This month’s interview in my BEHIND THE ZINES interview series features Marie Baca Villa. She wears a few different hats at Apparition Lit: Assistant Editor, Marketing, Blogger, & Submissions Reader and I am so grateful that she was able to chat with me about her work.
Each Behind the Zines interview is first published on my Patreon, and later here at Maria's Reading.
More about Marie Baca Villa:
Marie Baca Villa is a chicana writer and artist in
California. She has a master's degree in psychology and used her education to
build a long career in crime victim advocacy. As a fan of speculative fiction,
she loves anything involving strange worlds, complex characters, and
unexplained phenomenon. She's a bonified cat lady, covered in tattoos, and she
loves cussing, beer, and flaming hot cheetos. You can find Marie on Twitter
@okay_its_marie.
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your background,
where did you grow up, and what do you do outside the world of speculative
fiction?
Marie Baca Villa: My name is Marie Baca Villa, and I
hail from sunny southern California. In addition to writing and editing, I’m
also a visual artist, and my day-job is coordinating a forensic sexual assault
center, where victims of sexual assault and child abuse can go to get
supportive services. It’s very serious work, and it’s what propelled me
directly into the world of speculative fiction because, at the end of my very
long day, I can always do with some wonderful escapism.
Q. You are part of the team behind Apparition Lit,
a speculative fiction zine that has been around since 2018. What attracted you
to the speculative fiction genre initially - as a child or young adult (or
adult)? Were there any particular stories, books, movies, TV-shows, or
something else that sucked you into the world of speculative fiction?
MBV: I can definitely say my mom opened that door for
me, beginning at a very young age. She never shied away from the likes of
Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, etc etc. She loved a good ghost
story. One fateful day, I picked up her first edition copy of Firestarterand
it was all over. As I grew, I found horror to be a very happy home for me, and
in particular modern horror. Everything from Carnival of Souls to Scream.
I love 80s and 90s schlock; you name it, and I’ve seen it. After 9/11,
postmodern horror began to set in and I lost my sight for it, so entered my
interest in sci-fi. The classics, of course, from Soylent Green and Logan's
Run to X-files and Stargate. In recent years, I’ve come to
love cerebral sci-fi, like Moon and Ex Machina, that blends the
horror of being human with the fantastical visions of the future of humanity.
You’ll notice not much mention of fantasy. Sadly, before this point in my life,
I had scarcely allowed myself to be interested in fantasy. Joining Apparition
Lit has altered my view on that and has opened my eyes to the beauty of
fantasy writing. I’m still getting my feet wet, but I know there’s many great
pieces waiting for me to experience!
Q. You have a few different roles at Apparition Lit:
assistant editor, marketing, blogger, and submission reader. Can you tell us a
bit about each of these roles and what’s involved for you in your work at the
zine? What are some of your favorite things about the work you do at Apparition
Lit?
MBV: Yes, and oddly enough, I really do all of that
bit by bit! Slushing is by and large my biggest role as we have really started
to pick up steam and gain submission numbers. I am a first submission reader,
so I get to dive right into subs and just start moving through them. I
occasionally do second and third readings when other readers want extra eyes,
and now I also get to provide feedback to the senior and guest editors about
which of our held pieces I would most like to see published. My favorite part
of this experience is that every reader and editor at Apparition have
vastly different tastes and ideas. It has taught me so much, both as a reader
and writer, about how finding the right voice and home for your piece can mean
the difference between a rejection and a hold. And also, how rejections are
rarely, if ever, personal. They’re just about who is reading and what they see
for your piece at their publication.
In my second year of working with Apparition LIt,
they gave me the reins over the App Lit Blog. I exclusively write all of
the blog posts that are put up on our site, and it’s quite fun. In my first
year, I’ve kept it light and enjoyable for our readers. My primary features are
the guest editor Q&As, where I interview each of our partners. I’m in awe
of the amazing insights, knowledge, and gifts those editors have seeded in
those answers. I also love to do curated playlists for every issue; posts
highlighting accomplishments and updates; and throw in the occasional seasonal
game/printable. Marketing comes into play where I am primarily responsible for
the fun visuals you get on our blog and Patreon posts; the most prominent of
these are our Patreon exclusive visuals which show our submission stats and
results.
Last, and definitely not least, I assist reading, selecting,
and editing our monthly flash contest winners. Editing flash has its own unique
opportunities; namely, the word count has meant that the authors have already
ruthlessly cut into their own work, and we are really just left with the
occasional tweak. It makes it easy and enjoyable, and getting the opportunity
to see new work every month keeps the voices in our magazine fresh and
exciting.
Q. How did you get involved with the zine? And did you
have any expectations or worries before you started? How has the actual work
been compared to what you expected?
MBV: Apparition Lit graciously opened up
applications to become a submission reader, and so I took a chance and was
selected. I was so honored, and the other readers who came in with me (Maria
Schrater and Tamoha Sengupta) are world class, so I am still so excited to be
here. Only one worry - every author’s worry, truly - was that I wouldn’t fit in
and/or measure up. The team as a whole is so amazing and supportive, and from
the first editors meeting, those fears have faded. They have given us all many
opportunities to get involved beyond reading (see my answer to your previous
question) and I can’t imagine a better environment in which to read/contribute.
