Writing Class Tip Number Two: Nothing's Sacred

Has he destroyed your manuscript today?

You know no one believes the proverbial my dog ate my homework trope. An email could have been closely on the heels of the great flood. There is a contract involved here that  the publisher voided when he inserted his own piece in favor of mine. There is a contract that this publisher ignored. What does that tell other writers and artists about business practices?

No matter what their affiliation, after all it takes only a membership fee to be in a guild, Sturgeon was right on, however he should have included publishers.

Writing Class Lesson For Tonight -- Professionalism: You Won't Find It Here

Toward the end of 2014 my short story BAD LUCK was published. The story has had a rather unusual history but when it was finally published it garnered a lot of critical praise. A prior publisher who decided to pass on the story contacted me in January 2015 claiming that he did not reject it, he actually wanted it and the rejection letter was a mistake

Jack of No Trades Productions now wanted the story and we agreed it would be in their October issue of 'Nothing's Sacred'. The story, as promised, would be in the first slot.

Nathon Allen Balka, editor in chief then explained the virtues of the Horror Writers Association and how wonderful this issue would be in October.

It is October and the issue is being promoted on his site. My story doesn't appear.

After two email inquiries here is the main portion of the response:

"Once I receive a submission, I print it out because it's easier for me to read. When NS2 was complete, I had your story printed out. One night I left it sitting on the kitchen table and went to work. When I came home the following morning, I discovered that one of my step kids had also left a large cup of water on the table --- which got knocked over by our cat. By the time I got to it, the sheets of paper had fused themselves together and were unreadable so I threw it away. I took a three month hiatus to work on my own stuff, during which time I didn't think about anything dealing with Nothing's Sacred. The first thing I did when I returned was delete all of my old emails to start fresh with submissions . Eventually, Bad Luck fell through the cracks because I didn't have a with to retrieve it, which is why it is not in Nothing's Sacred Vol. 3."

Mr. Balka has not reached out to include the piece in a future issue. I wouldn't consent to it anyway considering how this magazine is run.