If you haven’t heard by now, I’m working for the fabulous Sucker Literary. My very first project? THIS BLOG TOUR!

Welcome to the very first Sucker Blog Tour – I’m so excited to bring you an interview with Founder/Editor Hannah Goodman. Let me tell you from working with this woman – she is a force to be reckoned with! She is taking the Young Adult Genre by storm and letting fledgling authors have their say in a very tight, and often unforgiving, market.

You started Sucker after searching the market and finding it lacking in YA. How is Sucker different from what’s out there?

Sucker Literary is the only literary anthology that focuses on YA short fiction ONLY. It is also the only literary anthology out there that includes images with stories. Sucker Literary is the only literary enterprise comprised of an all volunteer staff, including marketing and website design and development and has a staff who functions in multiple capacities including writing. From the quality of the writing and the publication to the way we function as a staff, there really isn’t anything out there like us

Ideally, where is Sucker five years from now?

An entity in the publishing world that is larger than just a publication.

Sucker has a mentor process for submissions. How does this work?

I field the submissions to our readers. Then our staff of 25 plus readers must fill out feedback sheets, which include whether or not a piece should be accepted, rejected, or mentored. Then they send those back to me, and I read EVERY SINGLE one. How long does that take? Depends on the 900 other things I have to do. But I always make time for Sucker!

I have a day job, my own writing, and a family with two kids under ten. SUCKER LITERARY is my labor of love, but in order for it to happen and to happen in the best way possible, each part of the process takes a lot of time : )

Decisions about accepting and mentoring come from initial recommendations (on the feedback sheets) from readers, but ultimately the piece must resonate with me. This part of the process also takes some time and cannot be rushed because I want to publish the VERY best work from emerging writers of short form YA fiction.

Once final decisions are made regarding pieces, notes and feedback sheets are given to the folks we have agreed to mentor or accept. And they, like all of us on staff, have lives filled with many other responsibilities. I do not like to rush their process of revising. So that part of the process can take more weeks or months. Revising can also take a round or two and so add a few more weeks or months onto that. Once revisions are completed, well, that’s a whole other timeline and blog entry!

The folks we agree to mentor are given 1-2 rounds of notes and revisions. Sometimes a piece doesn’t come together in these 1-2 rounds. Those folks sometimes are invited to resubmit with further revisions for the next reading period. But other times, it’s time to part ways. Rejecting those folks is very hard. Sometimes they do submit again, and they still haven’t gotten the piece where it needs to be. My least favorite thing to do is tell them no. . . again. But I provide reasons why and also encouragement to keep going because sometimes it’s just not a perfect fit and they can go elsewhere and find a home for the piece.

I’m a teacher by trade. Our writers, even those whose pieces we accept, go through revisions. The difference between a piece that’s accepted for publication and a piece that makes it to the mentoring round but not to publication has to do with foundation of the story. If a story has plot holes or under developed characters after 2 rounds of revisions, then it’s not ready to be published. 

Sucker seems like a “brand name,” what kinds of stories fit the Sucker brand?

Edgy, sassy, humorous, intelligent, bold, colorful, thought provoking, engaging.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a good example of contemporary fiction that we like. Feed by M.T. Anderson for the dystopian genre. Carolyn Mackler’s novels are the kinds of romances we like. But don’t think that’s all. I am pretty open to anything. Just take a look at our first two volumes. 

As the editor, what is the most challenging part of publishing Sucker?

My day job! Translated: TIME

Publishing is a lot of “who you know,” who’s on Sucker’s Most Wanted list?  (Who do you want to notice Sucker?)

Carolyn Mackler

John Green

Stephen Chbosky

Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Just to name a few.

What advice can you give rejected writers?

It’s cliché but true: don’t give up. Also, each rejection brings you a step closer to the right fit in terms of agent or publisher.

How does the upcoming Sucker Volume Three differ from Volume Two?

I’ll tell you when I finish making decisions about submissions. So far, it’s pushing the edge a little bit more than volume 2.

Open Door Day is coming up, what’s that all about?

24 hours of opening the “doors” to submissions for volume 3. No mentoring and no feedback. Send your very very best.

Running a literary magazine is hard work, what keeps you coming back for more?

Insanity. An electric impulse to create and make things grow.

Include anything else you want-

I love you, Kacey!!!!! And my entire staff and all supporters!!!!! (She really said that! I swear!)

Hannah Goodman is a YA author represented by Erzsi Deàk of Hen&ink Literary Studio. Her YA novels have won awards and garnered praise but her proudest endeavor is Sucker Literary. She owns The Write Touch, offering a variety of services for clients of all ages. Hannah is a member of SCBWI as well as a graduate of the Solstice MFA program at Pine Manor College. She resides in Bristol, RI with her husband, two daughters, and three cats: Lester, Maisey, and Judy. More about Hannah can be found on her website: hannahrgoodman.com

Now for Sucker Literary, Volume 2!

When Alex’s bandmates invite a girl to sing lead, a battle of the sexes becomes a battle over something unexpected. . . A girl tells her friend about hooking up with longtime crush Fred, but his kisses are not what makes that night in his car memorable. . . A therapy session with Doug might just make Jason go insane again. . . Wallflower Aubrey hooks up with Gordon after the cast party, which would be fine if he weren’t the most forbidden fruit of them all…Savannah certainly doesn’t sound like a convict’s name, so maybe hanging out with her isn’t all that dangerous. Miki is committed to getting over Dex, yet she can’t get him off her answering machine—or her doorstep. In between puffs of cigarettes and attempts to smear lipstick on her face, Allie’s grandmother dishes out advice that maybe Allie should take. . . And finally, what’s a girl to do with Satan as both her boss and father? Nine short stories pose the questions we obsess over whether we’re growing up or all grown up: Who should I love? Am I doing the right thing? Is there ever an end to heartbreak? In its second volume, SUCKER continues to showcase the very best emerging talent in young adult literature and give (some of) the answers to Life’s Big Questions along the way.

Sounds great, right? Because it IS!

Get Sucker in all these places:

Amazon

Sucker Literary

Facebook

Goodreads

Sucker Free Day is July 20th and 21st. Get a FREE digital copy of Sucker Literary Volume 2 on Amazon.

Sucker is looking for more short stories for Volume 3. Get the details for Open Door Day (August 1, 2013): HERE.

Don’t be a Sucker, follow our tour: