Reflection’s edge (www.reflectionsedge.com) is an online publication that specializes in creative writing for amateur writers. Released monthly, the homepage of the e-zine is the actual current newsletter. The
categories are featured articles, book reviews, new fiction (submitted by writers) and new resources. It is in HMTL format. The links on the left of the page are home, about, and back issues; You can search by either month or by fiction, non-fiction or author. Links are also resources, which include links to improve writing, writing communities, editing, publications, and biographies of authors, classified ads, a story submission link, and contact information. The online publication fiction section focuses on marginalized fiction-genre fiction which many “literary magazines” do not accept. Examples of this are science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, the supernatural, westerns, adventure, magical realism, erotica (not pornography), fables (non mainstream fiction). In their resource section for writers they try to cover everything from science fiction world building to recognizing and fixing grammar mistakes. While most of the articles are written just for the e-zine; some are from off-site links. Some links are also to actual books.
They do accept stories from any amateur writer that are 18 years of age and older. The work has to be between 500 to 10,000 words. Fiction story submissions have to be original and unpublished fiction. They do not accept mainstream or literary fiction, true stories, derivative work (Anne Rice style vampires), plays, novels, poems, short stories, flash fiction, non-narrative artwork, pornography, or vulgar, bigoted, and anything violent. Up to 10 new fiction stories are published per month, which upon publication the author is paid $15 for their story. Favorite story or essay of the month pays a bonus $50.
Reflection’s edge also publishes up to six non-fiction essays a month. Essay’s to be submitted can be about current or historic works, science, culture, or any area of expertise. An interview with a fiction writer is also accepted. They do not accept person accounts about the difficulties to be a struggling writer, quotes, press releases, or inaccurate work. The same age limit also applies to this category, which is the writer has to be 18 years or older. If the essay is published, the rate paid for it is the same as the fiction rate ($15 per story).
Although the story submission link states they take just about any type of genre work, most of the new fiction stories I read on the web site were geared toward science fiction and/or fantasy. A few of the stories I enjoyed reading; there were a couple of stories that seemed to me to have no pattern in their writing. One of the stories, Catch and Release by Brian Wang, was well written, but the end was not what I expected.
The online publication overall is a very thorough web site. The resource link has a lot of great links that could cover just about any type of writing issue. And if a person is interested in getting some tips on science fiction writing, this is a great web site for them. ·