editors speak

interview with mark justice
editor, story station

This month we are delighted to talk with the editor of an unusual kind of online magazine -- Story Station. Story Station fills a need for both writers and readers. For readers, Story Station offers adventure, excitement and even a few chills. We know kids like to be scared, the success of Goosebumps demonstrates that, but most magazines are a bit conservative so it’s hard to sell a good ghost story, but Story Station would be interested! They are also a great home for those who write long since the minimum word count is 1500 words. Now, let’s hear from the editor himself…

MJ: Before we go any further, it’s an honor to be interviewed for your first issue

KMW: I appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions -- so let’s jump in with one: I see by your guidelines that you are looking for adventure stories, can you describe a recent "perfect Story Station story" that you've run that fits your needs especially well?
MJ: Now, I don’t want to sound like one of those editors (and we’ve all run into them) whose guidelines are so nebulous that they end up saying “I’ll know it when I see it”, but “Adventure” is a broad category. It’s not just Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Adventure is anything that takes your character out of the ordinary humdrum life and into something exciting. Of course, when you’re a kid, perhaps finding an arrowhead or spying on the spooky old neighbor qualifies as excitement.

Since Story Station began, I’ve purchased mysteries, fantasies, fairy tales and slice-of-life stories. I’ve tried to narrow the focus a bit since the early days when we had very few submissions, but I’m still looking for stories that involve extraordinary events. Good recent examples of what I’m looking for include “Treasure Trouble” by Michael Arruda, “The Case of the Red Jacketed Robber” by Guy Belleranti and “The Great Boat Race” by Jacqueline Seewald. I’m also a sucker for a kid-learns-a-lesson story, like “Riches” by Margaret Shauers or “Third Graders Can’t Sing” by Kimberly Ramsey.

So, as you can see, the definition of “adventure” is pretty loose.

KMW: By "Horror," do you mean primarily ghost stories or will you buy
monsters and other ghoulies? How horrible can a writer go?
MJ: As a child I watched Chiller Theater and read Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, as did most of my friends. We loved to be frightened. If you’re writing a horror story for Story Station, go for the scares, just not the gore. If you want to write about werewolves or zombies, and you can make it work in a children’s story, then I want to read it. Keep in mind that I want upbeat endings, so your hero is probably going to win. And most importantly, remember that you’re writing for kids. Nothing too dark, please.

KMW: Your word count is pretty high -- if a writer had a story that came in short, how low can they go?
MJ: Hmmm. I don’t want to set a number. We really want you to hit that 1500 word low-end mark. I have bought stories a shade under that, but not often. We don’t want padded stories, but we do want our audience to get a nice chunk of story every time they click on a title.

KMW: How did Story Station come about?
MJ: Viatouch was started as a tool for educators, students and parents. They have a lot of innovative ideas, many of which have yet to be unveiled. The site has developed into one of the best shopping places on the planet, if you’re looking for bargains. There’s much more to Viatouch, so (Shameless Plug Warning) stop by and look around.

Somewhere along the way, the Powers That Be wanted to provide a story section that could be used by teachers or parents. And since I’m married to one of the aforementioned Powers, I was conscripted to edit the site. I thought back to the type of stories that excited me the most when I was a child, and I kept coming back to adventure. As I’ve previously stated, that definition widened as Story Station progressed.

KMW: How many submissions do you get a month, on average? What are some of the common reasons for rejecting a story?
MJ: Right now I see 15-20 stories a month, but that seems to be on the rise. The biggest reason for rejections is unfamiliarity with the guidelines. I’ve been sent stories that involved sex, extreme violence, and boring adult themes that would put the average reader into a coma.

Other common rejections are due to bad writing, ignorance of the rules of grammar (which can be broken; characters can say “ain’t” and sentence fragments can be effective mood-setting tools, but if you’re going to break the rules, first prove that you understand them) or stories that seemed to wander, then come suddenly to an end. Fairy Tale style stories with no dialogue will almost certainly be rejected.

And time constraints are now forcing me to bounce stories that don’t follow the manuscript guidelines. Please, please, please read the guidelines.

KMW: What is the most common "type" of story you receive? In other words, even though you ask for adventure. fast-pace, excitement -- do you find the most common type of story still remains the "let's teach kids a lesson" story? What would you like to see more of?
MJ: I receive a lot of stories that end with a moral. As I said above, a well written, "let's teach kids a lesson" story will get a careful reading from me, but it has to be superior to make the cut. I would like to see more fresh ideas, clean writing and believable dialogue. I’d like to discover the next R.L. Stine or junior Ray Bradbury. I would like more stories that leave the reader with a sense of wonder.

KMW: What's your favorite part of being the Story Station editor?
MJ: Much to my surprise, I really love working with new writers, offering suggestions to help shape a story. That part of the job is vastly more satisfying than I would have dreamed.

You didn’t ask, but the least favorite part of the job is rejecting stories. I know from personal experience how painful rejections can be. This job has also made me even more aware of market guidelines. Some of the stories I receive are so far off the mark, I know the writer hasn’t read our guidelines. There have been a few times in my own writing career that I’ve submitted a story that doesn’t, um, perfectly fit the market. I now appreciate the frustration this causes the editors.

KMW: I see you write stories for Story Station -- do you get much time for your own writing now that you're an editor?
MJ: First, I wrote “Passport” so we would have a story to kick off the site. It was an idea I’d been carrying around for about fifteen years, and I had no place to submit it. Plus, I thought it would serve as a guide to the type of stories I hoped we’d receive. Later, I wrote “Department Z”, an idea that began as a movie script many moons ago. And just so any writers are worried that I’m taking money from their pockets, the editor doesn’t get paid for his stories.

In fact, most of my own writing is outside of the YA field, in mystery and horror, mostly. My day job as a radio station program director and morning show host consumes 50-70 hours every week, so I squeeze in Story Station and my writing whenever I can. I really believe that if you’re meant to be a writer, you’ll make time to write.