Patrick Swenson: 4/24/08

Mary Rosenblum

Welcome all!

This is our Professional Connection live chat.

Tonight we'll be chatting with Patrick Swenson.

So Patrick, welcome! Nice to have you here!

Patrick Swenson

Thanks, Mary. It's great to be back!

I was trying to remember when I was here last

Mary Rosenblum

It was, I think, a couple of years ago that you were here.

Things do seem to be changing rapidly in the publishing world these days!

Patrick Swenson

indeed!

Mary Rosenblum

So for the folk who are new here or don't remember, want to tell us how you got started and how you ended up as Fairwood Press and editor of Talebones?

Patrick Swenson

Certainly. Well, as you mentioned, Talebones came first, and then Fairwood started in 2000. Fairwood is actually a small corporation, so that involved

getting some investors (not too many) to get rolling. But Talebones started in 1995. This was after I

had spent some time working on a column for FIGMENT magazine (I also had sold them a story a year earlier).

FIGMENT was run by Barb & JC Hendee, who of course now have a wonderful, successful fantasy series with Roc

called The Noble Dead Series. Anyway, they helped me get my start. When they folded Figment

I thought: shoot, that was fun (I used to help them read slush and such), I wonder if I could do it.

I got a little more money, a little more computing power, and off I went.

Fairwood started because Patrick O'Leary

who published his first short story with us, wanted a collection done, and New York wasn't touching it

because it was 1/3 poetry, 1/3 essay, 1/3 fiction. Not something the big boys are going to contemplate

So I said sure, let's do it, as soon as I figure out HOW! J

Mary Rosenblum

Nothing like jumping into the deep end of the pool, eh?

Obviously you figured out how to do it!

Patrick Swenson

Absolutely! At the time Talebones was just a saddle-stapled magazine, with only a few issues out in color

so I searched around, and yep, I figured out what I wanted to do.

Mary Rosenblum

Now, Talebones is one of a very few well produced, print speculative fiction magazines...

what have been the challenges of keeping it alive when so many mags have folded or gone to ezine?

Patrick Swenson

Well, the challenge has been that it was a labor of love that became a business. I'm a full time English teacher

and both Talebones and Fairwood are done in my "copious" spare time. :) Which means I really don't have

the time to devote to a lot of extra PR, marketing, and that sort of thing. We're definitely SMALL. I have

limited funds. And once Fairwood Press started, I had to cut back on frequency. And that makes it harder to woo subscribers

because now you're only coming out twice a year instead of quarterly. And distribution is difficult. I don't

do any of the major stores, because I just can't afford the risk. I don't have the money up front, and I couldn't take the hit

if things went bad.

Mary Rosenblum

And magazine distribution has changed a lot, hasn't it?

Patrick Swenson

Subscriptions are key. When subs slowed down, and renewals were not coming in as much as I'd hoped, then I had to

start figuring out ways to keep going. Yes, distribution has changed, but I've never been apart of that type of distribution

at least as far as magazines go. I just don't have the resources for it.

So I hit up independent bookstores, specialty stores, catalogs, go to conventions, etc.

Mary Rosenblum

So making this work is a LOT of PR time, I take it.

Patrick Swenson

Sure, and PR time that I don't have, so when I have some, I've got to make it work. Two years ago ...

I was going to announce that Talebones was going to stop publication. We had dropped numbers so much, I just

didn't see how it could continue. But Ellen Datlow emailed me (I'd mentioned the impending close somewhere online)

and said she would be sad to see the magazine go, it was a vital, necessary market, and hoped I'd reconsider.

Well, dang it...

What could I say?

Mary Rosenblum

Good for Ellen!

Patrick Swenson

I had to try! :) So I had the now somewhat infamous "Save Talebones" drive.

Mary Rosenblum

Ellen Datlow, by the way, has been a professional SF editor for years and knows whereof she speaks. And the drive worked.

Patrick Swenson

I posted on my blog, I emailed my address book, and lo and behold, the internet spread the word.

It got on boingboing.net, and many other places. It was like wildfire! We raised in under two weeks.

Mary Rosenblum

Well, Ellen wasn't the only person who didn't want to see you stop publishing!

Patrick Swenson

Thanks! People I didn't even know were posting and letting me know.

Mary Rosenblum

So Patrick, I have a question about the change in Amazon.com policy

that they will no longer sell small press books that are not published by their POD publisher. Is that going to affect Fairwood Press?

