Notes from the desk of the editor are offered in the interests of personal posterity and transparency for writers and other potential editors who wish to learn from my experience.
the editor
This email went out to all contributing authors the other day. Perhaps it’ll interest readers here, for transparency’s sake.
Hi DREAD MONDAYS contributing author team!
Great news: The submission curation process is over, and I’m thrilled with where we’ve landed. I’m emailing today with some basic info about the book and notes detailing what you can expect from me through the remainder of this project.
First off: Dread Mondays data —
- Submission Total: ~630
- Submissions arrived from six continents!
- Accepted Story Count: 35 + 1 poem
- Accepted authors include writers hailing from Kurdistan, the Low Countries in Europe, Canada, Australia, and the USA. (Let me know if I’ve left out a continent or country!)
- We’ve got writers of all stripes from these places, and the inclusivity of the volume is something I am stoked about.
- Total wordcount without any frontmatter or backmatter: 70,408 words
- Minimum wordcount for a selection: 10 words
- Maximum wordcount for a selection: 3,899 words
- Average wordcount: 1956 words
- Story settings range from space stations to libraries to board rooms… and lots of other cool spots, too. I’m excited about the broad variety of settings for our stories.
- Maximum authors per story: 2 authors for one of our stories; the rest were one-author stories
- Authors paid: 21 of 37 contributors (others will be paid according to contractual arrangements, set up so I can spread the cost over six months’ time) – one check awaiting clearance
Timeline:
- Pub Date: 10/31/2025
- ARCs out by 8/15/2025
- Galley Proofs expected: 6/15/2025 (I’ll ask for you to return notes on edits before I leave for a 3-week residency at Chateau d’Orquevaux on 7/5/2025)
- [Totally Voluntary] Author Interviews for posting on Whisper House Press YouTube channel: February through June.
- I’ll email out a survey about this soon to figure out who is willing and interested in me promoting them and them promoting this book with a video interview.
- Editorial Notes from me to you: March/April
- Author Bios recorded and approved by authors by end of February
- Detailed, Transparent Blog Updates throughout the process HERE. (If you want to replicate or improve on my process to create your own volume, this is the spot.)
- IF I can run a Kickstarter for the project, I probably will—but not until August or September. Being absent for all of July makes this particularly tricky, as that’s when I’d run the KS otherwise. Maybe JUNE is possible? We’ll see. I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver.
Let me know if you have any questions at this point that aren’t answered here.
A quick word about our first collection, Costs of Living.
While Dread Mondays is slated to release 10/31/25, Costs of Living is scheduled to come out just prior—9/1/25.
- Many of those contributing authors submitted to interviews with me last year, and you can see those discussions on the aforementioned YouTube channel.
- Additionally, the Kickstarter for that project is launching in TWO DAYS [2/1/2025]. While you are under ZERO pressure to contribute, I’d appreciate any support you could lend, whether that be by backing the project or by spreading the word. Here’s the pre-launch page.
- If you don’t do anything at all, I promise not to think ill of you. This is a personal request and will not impact my treatment of your work in the volume (or ever). I only speak of it because I’d be remiss not to do so at all.
Again, respond to me with any questions. I’ll be emailing again soon to confirm everyone’s bios as I’ve recorded them. I’ll also make available to you the list of contributing authors so you can see who’ll be in this table of contents!
Thanks to everyone for submitting and being a part of DREAD MONDAYS!
Steve
Whisper House Press 
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