Many of us have dreamed of publishing a collection of our own short stories. Some BP regulars, like editor Kenny Crist and contributors Cindy Rosmus and Chris Forbes, have already done so. Another frequently published BP author, Paul Edwards, who is going through the process for the first time, generously offered to share his progress in the process with us here. Although most of this comes directly from Paul’s e-mail, I’ve underlined what I consider strong points that will lead him to a successful conclusion to his publishing adventure.

     After more than a decade of having his stories published singly, Paul finally thought about putting a collection together early last year (2007). He went back through his published stories, picked out a few of the best ones, and then tried to fit them together, just for fun. He’d always liked the title, Now That I've Lost You (first story in his collection), and felt it summed up the whole work nicely. His title story’s last line—“The door opens.”—ushers the reader into the rest of his book of 21 tales, mostly inspired by lots of late night horror movies and ghost stories. 

     Noticing Screaming Dreams was open for submissions, Paul ordered a book from them to check out what they were like. He was really impressed with this book, The Midnight Hour, by Neil Davies. The stories were strong, and the book was very professionally put together. He decided then and there to send his work off to SD. 

     His ‘fun’ project had suddenly turned serious, and he was entering the scary territory of fulfilling the dream of getting a book published! At the same time, life got tough. Revising the stories took a lot longer than intended, plus SD wanted new stories as well as published ones: he had to get cracking on some fresh tales. Plus, he’d just started a new job, and had a family to look after. With life both crazy and cluttered, finding time to write wasn't easy. 

     When it all began to come together, and after spending much of his spare time writing, Paul sent a query e-mail to Steve Upham at Screaming Dreams, who said he’d be happy to look at Paul’s collection in the new year (2008). Excited, Paul realized it was time to get everything finely tuned and polished... 

     Paul thought SD might take his manuscript submission a bit more seriously if he got someone who knew and enjoyed his work to write an introduction. Over the past year or so he'd been cropping up regularly in Black Petals magazine, whose co-editor (yours truly, Anne Stickel) had sent him a very nice e-mail to praise his work. When he approached me, to his delight, I immediately agreed to write something for him. 

     He also knew that to be taken seriously, he should get the manuscript professionally proofed. Those nits needed ironing out. Fortunately, his good friend and neighbor, Mr. David Gatward, proofreads for a living, and seemed very happy to cast his expert eye over Paul’s work. David’s help, not only with copy, but also with the structure and flow of the stories, made the whole thing read a hell of a lot better.  

     One thing Paul realizes about writing is the necessity of overcoming 'shyness' by getting as many people as possible to read your stuff before submitting it. Advice, feedback, criticism, etc., is useful, and stories can be made stronger because of it. He has friends, family, and magazine editors who have kindly taken time to look over his stuff, and then offered invaluable feedback. While Paul admits it took him a while to come around to it, he gets on a lot better now by sharing his work instead of 'hiding it away.’ 

     Admitting he’s a bit of a perfectionist—known to agonize over sentences, or even single words—Paul is putting those final touches on his collection, which is almost ready to go. His self-imposed deadline to get everything right is March 31st. Although he hopes Steve at Screaming Dreams will like it enough to publish, he'll keep writing and try again another day—sometimes a writer’s just got to go for it, and really push to achieve those dreams.

     Paul’s two honorable mention awards from the YEAR’S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR haven’t hurt. He was chuffed enough to hope he might actually see one of his stories reprinted there in future. First published in Peeping Tom (a UK mag) when he was 19, he considers Now That I’ve Lost You the best of his work from over the last 12 years. As for this editor, it was a privilege writing his introduction, and we at BP wish for Paul Edwards—and our other equally ambitious readers and contributors—every success. AMS for BP on 3.11.08