EDITOR WEDNESDAY: R. Jackson

This week we put our five questions to Biggest Lover editor R. Jackson.

1. Would you like to introduce yourself as an editor (or writer, or any other hats you also wear…)
   Greetings, readers and writers! I'm a Bear community pioneer and bisexual men’s advocate, living in Western Connecticut. Under my pen name, R. Jackson, I edited the men’s fiction anthologies Bearotica, Bear Lust, Bears in the Wild, Tales from the Den, and The Biggest Lover, all published by Bear Bones Books; with PJ Willis, Kink, from StarBooks Press; and Bi Guys, from Lethe Press, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Bisexual Literature.
   
   
2. Summarise your latest book from Lethe in five words!
   Groundbreaking sexy smart chuberotica anthology.
   
   
3. Was there a specific kind of story – a feel, a style, a character, etc. – that you were looking for when choosing stories?
   My criteria for The Biggest Lover included (In no particular order): 
   ~ Stories that show diversity.
   ~ Stories that feature sharp humor.
   ~ Stories that depict the love between all men of different body sizes.
   ~ Stories that give insight into Chub and Gaining communities.
   ~ Stories that celebrate the romance and sexuality, rather than demonize, fat people.
   ~ Stories that make my dick hard.
    
4. Is there an elusive story somewhere that you’d love to find but never quite have? (In other words, what’s the perfect recipe to get into the next anthology…)
   My next antho will be a 2017 collection of bisexual men's erotica, so if you're interested in submitting, my basic advice is to buy and read the first volume of the Lammy-Finalist collection of Bi Guys (reprinted by Lethe Press), then write a completely unique, ball-busting story that's better than anything in Bi Guys 1. 
      That advice seems so intuitive to me, but since it's apparently not obvious to a lot of new writers, this is actually the best recipe for any anthology you want to break into: read and analyze the CFS and research what the editor has already published, then write a story for them based on that.
      Do this because it will improve your writing, and so that when you send in your submission, you can honestly tell your editor how much you loved reading their earlier work. This indicates to your editor that you have gone to the trouble of: a) supporting their earlier work by buying their book, and, b) researching the project before writing your story. This will endear you to an editor even before they have read the first word of your story.
      One more thing: Never submit a draft of your story; submit work only that's absolutely your best and 100% ready for publication as is. Write, rewrite, and polish your story and have a beta reader proofread and give you feedback before you send in anything. When you submit a story that is not ready for publication and appropriate for the project, requiring extensive edits or a rewrite, it shows the editor how little you care about their time.
   
   
5. In your reading, did you come across any new names (whether they are included in the anthology or not) that are ones to watch for the future?
   Yes, several writers with great stories whom I've not worked with before stand out: Jerry Rabushka, who wrote "Golden Walrus"; Dylan Thomas Good, who just published his first novel, Woof, with Bear Bones Books; and Matthew Bright, a very talented Brit who also designed The Biggest Lover book. Definitely keep an eye on these guys!

The Biggest Lover is out on February 14th from Lethe Press and Bear Bones Books. Check it out.