David Obuchowski 
Dear Readers and Writers,
I was honored to serve as guest fiction and non-fiction editor for Unfortunately, Literary Magazine. In that capacity, I read and reviewed every single piece that was submitted during the month of April. It took nearly two months of daily reading.
It did not take long during that time for me to come across absolutely magnificent work. (The first story I gave a full-throated yes to was “girl thing” by Morghen Tidd.) A basic plank of the ULM platform is that a story needs to have been rejected before it can be submitted to the publication. Truly, this exercise proved to me that a rejection (or many dozens of them) is not proof of flawed work. There were so many stories and essays that I read that I was simply stunned to be reading, because I thought to myself, “What editor would have ever passed on this!?”
But that’s how it goes. Writing is not a quantitative matter. There are many concrete things a person can do to become a better writer. But ultimately, it comes down to another human being (or in the case of ULM, a team of four people reading together, sharing opinions, hashing it out) and what their personal opinion is.
My opinion is no better than anyone else’s. So I know that there were some writers who submitted to ULM in hopes it would be the place that rescued them from rejection, but instead found more of the same. I will say, there were many, many, many stories that almost made the cut. If the experience taught me anything at all, it’s this: good writing is not in short supply.
So, to all you writers, keep writing. The competition is stiff, but I can personally vouch for the fact that there are people who are eager to read your work. And if I had any specific advice, it’s this: before you submit, give your work one more read, and then ask yourself these questions: Is it as good as you believe it can be? No matter the genre, does it feel authentic? If the honest answer to any of those questions is “no,” then give it another revision. Authenticity is crucial because whether it’s fantasy or literary fiction, the reader needs to feel like the author created a world and characters they believe in, and then told the story.
Thanks to Nathalie and the rest of the wonderful people at ULM for this honor. And thank you to every single person who submitted their work. It was a privilege to be a part of its journey.
David Obuchowski
