps going on a hike or to an amusement park followed by a barbecue.

9. What placed project are you most proud of? Can you give us a little background on it?

I am really proud of two stories coming out later this year: “Last Taste of Manna” and “Bubbles.”

“Last Taste of Manna” will be included in an upcoming edition of SpaceWesterns.com. This is a true cross-genre piece and one I am very proud of. Without giving away too much, it is a re-telling of the story of Moses in the wilderness on an alien world without the benefit of divine guidance. It is the story of humanity left to its own devices. It was equally influenced by historical accounts of early American settlers mixed with a little LeGuin and Bradbury for good measure. I almost wrote it as a straight Western, but found the alien setting and presence too exciting to pass up once I imagined it.

“Bubbles” is a very different story. It is scheduled for Issue # 2 of Sand: A Journal of Strange Tales. This tale is a contemporary piece of surreal horror bordering on magic realism. The story is told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator -- a tweenage girl -- and examines the effects of grief on the young psyche. I’m very fond of the tone of this story, and the imagery it contains.

10. What are some lessons you have learned along the way that you want to share with us?

I’m still learning this industry, and am not an expert by any definition of the word, but some things I have learned in no particular order (most of this has been said elsewhere and has been said much better than I could ever say it):

* Write often.
* Write better. No matter how good you might write, you can always write better. Never stop learning.
* Get others to read and critique your work. You can never read your story or poem with the unbiased eyes of an outside reader.
* Network. Get to know other writers, editors, publishers, and agents. Attending conventions is highly recommended.
* Read blogs, visit websites, write letters, and send emails. Learn from the mistakes and successes of others.
* Be sure to research markets.
* Understand that the act of writing itself is a lonely and selfish endeavor, but the act of publishing requires a lot of teamwork and compromise.
* Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The writing industry can seem cold and inaccessible at times, but most of the individuals involved are very friendly people and more than willing to offer nuggets of wisdom if you simply ask.
* Always try to help others if you are able.