Diane Walton of On Spec magazine invites us to “push the envelope” of the sci-fi genre
Diane Walton
Diane Walton is the managing editor of On Spec, a Canadian Sci-Fi magazine. She co-founded the publication 20 years ago as an antidote to U.S. sci-fi mags that demanded neat endings and heroic protagonists. When she isn’t working on the next issue of On Spec, she works as a technical writer. Diane tells us how the urge to help others’ improve their writing keeps her interested in short story submissions.
What is the motivation behind On Spec?
We started On Spec 20 years ago, when we realised that back then the U.S. short fiction markets couldn’t make head or tail of Canadian SF writing sensibilities. They didn’t understand ambiguous endings or short stories where the hero didn’t save the day.
Things have changed since then, and many Canadian SF writers have achieved success in the U.S. market. But back then (and even now) emerging writers still needed an entry point to the market.
How did you become involved with the magazine?
I was a member of a small writing critique group, The Copper Pig Society, and we were the founders of On Spec.
What is your professional background?
Varied. I have been an English and Drama teacher, computer instructor, systems analyst and currently work as a technical writer. Most of my professional career has been with government and the IT industry.
How do you think On Spec differs from other literary magazines?
Mainly because it focuses on both the literary aspect of stories and on the elements of the Fantastic in each story.
What do you look for in a short story submission?
We’re looking for stories that have the capacity to “wow” all of the editors. There are five of us, with a variety of tastes and experience, so the stories published in On Spec have been thoroughly read and discussed.
We love strong, engaging characters, and eschew anything that is a cliché or a rip-off of TV or movies.
We only publish about 5% of the manuscripts we receive in the course of a year. And many well-written stories are rejected simply because they don’t take chances or push the envelope of the genre.
Do you write poetry or short stories yourself?
I used to write short fiction, and had stories published in On Spec, when we were judging the manuscripts “blind”.
In recent years, I’ve concentrated on the editing and management tasks. Three of our editors are writers, and two (Barb Galler-Smith and Ann Marston) have had fantasy novels published. Barb’s new book, Druids, just came out in the fall of 2009 from Edge, a genre publisher in Calgary, Alberta.
What do you find the most challenging aspects of editing/producing On Spec?
Besides the challenge of finding good fiction and getting the issues out on schedule, the annual ritual of applying for government funding also challenges us.
We’ve been fortunate over the years, and support from federal and provincial arts branches has been good for us. But it is never assured, and we constantly have to justify our existence.
We may never be able to survive on our own, because the market is so small here. So the other challenge is finding a larger audience with limited resources.
I’m also challenged by having to do the work in my spare time, because we are all volunteers.
What do you enjoy most about it?
I enjoy sending an email to a writer to let them know we’re buying their story, and finding out it is their very first sale. And I love going to SF conventions and meeting our writers face to face. We were at Worldcon in Montreal, and several On Spec writers were there. It was great to finally meet them.
Whose writing do you admire?
There are some fine Canadian writers, like Nalo Hopkinson and Edward Willett, and Holly Phillips (former On Spec editor). My all-time idol has got to be Harlan Ellison, and I would love to meet him some day.
What inspires you?
It may sound corny, but I love to teach, and we try to give constructive feedback and mentorship to anyone who sends us their work and trusts us with it.
What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?
Don’t be afraid to take chances.
Don’t try to second-guess the editors or anticipate what the flavour of the month may be next season. Just write what your heart tells you to write. It may not be good, and you may not ever get published, but you will be true to yourself.
Do your research. Be professional when you do send your work to a market.
Learn from your mistakes.
And READ as much as you can.
Join a writers’ group or organisation and talk to other writers. Don’t work in isolation.
What comes next for On Spec?
We have a digital version of the magazine now available, as a pilot project with our distributor, Magazines Canada. We’re especially thrilled because it makes On Spec more available to foreign markets.
Postage costs for mailing paper copies of the magazine outside Canada are ridiculous, and it would be much easier to have a paperless pdf available to read. And there’s even a way to make it available for your smart phone too!
For more on On Spec magazine, please visit www.onspec.ca
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