Patrick Swenson

Yeah, boy, I first saw a link to the original post (some writer site I think), and I about freaked out.

I immediately had a call in to my service client rep at Lightning Source, to find out what the heck was going on.

I received a call back later, but it ended up on my voice mail, that they were aware of the problem and

baffled by the situation and were trying really hard to understand why Amazon was using those tactics

but they wanted me to know that it was business as usual for now, and there'd be a statement later...

but apparently, I'll be okay. I THINK.

Basically, the assumption is that since Amazon gets our books from Ingrams via LSI, from their point of view, it's no different

from any other books they get from Ingrams.

But who knows for sure? At the moment, my books are still up on Amazon, with the BUY buttons intact.

Mary Rosenblum

I sure hope so! I've been waiting for more news but nothing has been forthcoming. This may be aimed more at the self publishers like Publish America.

Patrick Swenson

Yes, that was my understanding. Even LuLu, I imagine.

Mary Rosenblum

Yes, and that's too bad, but the self publishing industry has exploded

and it may be that more and more, it's going to be important to publish with a reputable small press like Fairwood than to go it alone.

Patrick Swenson

The CEO of Lightning did a press release letting us know that all our titles would continue to be available to all of their

channel partners, including Amazon.com, with immediate availability for shipment within 24 hours.

It has exploded, and part of the reason HAS been because of POD.

But POD has also made it easier for ANYone to publish a book. And that's not always the best thing, depending on the

scope of the book project. Because really, there's no "gatekeepers" to keep the bad stuff from getting out there in the mix.

Mary Rosenblum

So let's talk about gatekeeping. What is it that tells you a story or a book for that matter, is 'good'?

Patrick Swenson

You know, I'm in a unique position as far as Fairwood goes (and then I'll talk about Talebones and stories)

I'm selecting my own book projects, and I'm going to the writers I know. Writers I like. Writers who have proven themselves

mostly through their short fiction. I don't have a slush pile for Fairwood. I'm not an open market....

And here's the reality: I think 90% of the books I've done for Fairwood (about 20+ now) are writers who've been

in Talebones, or I've met in some capacity through Talebones! So every time I think of closing Talebones, I think..

Yeah, but Fairwood is doing well, making money, even. How can I close that source? I call Talebones

my R&D department! :)

Mary Rosenblum

And in a way, it's your slushpile for Fairwood, eh?

Patrick Swenson

Yes, exactly! As for short fiction for the magazine, where there's a true slush-pile, that's a different story...

because I get a couple hundred submissions a month, and if I'm publishing twice a year, that's 1200 submissions

and out of those 1200 I'm choosing 7-9 stories, and a few poems. So I'm trying to get through the pile as fast

as I can. So to answer your question, what tells me a story is good

is often found in the first few pages. There's something about the opening. Something that tells me "I'm in the hands

of a competent writer." I'm pulled into the story. There's a definite place. Character. A problem. Or, if not all

of those up front, a style, an ease, an intriguing idea.

It is hard to explain, sometimes. But if I'm hooked, I'm willing to go on and see where I'm taken. I'd say 90% of

the stories I reject, I reject within the first few pages.

Sometimes the first page. Or paragraph.

Mary Rosenblum

I’ve heard this from a number of editors

that they reject when their attention wanders. So that start really IS important, eh?

Patrick Swenson

Certainly. It's very common! And you know, my attention span on any given day might be longer or shorter, depending

on what's going on in my life. If I'm having an ultra crappy day...well, I probably shouldn't be reading manuscripts! But

there are times writers just have less time to win me over. Like most editors, I'm staring at this big pile

and thinking "I've got to get through this thing. So I'm looking for reasons to reject and get through it. But at the

same time, I'm also looking for the next best thing. I have a magazine to fill! :)

rae

So you say the first few pages, but don't you really mean the first paragraph? I have heard that is what really sells the work.

Patrick Swenson

Yes, I mentioned above sometimes the first paragraph. Particularly if you're a lesser known writer, that first

paragraph has got to do a lot of work for you. A writer I've published before, or a writer I've heard of, or who has

credits...I can see where I'm going to be taken, and maybe the first paragraph isn't great, but…

You work with it.

speckledorf

In the guidelines, you say dark fantasy. So, what do you consider dark but not too dark?

Patrick Swenson

But yes, there are things about the 1st paragraph that can hook the reader right away. That's important for sure, Rae!

