On 18th April, 2015 I received the happiest news in my writing career. One of my short stories, I am Mala, was accepted for publication in eFiction magazine. On May 1, it was published and is available now on Amazon and eFiction website.
Today, I have with me Mr. Doug Lance, Editor-in-chief, FictionMagazines.com (the umbrella enterprise of eFiction), who, thankfully agreed at once when I asked him for an interview. Thank you so much, Doug, for doing this. Here’s what he has to say:
Tell us how the Fiction Magazines started and how the journey so far has been.
I started FMDC in college in 2010. It started as a simple, free blog site. I continued to work on it and develop it further. It grew quickly and became my full time job by 2012.
What kind of stories is eFiction looking for?
eFiction is looking for great literary fiction that is topical and relevant to the most popular events and ideas online.
How is a story, for example I am Mala (selected in Vol. 06, No. 02), chosen for publication in eFiction?
Stories are voted on by our volunteer curators, then selected by the assistant editor.
What is the hardest part of being an editor?
My job as Editor-in-chief of FMDC is not a typical EiC job. This company is building magazines that have never been possible ever before. The company is structured like no other in the planet. I’m constantly innovating and building systems that have never existed before. That is difficult but I would not have it any other way.
As an editor, what are your pet peeves?
The only pet peeve I have is people who do not follow guidelines. I don’t like people who just shotgun blast their stories to every market. I prefer folks who take the time to read my magazines and write for us specifically.
Scribbles@Arpita 