I wanted to post up my thoughts from going through Apex Online slush this afternoon. This is something I’m going to try to remember to do now and then as I’m reading submissions – some of this may get repetitive, but if it bears repetition…So here are my tweets (posted at Twitter.com as @apexbookcompany):

just a friendly reminder that tweets for @apexbookcompany are provided by our rss feed (via twitterfeed) and @mariadkins.

submitters: it helps submissions readers greatly if you place your word count on the top of your story along with your contact information.

even an “approximate” word count helps us out. sometimes when we’re reading, we don’t have time to read a 7k story but we can a 2k story.

also, especially with us, it’s probably improper to address a submission to a specific person. we have several folks who read stories.

“dear editor” works nicely in this case.

please don’t send submission inquiries (ie “did my story reach you”) to our editors. please send them to our submissions address. thanks!

and these from January 22:

it is helpful when submitting a story to include a professional cover letter.

don’t send submissions directly to the editorial staff – please send submissions to the e-mail address listed in our guidelines.

please do not paste your story into the body of your email. it is an instant rejection and not helpful to anybody.

plausible story lines and science also go a long way.

After reading this section,

She tried the hilt in both hands, then in each hand, bouncing the sword around a bit to feel its heavy but well-balanced weight. Having an idea, she experimented with spinning it hand-over-hand by the hilt, much like a rifle or a flag. As she gained more confidence, she spun the sword faster until it became a blur. A smile brightened her face.

Gill Ainsworth, senior editor at Apex Publications, had this to say: “She’s turning into a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle!”