Tammy Komoff was a 2025 Eugie Foster Award Finalist. Her work has appeared in All World’s Wayfarer, Abyss & Apex, DreamForge Anvil and more. When not writing she spends her time chasing after her semi-feral daughters and their escape-artist mutt while her husband tries to keep up. For more information please visit her website or follow her on Bluesky.
What I Learned as a Submissions Reader for Into the Dark
I’m always looking for ways to improve my writing. So, when Rowan and Geri, editors of All World’s Wayfarer, put out a call seeking submissions readers for Into the Dark, I jumped at the chance to help.
I thought I knew what went into reading submissions — until I actually did it.
Here are some surprising realizations I came to while reading for Into the Dark.
1. Y’all Brought It!
I was expecting the submissions inbox to be filled with stories not really ready for submission. The gems, I thought, would be few and far between.
In reality, most submissions we received were polished, publishable, and enjoyable! The decision of what to elevate and what to reject was incredibly difficult.
Bottom line: Competition is fiercer than you might think!
2. First-Round Rejection Had Little to Do with Quality
The main reason I rejected stories was simply that they were not a fit for the anthology. Most of the time it was a near miss, though occasionally we would receive stories with no horror, dark fantasy, or speculative fiction element at all. Those writers had not read the guidelines.
Bottom line: Read the guidelines prior to submitting and, if you can, read the magazine to make sure your story is a good fit. You’ll save yourself a lot of unnecessary pain.
3. Editors Are Afraid of Missing Hidden Gems
I’ve read for two publications, and both prefer to elevate stories that a submissions reader is unsure about over automatic rejections.
Bottom line: Even with tough competition, you have a better shot at getting a piece before an editor than you might think!
4. The Hook Matters for More Than Just Catching a Submission Reader’s Eye
I learned so much from submissions reading that I offered to help All World’s Wayfarer market the anthology as well! And it was while marketing that I started looking at story hooks differently.
A hook is a passage at the beginning of a story meant to grab or “hook” the reader’s attention. A good hook can elevate a story out of the submissions pile and onto an editor’s desk.
A great hook can get you published — and make you the darling of the marketers’ eyes!
Our contract only allows us to use 150 words for advertising purposes, which means those 150 words have to sing. I need to grab a reader and tell them what is happening, who the main characters are, and — most importantly — why they should shell out twelve dollars for an eBook to figure out what happens next!
That’s a lot to do in only a handful of sentences. But if done well, it will set your story apart from others for editors who are thinking ahead to how they will market their magazine or anthology.
Bottom line: Think of your hook not only as a writer, but a marketer. How can I convince someone to buy this magazine in only a couple of sentences? But remember, the promise you set up in the hook needs to be fulfilled by the end of the story.