Watch out! The deadline is right behind you!

There are only 18 days left until the deadline!

But no rush.

Update #1:  The allotment for artists filled up pretty fast.  I will accept 1-2 more with styles different from those in the showcase.  If you’re interested, feel free to email me with examples of your work.

Update #2:  I’m going to pitch this anthology to my publisher next week, so we’ll see where that leads us.  Hopefully it ends in good news!

Update #3:  I broke 100 submissions (around 200K words) roughly two weeks ago.  Out of those first 100, I’m only considering about 17.  My goal is to include 25-30 worthy stories.

Moving on.  As submissions continue to roll in, I’ve been asked one question quite a few times: “Before I submit, do you have any helpful tips?”

I sure do!  Here they are:

·    I’d like to see people shy away from setting their story inside Memory Eater stores.  Write with the understanding that readers will know a character went to a ME store if a memory is missing.  What I really want to see is your story’s character and how they either overcome or stumble over the obstacle in their way.

·    A lot of submissions deal with lovers and spouses deleting each other or their sleazy deeds, so know if this is the path you’re taking, there’s going to be a lot of competition.  A LOT.

·    You can alter the purpose of the Memory Eater, but know that only a small number of these submissions will be accepted, so again, this will be a tough category to win in.

·    I’d say about 8 to 10% of the submissions fall into the category of humor, so if you want to increase your chances of being selected, write a funny story.

·    Don’t get hung up on explaining the history of the Memory Eater in a story not dealing with the history of the Memory Eater.

·    I love unique voices, unique perspectives, unique situations, unique characters, unique…  For example, I just got done writing a story from the perspective of a gay man who is forcing his adopted eight-year-old girl to participate in a pageant show onboard a crashing plane.

·    Write with confidence, please.  If you don’t even believe in your own story, how am I supposed to?

And last but most importantly, make sure you incorporate the Memory Eater in some way, shape or form.  Meaning I'll reject stories that use telepathic powers, aliens, goblins, plungers, magic (really, I'm getting this kind of stuff) or anything else that isn't a variation of the Memory Eater to delete memories.

Now get back to writing!  That’s what I’m going to doJ