I say dark fantasy, because I don't want to say horror. I have writers tell me all the time "Oh, I've never sent you anything

because I don't write stuff that dark. Or I don't write horror." and then I have to tell them, that actually, we don't

publish horror. I'm talking about blood & guts, splatterpunk, the usual "horror" tropes.

And these days, my tastes are far more eclectic. There are lots of stories in the magazine that are not dark. And my dark

fantasy...I mean stories with supernatural elements (say, a ghost story)

rae

What do you mean by "Open Market"?

Patrick Swenson

Open Market means I'm open for submissions. Talebones is open to all writers. Just read the guidelines and send in the

stuff. You'll hear about magazines saying they're now closed to submissions

for one reason or another, but Talebones has never once been closed to submissions since it started in 1995.

Fairwood is closed because I don't accept submissions for book projects.

Mary Rosenblum

However, I'd like to point something out here

which is that you find people you want to publish because you have generally either published their work or have read

their work in some other publication, so this really speaks to the importance

of writing and getting your work out so that you build some name recognition.

Patrick Swenson

Exactly! I'm small. I don't have the resources to take chances on unknowns for book projects.

Mary Rosenblum

And as the big NY publishers get more pressed by the bottom line....neither do they!!!

Patrick Swenson

That's correct. And yet, first novels still get printed

but more often than not, the writer has had some success in the short story market. Paul Melko is an example. He sold

his first novel to Tor, and I published his first collection. He's been successful with short fiction and getting his name and

reputation out there.

Mary Rosenblum

It certainly helps.

Patrick Swenson

It does. AND THEN...again, there are writers who sell first novels who never sold a short story before.

speckledorf

What do you consider reasons to reject? Typos, craft issues, or is it something more personal such as it just doesn't catch your attention?

Patrick Swenson

For any number of reasons, speckled. Yes, typos, craft issues. Yes, it doesn't catch my attention (remember, a super

majority of the stories I put back into the mail I'm not getting past the first page or so.) But also it just might not

be a match for the magazine. Not within our guidelines. It could be too long or too short. It COULD be a personal thing

it could be that I just wasn't won over by it. (And maybe someone else will.) Perhaps I read all the way through the

story and the ending didn't live up to the rest of the story. Perhaps the story has vampires in it. :) Or writers. Or cats.

Or is narrated by a child, or young adult. Or it's a holiday story. I mean, I have my personal peeves, and my personal likes. So

it's really a combination of things.

Mary Rosenblum

What about formatting? How does it affect you if you get something that is very much not in manuscript format...single space, weird fonts, and so on? (And scratch the vampires and cats and writers!)

Patrick Swenson

It certainly doesn't leave a good impression. In fact, I won't read single-spaced manuscripts. Or weird fonts. Or crayon. :)

But sometimes there's a reason to give a break. I get submissions sometimes from writers who are incarcerated. I'll

see the envelope marked with a notice/warning that it's being sent from an inmate. And the manuscript will be handwritten. And

in the cover letter they'll tell me they're not allowed to have a computer or typewriter.

Or it's a high school student sending out his first submission. I may read a little more. Or at least give some formatting advice. God knows

I never got any of that in high school, and I knew then I wanted to be in this biz.

Mary Rosenblum

Good for you, Patrick. You reaffirm my constant statements that editors really are nice people. Most of the time!

Patrick Swenson

Most of the time. :)

gail

I like your comments about having personal peeves and preferences. This reaffirms to me that one rejection need not be the death knoll for any piece. Thank you! : )

Patrick Swenson

So it makes sense not to upset us, right? :)

Mary Rosenblum

NEVER upset the editor. Unless you need to.

Patrick Swenson

Gail, absolutely! A rejection is a "no" but it's only one no, from one editor. All it means is that editor didn't like it. (Unless it's one

of those other reasons). John Saul tells the story of this manuscript he was supposed to blurb

and his editor or agent, said whatever you do, don't attach your name to this thing. It's awful, you don't want to be

associated with it. And he got a second opinion, and heard the same thing: don't blurb it. So he didn't blurb it. And

it turned out to be a book most of you have heard of: Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews.

Mary Rosenblum

Those stories are SO wonderful! :-)

Patrick Swenson

Not necessarily a great book, but someone liked it well enough to publish it, and didn't hurt VC any.

