Cemetery Dance magazine to re-open to submissions later this year

[Lucian Poll]

Thanks for the clarification, Brian. It's much appreciated. I'm very happy with the way my story has turned out, but this one falls squarely under dark mystery. (Hence the word count, as there's a fair amount going on.) I get the feeling I'm pushing my luck a little too far, but it's got to be worth a shot.

(That said, I'll still work on that other idea, NaNo permitting!)

Randy, I'm sold! After that passage I look forward to seeing your work in CD!

[Randy D. Rubin]

I know I'm looking forward to getting something totally awesome into this magazine if it kills me! I can't wait for the window to open... that first cool breeze of anticipation and night air... the invitation to enter... the lure, the seduction... then, without warning, BAM! The story attacks you... it grabs at your throat, holding you immobile, helpless, wanting to scream, 'Stop, stop scaring me' but the story never stops bombarding you with horrors and constricting twists and tightening turns... and before you know it... you've made it into Cemetery Dance Magazine and you're so happy the tears just flow from your eyes. You can't stop it; you don't WANT to stop it. You can go to your worm infested grave a true believer in miracles.

[Brian James Freeman]

I finished a second draft of a story (it's now in the hands of Quality Control) with this upcoming submission window in mind, only to then re-check the guidelines and find I'm 2000 words over budget! Gah! I can't tempt you into bumping up the maximum word count to around 7000 could I? Go on, just this once? For me?

Oh well, not to worry. I'd better get this other idea down on paper toot sweet!

I always say this: "If the story is awesome, word count is just a suggestion."

The corollary to that is, "Editors set guidelines for a reason, and if you're going to go against those guidelines, you'd better be really sure of what you're doing."



Brian

[Xiabei]

I've got a huge stack of "Twilight Zone" magazines in my nightstand, and to me the only thing that comes close is CD. I hope it keeps going for a long, long time.

And I admit, aside from the "big" names who have stories in it, I don't know who most of the other writers are. Discovery is fun. Just imagine seeing your name in there, or mine!

edit: hmm, not open now?

[Lucian Poll]

I finished a second draft of a story (it's now in the hands of Quality Control) with this upcoming submission window in mind, only to then re-check the guidelines and find I'm 2000 words over budget! Gah! I can't tempt you into bumping up the maximum word count to around 7000 could I? Go on, just this once? For me?

Oh well, not to worry. I'd better get this other idea down on paper toot sweet!

[Brian James Freeman]

I assume a lot of readers are like yourself, in that they are not necessarily writers reading the market for purposes of submitting. It works best that way, I think.

Given a lot of submissions we see, I can promise you that most of the authors who submit stories have never read a single issue of the magazine.

Brian

[Brian James Freeman]

You said something interesting in your post: you said that the magazine doesn't necessarily make financial sense to publish at this point. I'm taking that to mean it is a loss leader for the rest of the Cemetery Dance venture.

Richard grew up on horror magazines like The Twilight Zone and The Horror Show and dozens of others, and we think it's important to keep that tradition alive. So even though the magazine just breaks even, we keep on plugging away because it's fun and we love it and we hope our readers are still getting a kick out of it.

I'll tell you, I would love to see a series of Creepshow-like horror anthologies under the Cemetery Dance banner, that would be a lot of fun. Or, imagine a Cemetery Dance film done like that Trick 'r Treat film from a few years back -- Halloween would never be the same again (and that would be for the better).

I definitely love this idea and it's something we've kicked around before. There are a lot of costs that go into doing something like that right, but when you do it right, the results can be outstanding!

Richard started a production studio called Chesapeake Films with Johnathon Schaech, who also grew up in the Edgewood, Maryland, area. It's separate from Cemetery Dance, though. They're doing some fun stuff.

Brian

[JJ123]

Martin,

I enjoy discovering new writers as well. I can't remember if Cemetery Dance has done this before, but they should consider doing an issue with all new writers.

I assume a lot of readers are like yourself, in that they are not necessarily writers reading the market for purposes of submitting. It works best that way, I think.

[JJ123]

Thanks, C.W., for your encouragement. I'll tell you, since this is going to be an e-submission system, there is a good chance I will try Cemetery Dance again. Many years ago, I submitted several stories to the magazine, but the wait became so long that I stopped doing it (not the magazine's fault, certainly, just the nature of the beast). If it was a postal process this time around, I can pretty much say I wouldn't give it a go. But we'll see what happens. You are correct in your philosophy about submitting, by the way. I just sometimes feel that other markets might be more efficient to try. But I do have a few stories that I like, so perhaps one of them could become a Cemetery Dace submission. Thanks again.

[JJ123]

Richard,

That's a great story about how you won that competition. It is definitely inspiring, and I will take your advice seriously. And that is very cool that you are alongside King and Straub in the anthology...that is something I would love to do one day, be in an anthology with a major name. Thanks for replying.

