Michael Bracken sent me the link to this article by Meghan O'Rouke about the ratio of men to women getting published in the magazine market. Very interesting figures. http://www.slate.com/id/2283605
I remember back several months ago I asked when Plots with Guns was going to publish an all female issue as they tended toward the male voiced stories. At the time, the editor and I had a bit of back and forth and he told me that of the 40 or so stories he had on hand only about five were female submission. I did notice that none of those five were selected for the next issue, but as he said, it all boils down to what appeals to him.
This post over at "Fried Chicken and Coffee" also makes me wonder if it's a matter of not submitting or just the editor's tastes that makes the balance so uneven. http://www.friedchickenandcoffee.com/2011/01/12/women-writers-wanted/
Whatever the case, we ladies seem to have a steeper hill to climb.
2 comments:
I think if that is happening, it is total bullshit. It should be about the story, no matter who wrote it. It would be a cool case study if some female writers submitted under male pseudonyms to see what happens.
The story should always come first, Sean, no matter who wrote it. And I don't know if it's prejudice on the part of the editors or just the fact that women see things differently then men which makes for a different kind of story. It's really hard to know what's going on when you submit a story. You just have to go with it.
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