Saturday, May 5, 2012

Taboo words


We’ve received a few enquiries about taboo or swear words: does the Alchemy Press allow the use of them? The short answer is “Yes”. We won’t list all the taboo words here – we seen them all and we’re not easily shocked. Our advice: use such words judiciously and not gratuitously. Most often swear words are found in speech and by extension in stories written in the first person.

Taboo words and phrases may also be of racial or religious nature. In today’s politically-correct environment be sensitive to their use.

No one has yet asked us about the level of violence we allow in Alchemy Press books. Again, when used in context, we have no issue with violent stories. But we do shy away from stories that use excessive violence for its own end, especially those that may be considered misogynistic.  

The final decision whether or not to use the submission is down to the quality of the writing and is not based on the number of “fucks” in the manuscript.

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