Why, she was even publishing beyond the grave! :)

benloree

Do you give the writer a reason for the rejection?

Patrick Swenson

Benloree, in my rejection slip there are a few paragraphs which basically amount to a list of some of the main reasons

why I reject a story. I will almost always circle something there. Sometimes scribble a handwritten note. And I write mor

personal stuff to those stories that were "close" or "closer" than others.

Mary Rosenblum

So that personal note from you means it was a close call, eh?

Patrick Swenson

Sometimes, Mary. Sometimes it's advice (if I have time). I try not to say too much about a manuscript I'm not going to buy, or.

I'm not going to ever see again. But I can say things like "You caught my attention right away, but I lost interest halfway through" or

"You really shouldn't send me 4 stories in the same envelope." :) But if I'm saying "Please do try me again with your next" or something similar

then you should keep trying. And not just me. Everywhere you think stories might fit.

the gothic queen

Guidelines can be kind of vague. How does one interpret them?

Mary Rosenblum

(Subscribe to the magazine, hint hint)

Patrick Swenson

They can be vague and they can be very specific. (Heh heh, Mary. Yeah, that's it! www.talebones.com  .... Ha!) My own guidelines, as I said

say things like I mentioned before: no vampires, no holiday stories, no cats, no writer stories, no young adult protagonists....and YET…

I've published at least one of every type of those pet peeves in Talebones at some point or another. Follow the major aspects of the guidelines, and

take a chance on the others. For me, if a story is knock dead brilliant, I'm not going to be concerned about whether it fits my guidelines perfectly.

coffeeman

On getting your work out, as a beginner, if the quality isn't THAT great, can you establish poor name recognition?

Patrick Swenson

I think you only establish poor name recognition if you don't IMPROVE that quality. If an editor makes a suggestion, listen. (To most of them, I would say.) Learn

your craft. You'll improve, and editors will see you improve. If you've got the money, get to a conference. Get to conventions. Writing workshops. Buy some how-to books.

charie'

Do you ever ask the author for a revised/different ending if the rest of the story warranted it?

Patrick Swenson

Charie, on rare occasions, yes. But I think in 13 years, I can count the number of times I've done that on two hands. And on one hand, the number of times

I've accepted a revised manuscript. And it doesn't just have to be the ending. It could be any aspect of the story that's keeping it from being perfect for the mag.

Mary Rosenblum

And I guess that, right there, is why editors don't tend to ask for revisions, eh? If they don't usually work?

Patrick Swenson

If all that's off is the ending, though, I'm more inclined to say "fix this and I'll buy it."

quixote

Would you rely on a third party recommendation? Say an editor elsewhere that you trusted? Does it happen?

Patrick Swenson

Well, most of the time, that rec comes in the form of a cover letter the writer has written. "So and so and This Mag suggested I send it to you." More often than not

it happens when I talk or email to an editor directly, and he might mention a name or two. But ultimately, the story still has to be sent to me, and it still has to work. An editor doesn't have to rec a story in order for a writer to send it to me.

louxwriter

What makes a good dark fantasy in your opinion?

Patrick Swenson

I like to be a little nervous as I'm reading it. On edge. I don't have to be scared or horrified (although I could). But really, it comes down to the story. The reason wh

I like a good dark fantasy could be the same reason I like a good science fiction story.

Mary Rosenblum

Which are?

Patrick Swenson

Well written. Entertaining. Strong characters I can believe in and sympathize with. Beautiful language. Style. Sense of wonder. Freshness.

etc etc!

Mary Rosenblum

A darn good story.

Patrick Swenson

darn right.

april cassandra katko2

If the story is unedited do you even consider it?

Patrick Swenson

Do you mean that it's riddled with typos, and full of careless errors? Not likely. I once had a writer tell me to ignore the typos and grammar problems, because if I liked the story, I could clean up all the errors after I bought it.

gail

What ratio of the fiction you publish each issue is SF or dark fantasy? (The guidelines seem to suggest that SF has greater potential?)

Patrick Swenson

It varies from issue to issue, gail. In my last issue 5 of the 7 were SF. In the previous issue 6 of 8 were fantasy or dark fantasy

It was true that I often had a lack of SF, but that's because people were sending me all their dark stuff.

speckledorf

Sorry to be so full of questions tonight but... Do you feel publishing with a reputable small press is a good way to jump start a publishing career with the goal of publishing with a major house?

