This year, I taught a workshop at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Conference about how short story editors evaluate and select just a few stories from the hundreds of submissions we receive each issue.

Editors have a lot of stories to read and not a lot of time to do it. That's why we all create our own shortcuts and habits. Though each editor is different, there really are a few simple (but often counter-intuitive) things a writer can do to keep from immediately triggering the rejection impulse in almost any editor.

These three documents are handouts I created to go into details about the process. I hope they can be of some help to you, Electric Spec readers and authors!

• Checklist -- The Eject Button: Here are the top ten factors that make us more likely to reject a submission. The Eject Button pdf
• Checklist -- Becoming a Slush Survivor: Seven secrets for getting our attention and making your story shine. The Slush Survivor pdf
• Checklist --Not This Again!: The fifteen most common cliches to avoid. The Not This Again pdf