On Editing an Anthology*

by Sheos

Just for the record, I’d like to say that I, now more than ever, absolutely hate Adicus Garton, the Rev Brian Worley, and James Maddox with all my heart.  I hate them like I hate bad drivers and people that can do nothing more than talk to me about football (No.  Really, he actually tossed the fucking ball to some guy?  And he did what with it? Oh, that’s just disturbing).  I hate them more than I hate stuffed jellyfish and baby manatees and monocles. 

Most likely, I hate them just as much, I’m sure, as they hate me and each other. 

During the selection process that came with the closing of submissions in August, we started out at one table, tossing massive amounts of paper back and forth like Frisbees — yes, you can do that, to a certain extent.  We’d give thumbs up and thumbs down on the obvious ones, and for a little while, things were good. 

Then came round two. 

Editing a fiction anthology really makes you question who your friends are.  When you are afraid to go to sleep because you’re guarding a set of stories that absolutely must make it into the anthology, guarding them with your life, under blade and shield, knowing that the briefest of brief naps could end in fiction theft and possibly a slit throat, you come to find that those people you’d trusted only a few days ago are now your sworn enemies. 

However, having said that, I couldn’t think of better people to put together an anthology with.

In I Am This Meat, you don’t find yourself being told the same story over and over again.  The subjects and plots you’ll find in its pages are amazingly diverse, and it’s all due to the talent of the writers, and the full-blown, nearly destructive hostility we four editors hold for what the other says is Spot-on Right.

Overall, I’ve very proud of what we’ve accomplished here. 

And as strange as it sounds, I can’t wait for the next one.

*Sheos had no part in editing this anthology. –Eds.

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