Patrick Swenson

Absolutely. Absolutely. In this day and age, it's happening all the time. We talked about gatekkepers earlier. The small press in many ways can be a gatekeeper

to the big boys and girls in New York. Jay Lake is one example. We published his first novel, ROcket Science. Of course Jay had also made a name for himself

in the short fiction markets (many of which were small press). When Rocket Science did VERY well, Jay suddenly sold two more novels, one to Night Shade Books

a small press, but much larger than Fairwood) and TOR. He says that his Fairwood book helped him land the TOR deal, because they finally decided

he could sustain a novel-length work and get noticed. I had Jay's agent email me asking about the foreign and mass market rights for Rocket Science

zave

Where do you see the SF genre in five or ten years?

Patrick Swenson

Geez, that's a tough question, zave. It's more like "where will the publishing world be in five or ten years?" Digital revolution and all that. POD. E-books. I can

almost predict with certainty that the short fiction markets will be smaller and less vital than they are now. All you have to do is look at the yearly graphs in LOCUS

and see the sales and subscription numbers declining, declining, declining over the past decade. I think it's just going to keep going down. I think there will be even

more small presses. I don't know how all the big conglomerate printing companies can keep themselve from imploding. I don't know. I'm not

convinced there will be a total e-book revolution. I don't think books will be obsolete. I don't think peple will stop writing SF or fantasy. I hope that the market

spreads out again, allowing more writers to have work out there to be read.

quixote

Would the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader show a new trend?

Patrick Swenson

They do, in that the technology for e-book readers continues to improve. Electronic paper was a dream not too long ago. I think the Kindle could make waves. I've

held one in my hand, and I've had a guy who works at Amazon tell me I need to get Talebones and Fairwood books available for the Kindle. I don't

think it's exactly the right e-book tool yet, but it's a lot closer. But I think it will exist as an alternative, and not kill off the printed book.

Mary Rosenblum

I agree.   Just an aside...I've been surprised at how well ebooks are doing in the romance marketplace. They're gaining decent acceptance.

Patrick Swenson

Interesting. I hadn't heard that. But then again, romance is a much bigger market than SF.

gail

I read an article recently which stated the short story is making a comeback as people have less and less time to read. Novels, according to their study, were the endangered species. : [ Do you think there is some measure of truth in this?

Mary Rosenblum

We short story writers can hope!

Patrick Swenson

Sure, I think so. It's hard to say for sure. Just last spring, at Norwescon, there was a panel: "Is the Short Story Dead?" Well, no, I don't think so. It's just harder

to find good short stories to read due to the market, and the availability of magazines.

I have less and less time to read for pleasure, and yet, 9 times out of 10, I'm working my way through a novel.

Mary Rosenblum

So, Patrick, what is your contribution to a story or book, as editor?

Patrick Swenson

Oh goodness. Let's see....

Mary Rosenblum

(Not to put you on the spot or anything, heheh)

Patrick Swenson

acquisition, PR, layout, design, art direction, editing, copyediting, marketing, accountant.... :)

Not on the spot...just had to list them all!

Folks, I'm truly a Mom and Pop operation, except it's just me, the Pop. A one man show.

It certainly colors the decisions I make.

Mary Rosenblum

You really do wear a lot of hats, Patrick. And sometimes you do the covers, too, right? You did Water Rites and it's GREAT!

I get a ton of compliments on it.

Patrick Swenson

It's why I'm not open to submissions. I don't have time to read all those proposals. (I hardly have enough time to read the Talebones slush pile!)

I do a majority of the covers, I think. I pay an artist once in a while because I know I'm not going to be able to do something worthy myself.

Thanks, Mary! :)

charie'

Do you paint or use a computer to create the covers?

Patrick Swenson

A computer. Oh god, no. You don't want to see me paint, or draw. :) I use Photoshop and InDesign to do my covers.

Mary Rosenblum

(And he has internal illustrations in Talebones, too)

Patrick Swenson

Mostly I'm taking existing images that work well together and meld them.

I do. Secret pen name. :)

zave

How do you find time to do all that you do?

Patrick Swenson

Zave, I have clones.

Mary Rosenblum

Ah, Patrick, it's just that you don't add up the hours and realize you're putting in 32 hour days is all.. You're just bending reality.

Patrick Swenson

That’s true. I don't sleep much, to be honest. 5 or 6 hours a night, max, with an occasional 7 or 9 hour bender on a weekend!

crystalwizard

What do you see as your biggest publishing challenge?

