Every one or two weeks until the anthology’s release, we’ll be presenting updates entitled the San Cicaro Pulse. Not just a catchy title, it may also be the name of a local newspaper within the anthology.

Our updates will actually come in two parts: public and private.

News:

The first update involves developments and meta-level details about the anthology. In particular, any trends we receive. This information is valuable to writers for a few reasons. For example, if an author is considering writing a vampire story, knowledge that we’ve received 50 vampire-themed submissions could deter their decision. But this information is valuable outside the anthology too. Many authors mentioned writing stories that could be shopped elsewhere. They’re smart to do so— nothing is worse than putting hours of effort into something unsalable anywhere else. And warning of many vampire stories seeking publication can help direct writers towards more untouched themes and originality.

Trends are very tough to stay on top of, especially in an age of digital publication. We’re happy to help let authors know the too-familiar themes.

I’ve also mentioned some developments we’re working towards. We can’t say anything yet, but we are looking at marketing ideas that are truly outside the box.

Submission Returns:

Which brings me to the second part of our updates. Each week or so, the editors will be looking to return responses to authors. We want to stay atop the slush pile as best we can. And until the time comes when Thunderbird Studio receives dozens of stories a day, we will personalize our rejections.

It truly sucks when someone puts their soul into something only to receive a form rejection sans explanation. (Or worse, when hearing “nothing” is the rejection.) Everyone who works at Thunderbird has been there. So rather, we want to give authors an idea of how to improve. And the sooner we do that, the more time they’ll have to turn their stories around.

If you take the time to submit to our, we’re going to do our best for you. So be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Finally, a big thanks to Louis Amal on Unsplash for the photo we’ve used for this post’s banner. Happy Memorial Day folks!