"Duane Swierczynski" is quite a handle, isn't it? But hey, don't blame me. I've tried to change it before. Throughout my senior year of high school I submitted short horror stories to whatever markets I could find, including markets way out of my grubby little immature reach. Markets like Weird Tales, probably the oldest and most respected horror and fantasy magazine in the world. But I was a punk kid who noticed they were based in Philly, so I thought: What the hell, right? The story I sent Weird Tales was called "Submission," and I gave it that title because I thought it would be fun to open up a cover letter with the sentence: "Dear Editor, please find my submission, "Submission," enclosed with this letter." (I was 17. This is what passed for wit in my teenaged mind.) I also asked about internships or assistant-type jobs, figuring that maybe I could work my way up from the mailroom or something. And finally, I decided that a "Duane Swierczynski" could never make the pages of Weird Tales. I needed something snappier. So I lopped off my last name and became "Duane Louis."A while later I received a rejection letter, but it contained a great piece of advice from co-editor George H. Scithers:
Use your full last name. It's real, and people will remember it.(Click the letter above to read the whole thing.)
So, nearly 18 years later, big thanks to George Scithers. Or blame. Whichever you prefer.
I see he invited you round to the office. Did you ever go? And if no, why the hell not?
ReplyDeleteI think I tried to follow up, but it never came to pass for some reason. Ah, well.
ReplyDeleteI've had to spell your name over a dozen times now. Your name is as easy to me as Smith or my own name.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Cameron. Now it's you, me, and my parents.
ReplyDeleteQ-U-E-R-T-E-R-M-O-U-S
ReplyDeleteYou're an inspiration to us all, Duane.
I can't tell you how many hundreds of rejection letters I've received that begin "Dear Miss Cochran"
ReplyDeleteSo, a couple years ago I started including headshots in each of my queries. A few people have questioned whether I should or not.
Since November, I have received over 400 rejections for my novel The Colorado Sequence, and only one has referred to me as "Miss Cochran"
The headshot serves a very clear purpose.
My name, on the other hand, I've never been too sure about.
That's a great letter from Weird Tales, btw.
Stacey
www.staceycochran.com
I can sympathize. Only now has my name actually proven to be an asset rather than a mispronounced, misspelled, hard to say on the phone to strangers liability.
ReplyDeleteHi Duane --
ReplyDeleteIn what may strike you as an amusing coincidence, I am the former editor in chief of InPittsburgh Weekly, and I am the new editorial and creative director of Weird Tales. (Which is now based in the suburbs of D.C. -- and which is newly redesigned along with a special $12-for-a-whole-year subscription deal.)
George is still a big part of our operation here, and he is delighted to hear that his advice was helpful to you.
Hey, S.H.--So great to hear from you! Tell George thanks, again, for the good advice.
ReplyDelete