Patrick Swenson

I guess I've decided I'll sleep when I'm dead. But seriously, it's become more difficult to get everything done. Having a 5-year-old adds to that circus!

Keeping up with the demand. Getting books out on time. Making sure every book is the best it can be given the time constraints, and that I'm improving my own craft.

And really, getting books out there and noticed. Because, still, the big stores are not going to shelve most of my books.

That's a limitation of POD. But then again, they've been promising for a decade now that you'll be able to go in to your local BN or Borders or independent ...

bookstore and ask for a copy of this or that, and they'll go in their back room and print off a copy in a few minutes and bring it to you.

Mary Rosenblum

We can all hope right?

so now, before we run out of time

why don't you tell us about the current issue of Talebones...which you all should subscribe to. Me, I personally got swept off my feet by...

A Secret Life of Gluttony.

But you have a lot of very strong stuff here.

I haven't had a chance to read it all yet... been doing research on a big project.

Patrick Swenson

Thanks, Mary. You know there's been quite a discussion on my blog about the current issue. What I'm discovering is that as difficult as it is to please an editor enough

to buy your story, it's even more difficult to please every reader. I've had a bunch of folks who said they didn't like that story at all. I had some people say that they just

didn't like the lead story, Paul Melko's "The Cankerman Shower," and someone else wrote me and said it was their favorite story of the issue. So, hey, I hope that

at least they enjoy MOST of the magazine. Turns out that this issue has almost all male writers. THAT has made for an interesting discussion on my blog as well. But

just two issues ago, I had an even 50-50 split male and female. Anyway, I'm proud of all the stories in there because *I* liked all those stories.

It's the biggest Talebones yet, at 120 pages.

And next issue, #37, will be even bigger.

Mary Rosenblum

Well, you know, as I keep telling students, you CAN'T please every reader. Cool on the increasing size!

charie'

Sounds like readers' opinions of what should be published are just as varied as those the editors' like or dislike.

Patrick Swenson

Sure. I guess that's half the fun. Trying to figure out what the audience will like in relation to what "I" like.

Mary Rosenblum

So you all should subscribe to Talebones (help support your local fiction market!) www.talebones.com  and browse

the Fairwood Press site. That's where you can get Ken Rand's great 10% Solution, an excellent how-to

for removing excess words. And other things. Like Water Rites. :-)

www.fairwoodpress.com

Patrick Swenson

Thanks. Every bit helps. I had a subscription drive a month back. It did a good job "keeping me going" for the next few issues, but it's always a struggle, issue after...

issue to figure out how to pay for everything.

I've heard Water Rites is pretty damn good. :)

Mary Rosenblum

(blushing) I hope so!

Patrick Swenson

And The 10% Solution is almost a Must-Have writing reference. It's 10 bucks well spent.

charie'

And the Talebones Interviews

Mary Rosenblum

Ditto that 'must have' reference!

Patrick Swenson

Which Ken Rand also did. I love the interview book. It could use some more fans out there.

crystalwizard

Do you have any one helping you read slush?

Patrick Swenson

No, just me now. My wife and I split up last summer. There are times I get way behind (up to 3 months!), but not too long ago, I had it down to a point where I was

reading the manuscripts that came in each day and getting them right back out in the mail. Now that pile is approaching 1 1/2 months again!

Mary Rosenblum

Yeah, we need those 32 hour days.

Patrick Swenson

I've had offers from writers I respect to help read, but I've never taken them up on the offers. I think I'm just too afraid I'm going to miss something, you know?

Mary Rosenblum

Patrick you have been a great guest! Glad you came back to join us!

Patrick Swenson

Thank you, Mary for having me back. That 2 hours went by fast!

Mary Rosenblum

I'll put links to the websites in the transcript and I hope you all go subscribe to Talebones.

Keep doing what you're doing, Patrick! We sure need the good small presses and the short story markets!

Thank you all for coming tonight!

Patrick Swenson

I'll keep plugging along (he says, knowing his May book is now an August book, and everything is sliding down the line to the next slots...) :-)

Mary Rosenblum

Ah, Patrick, you're getting it out there!

Thank you all for coming! This was a lot of fun.

Remember...subscribe to Talebones!

Patrick Swenson

Thanks, Mary. And thank you everyone, for the great questions! Good luck. Write and send out your stuff!