Welcome to One Geek To Another's first (but hopefully not last) guest blog! This week, we have invited Gloria Weber, prolific short story author and novelist, to share her insight and experience on the Do's and Don'ts of Getting Your Short Story Published. We're honored to have Gloria here with us, and to be able to share her knowledge with you!

And as always, thanks for reading One Geek to Another!

Hello, my name is Gloria Weber. I’m the author of many short stories and the novel Gaslight Demons, published by Morbidgames Publishing. Jess has been so kind to allow me to guest post today about the do’s and don’ts of getting your short story sold.

The first do of short story selling is the most obvious one. The piece needs to be carefully edited for spelling, grammar, and storytelling, making it as perfect as possible. That being said, there’s a chance a mistake might still slip through, and that’s okay. Editors are aware of the fact you are human and will forgive an error or two.

The second do is finding the right publication to send it to. You want to make sure that your story’s word count and genre meet the needs of the publication. If you wrote a 7,000 words long, traditional fantasy tale, you do not submit it to a mystery genre magazine with a 5,000 words limit. Ideally, before submitting to a publication, you should have read at least one issue to see examples of the editor’s standards and taste.

When sending out the short story, there are three do’s. The first do is make sure you follow the submitting instructions. If they want it attached as a .rtf (rich text format document), do not send a .doc (Microsoft Word document). If they want is sent via snail mail, don’t hunt down an email to send it to. Editors usually ignore submissions that do not follow their guidelines.

The second do is write a cover letter, even if it is for an email. In this cover letter do not write “Dear Editor,” unless no matter how hard you try you can’t find out the person’s name. But there is usually no excuse, aside from laziness, for using such a greeting, as writing market listings generally provide them. I’ve heard editors complain about receiving such letters, and it makes them less than optimistic about your writing from the get go. The rest of the letter will be a one to two sentence description of the story, include a word count, the title, and any previous writing credits or credentials that apply to the story. Sometimes the cover letter may include something from the submissions requirements, like a short author biography. But unless told to add such things, just stick to selling your story.

The third do is the simplest to explain. You send a short story out to one publication at a time. The majority of editors do not accept simultaneous submissions. And it would look bad for you if you have to say, “Sorry, but another place already bought it.”

Eventually, you’ll get a reply. Worse case scenario is a rejection. If the letter angers you, do not hit reply and chew the editor out. Do not post it on your blog with details and state that the editor is a moron. Instead, find a friend or loved willing to listen to your tirade face-to-face or over the phone. Editors talk to one and other, especially within genres. Doing such a thing will not only be unprofessional, it would be a detriment to selling your future writings. Conversely, if the editor took time to include a personal note or helpful advice with the rejection, it would be good form to send back a thank you.

If the reply was an acceptance, a thank you note and prompt signing of the contract is in order. When it comes to editing, also be prompt and professional at all times. Remember, the editor is only trying to make your story perfect for the publication, while helping you put your best literary foot forward.

And those are the basic do’s and don’ts of selling a short story. I hope it was of some help. If you would like to learn more about me, Gloria Weber, and my writing visit: http://gloriaweber.wordpress.com

Dear One Geek,

I've noticed with the rise of the internet for online role playing games that people seem to treat it with less politeness than they do face to face gaming. Even ignoring jerks who are just plain rude, crude or otherwise socially unacceptable, many "good folks" seem not to give online games the same respect they do to "real life" ones. They will show up really late, leave early,  drop out mid-session, or just not show up. We've lost a lot of players who apparently  lack the  common courtesy to inform the group they are part of, that they will not be making it to a game. After awhile they end up dropping off of the face of the earth without so much as a goodbye. How would you handle a situation like this?

Signed,

Curious about Common Courtesy

Dear Curious,

On-line gaming can be a boon to gamers, but it also presents its own challenges. Some internet "hiccups" are unavoidable. Especially if a player has slow bandwidth or unstable service, they may have trouble logging in, or end up cutting out of games or conversations suddenly due to circumstances well beyond their control.

The end of the year is quickly approaching, and for many folks, that means gift giving decisions are hanging heavily overhead. Choosing the right present is stressful enough, but (especially with the current economic situation) many of us also struggle with other gift-related decisions as well - who do you give to, how expensive of a present do you give, and what types of gifts are and aren't appropriate for each recipient. These challenges plague our pre-holiday thoughts, and the anxiety that accompanies them can put a damper on our otherwise high holiday spirits.

In order to restore some of the jolly in your holiday, we're offering some simple Do's and Don'ts from One Geek to Another. Hopefully these simple tips will help minimize your gift-giving tension and ensure your gifts are received in the holiday spirit they're intended!

Do - Give presents the recipient will appreciate.

It's easy to get wrapped up in sharing our own interests or allowing our own preferences to dominate our gift choices, but remember: The present isn't for you - it's for the other person. Just because you love bad sci-fi movies or Spawn action figures doesn't mean your spouse/parent/child will appreciate them with the same gusto.

Don't - Give insults disguised as gifts.

Dear One Geek,

In our gaming group, we have 4 men and one woman. Most of the players play characters of the same sex as they are, but one of the guys frequently plays a female character. This, of course, is fine in theory - however, every time he does so, he plays characters who are as antagonistic as possible towards the female player's (also female) characters.

We've tried having group discussions, personal discussions and even in character interventions about this, but nothing has seemed to work. He just seems to love picking on the other female character, when he's playing a female.

How do we deal with Ms. Ogyny?

Signed, Notta Hater

Dear Notta,

Some players have a very difficult time portraying a character very different than who they are as a player (or don't even bother - we've all played with someone who's characters are all "them" regardless of the setting or character type. Joe the Elf. Joe the Shaman. Joe the Space Marine.) This can cause them to portray different races, sexes or ages as very stereotypical - for whatever stereotype they may identify with that character type. A young person might play any older character as a "grumpy old man". A person of one race might portray another in a farcical (and yet still offensive) manner. And some men may think they're roleplaying a woman well, when they're really being hostile or insensitive to the female players in the group. (The same can be true with women playing male characters.)

Really, however, while on the surface this seems like a male/female issue, it's at once much simpler and much deeper than that.