As I shared a bit before, it has also taught me that most, if not all,
editors/readers behind a magazine/publication are just fellow writers doing
their best to make the best publication. Rejections are not personal; decisions
can be hard; and competition is fierce because there truly are so many amazing
writers out there. It has given me more confidence in submitting, and we often
echo this sentiment (in our twitter, on the blog, on the website) to encourage
people to consider us! We are truly great to work with!
Q. What have you learned since you started at Apparition
Lit, and what are some of the most enjoyable things vs. the hardest things
about what you do?
MBV: Oh boy, am I really going to take a third
opportunity to say rejections are not personal? Yes, I am. Because while reading,
and getting the honor of reading amazing works, is truly the best part of this
experience, choosing which pieces to pass on is the hardest. Every one of us at
the magazine has our own unique tastes and interests. I have loved stories
dearly to only see them rejected by another reader. And vice versa. Some
stories that we never got to publish still come to mind on occasion as truly
stand out pieces, and all I can say is that I hope they found a home! Sometimes
I love a story so much, it actually hurts my feelings when it gets passed on. I
think “How can you not see how great this is??” and I’m sure the author is
thinking the same. The reality is a good magazine, like ours, really hashes out
the strengths and weaknesses of a story and isn’t afraid to be honest about if
something is a good fit. That is how our issues come together so successfully.
Sometimes, at the end of the day, it’s a hard decision you have to make to
truly get the best product.
Q. What do you look for in a story when you’re going
through the submission pile for Apparition Lit? And is there any advice
you would give to writers wanting to submit stories to Apparition Lit or
any other zine?
MBV: Yes, I wrote a whole blog post about this once!
The dos and don’ts of submitting. I’ll start with my personal do’s and some of
our magazine dos. First, I love a good tearjerker. Not in a sappy way, but in
an authentic, moving way that shows me the author was not afraid to give
characters and conflict depth and challenges. I also love a good horror piece.
We don’t get a ton of horror, for some reason or another, and - fair warning -
not all of the other editors/readers enjoy horror, but boy do I love a good
horror story in the slush pile. For the magazine, one of the best things we
love is intention. When a piece comes to us with a cover letter that
demonstrates they’re familiar with our publication and intentional with our
submission, we feel very seen and appreciate the author’s attention to detail.
In terms of what not to do: do not ignore our guidelines and rules. They exist
for a reason. We always get a range of pieces that fall so far outside of
anything we are interested in (or break our rules) and it takes our time away
from truly deserving pieces. This is not the same as self-rejecting. Self-rejecting
is when you have a good piece you think will fit but do not feel you can take
the time to submit to us. I am talking about people who don’t even bother to
read the call/guidelines and its obvious to us in a variety of ways. Intention
is best and will always put you ahead in the game, even if your piece doesn’t
end up being selected. Editors will appreciate your efforts!
Q. I love Apparition Lit’s flash fiction contests.
I’m guessing you get a lot of submissions for this contest every month and I
know a lot of people love writing for the prompts. What are your thoughts on
the benefits of prompts and contests like this, and also: as a submission
reader, do you see a big range in what types of stories come in for these
contests?
MBV: Truthfully, sometimes we get flooded. That’s
when it gets tricky, because since it’s flash, and monthly, we are trying to be
ruthless, but we get caught up in many stories and it’s back to being the hard
decision we never wanted to make. With the high number of submissions we see,
it also means we see so many fantastical interpretations of our prompts. We see
everything from the literal to the types of stories that have only a faint
reflection of our prompt. We welcome everything, because true to form, you
never really know what is going to grab you until you read it…
I personally love a themed/prompted contest. Apexalso
does a good one, which is microflash, and I like to take a stab every month.
Sometimes the prompts are elusive for a writer, and that can both be an
exciting challenge and also a sign that maybe this month they just won’t have
anything to submit. That’s fine! There’s always next month! I also see authors
who use it as an exercise to practice and challenge themselves, and really keep
up with it just for their own benefit, not even to get published. I am the same
way! I have written to many a prompt and just shelved it. You never know what
seeds you will plant!
Q. Has being involved behind the scenes affected your
view of the business of genre fiction publishing, compared to your perspective
before? Have you gained any insights you didn’t previously have?
MBV: Is this the fourth time I will mention
rejection? Yeah. It can not be overstated. Before entering Apparition Lit,
I viewed magazines and publications to be a monolith of tastes and an
impenetrable fortress. Now I know there truly are homes for all types of work,
and it’s really just about the challenge of finding the right publication. It
does not mean your piece is not wonderful; it just means it was not for us.
Never mind, on to the next! Take heart and don’t self-reject!
Q. For writers and readers out there who might be
thinking about getting involved with a zine in any capacity, what would you say
to them? Do you have any tips and / or advice?
Be sure you like/love the publication you want to join! I
have now met many a slush reader, and one thing is for sure is that we all
compare notes about how our publications work, our comfort working with
specific editors, and how much we enjoy reading the types of submissions we
get. Just like finding the right home for your work, you can also be selective
about finding the right home for your unique tastes and skills and you should
know that every magazine out there works differently. No two are alike. Ask
around, talk to current readers, and see how you can get involved at any level
before diving in!
Q. Anything in particular you want to promote here, some
exciting projects coming up for you?
MBV: I have no big projects on the horizon, but I am
ridiculously excited about this year’s flash contest prompts. We have a range
of beautiful photos rolling out every month, from amazing female photographers,
and so far we have seen some stunning pieces get submitted. Check us out
monthly! And please read our guidelines!
Thanks so much to Marie Baca Villa, and check out all the
great poetry and fiction in Apparition Lit!
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