[JJ123]

Brian,

Thank you for your reply. That information is indeed helpful, because I didn't think of looking at the odds in the way you described. The odds are still stacked against any individual, but anything less than the total submissions you receive should be looked at as a positive. And I wasn't aware of the slush pile's relationship with the Shivers anthology.

You said something interesting in your post: you said that the magazine doesn't necessarily make financial sense to publish at this point. I'm taking that to mean it is a loss leader for the rest of the Cemetery Dance venture. In the new digital economy, I can see how this can be true. I was wondering what Cemetery Dance plans to keep growing. I have a suggestion: what about trying to expand your brand into the independent movie business? If I recall correctly, wasn't Mr. Chizmar going to do that at one point (maybe that's a phantom memory, I'm not sure)? Perhaps the magazine should try to buy movie/TV rights to the stories they purchase for the magazine, maybe on an option-type basis at the least, and then attempt to interest a studio or production company in them. Perhaps Cemetery Dance should get into the short-film business and utilize a YouTube channel as a showcase platform. Like I say, Mr. Chizmar to the best of my recollection was going to approach some kind of new model like that, so I guess what I am suggesting is that a more aggressive tack should be used. And I'll say this: you probably would be better off buying movie rights from newcomers rather than the very established writers you constantly publish, only because it might be cheaper that way; I obviously wouldn't mind seeing filmed product based on the regular contributors, but I can only imagine that they would demand a much higher price.

I'll tell you, I would love to see a series of Creepshow-like horror anthologies under the Cemetery Dance banner, that would be a lot of fun. Or, imagine a Cemetery Dance film done like that Trick 'r Treat film from a few years back -- Halloween would never be the same again (and that would be for the better).

[Martin]

I will give the view from a lifetime subscriber to Cemetery Dance Magazine. One of the things that attracted me to the magazine was that I love stories, and I love discovering stories from people I have not read before. Would I have a lifetime subscription to the magazine if they did not mix in new authors, probably. Would I look forward to each new edition as much as I do if it only contained the usual suspects, probably not.

[C.W. LaSart]

I second what Richard says and add that 3 years ago, I had nothing published. I had never even submitted anything. I submitted my first story on a whim, and I'm glad I did. I could be sitting back right now just writing and not submitting instead of publishing. Give yourself a shot.

[RichardThomas]

thanks for the kind words, too, JJ. and Brian is 100% correct. i got into Shivers VI through the slush. i got very lucky, the fact that King & Straub were included, just good timing. but you have to put it out there. i'd LOVE to be in CD, the magazine. it would be an honor, so i'm definitely going to submit, got one story right now that might be a good fit. what's the worst thing that can happen? they pass. so you lose a little time, it's not like your story can't find a good home elsewhere. i continue to submit my work to F&SF, Clarkesworld, Shock Totem, Shroud, and all kinds of dark, difficult markets, like CD, many with an acceptance rate of 1% or less. why? because i have to know that i at least tried.

i'll tell you another story. i had a horror story that i liked a lot, but wasn't sure how good it was. a friend entered a contest and told me i should too. i showed him the story, he said it was great. i doubted it. i entered at the last minute anyway. it was at a public horror forum, and the members (i was new, and didn't know anybody, really) voted. the top ten stories got shown to an editor of a top horror magazine. i read the stories, made my votes, and then limped away thinking, "ah, i don't have a chance in hell, i won't even make the top TEN out of 65 entries." i snuck in with the 9th most votes. but others ahead of me, some really great stories, (and some i thought were just okay, maybe voted up by being a popular member) had 30, 40 votes. i was doomed. the ten stories went to the editor blind, he didn't know who wrote which one, or how many votes were cast for which story. can you guess how this story ends? usually, with a 9th place finish. but i won the contest. i was shocked. in fact, my friend emailed me, i'd already given up. when i spoke to the editor about it he said it really had great tension. it was very cool.

write your best story, and send it to the top markets. look at the recent CD chapbook that was just announced. man, it looks so GREAT. i'm so happy for the people that won and got in. even though i just missed making it, that story ended up in an anthology alongside Jack Ketchum. and i'm really proud of everyone that got into this book, and excited to read the work by the "masters" as well as the "students." we're all family here, we encourage each other, yeah?

no pain, no gain, right? go for it, and let the editors sort the stories out.

PS: five years ago i had absolutely NOTHING published.

[C.W. LaSart]

Thanks for the shout-out, JJ (though I hardly feel established). I think Brian explained things very well, but I would like to add something. Submitting to CD has the odds against you, but not submitting makes the odds a big fat 0! It doesn't hurt to submit. I think everyone who wants to do so, should go for it! Including you, JJ Just think what a delightful surprise it would be to be chosen.