I just got a story published by eFiction. I'll just relate a few facts, with my personal take:
- The acceptance e-mail came just over a month after submission. It's easy to see how such a quick turnaround is very attractive, especially to new authors.
- The magazine with my story came out barely more than a week after acceptance.
- The acceptance suggested that their would be final edits and cleanup asked of me. I was never asked, and I have yet to find any changes between submission and acceptance. I have learned from one other long-time author for the Romance imprint that quick turnaround is normal, and that final edits are rarely asked.
- It's hard to find reviews of any of the imprints that aren't done by authors or editors.
- I have been asked to join the volunteer reviewers - submissions are vetted through talk on Submittable, as is pretty normal these days. What is unusual is asking contributors to volunteer more of their time ...
- FWIW, the imprints do seem to be successful enough to keep the site and the process going. I haven't found any hard data on just how many sales and subscriptions eFiction takes in, though.
I've got mixed emotions here. I still feel glad about getting published, and I want to like eFiction - the issues look great on mobile devices and quite a few of the stories I've seen so far have been good. I can see why it's an attractive choice for some writers, and yet there are some fishy things going on.
- The acceptance e-mail came just over a month after submission. It's easy to see how such a quick turnaround is very attractive, especially to new authors.
- The magazine with my story came out barely more than a week after acceptance.
- The acceptance suggested that their would be final edits and cleanup asked of me. I was never asked, and I have yet to find any changes between submission and acceptance. I have learned from one other long-time author for the Romance imprint that quick turnaround is normal, and that final edits are rarely asked.
- It's hard to find reviews of any of the imprints that aren't done by authors or editors.
- I have been asked to join the volunteer reviewers - submissions are vetted through talk on Submittable, as is pretty normal these days. What is unusual is asking contributors to volunteer more of their time ...
- FWIW, the imprints do seem to be successful enough to keep the site and the process going. I haven't found any hard data on just how many sales and subscriptions eFiction takes in, though.
I've got mixed emotions here. I still feel glad about getting published, and I want to like eFiction - the issues look great on mobile devices and quite a few of the stories I've seen so far have been good. I can see why it's an attractive choice for some writers, and yet there are some fishy things going on.
