Call for Submissions / Syndicate Product 13

Syndicate Product wants to you THINK OUTSIDE THE IDIOT BOX
for an issue about TELEVISION and EVERYTHING that surrounds it.

YES to stories/vignettes such as:
+ personal television experiences - e.g., did you appear on a game show and win a case of Turtle Wax or a house full of Z-Brick? Or, have you worked in television production? Appear on or host a cable access show? Work for TV Guide?

+ stories involving television equipment and technology - e.g., the day cable arrived, our family's first color television, wow... high definition television is really distracting, you can have my TiVo when you pry the control from my cold dead hands, the golden era of "television lamps"

+ stories that tie your personal experiences in with the television experience - e.g., What did you watch all night after you were dumped? What shows did you watch to avoid writing your dissertation? How about when someone you loved died? When you first moved to a new city or a new apartment? What shows were you not allowed to watch growing up?

+ unusual lists of television-related goodness, not just basic lists of episodes or "moments", like the ones in every other issue of Entertainment Weekly or TV Guide. Get creative! How about a list of the television characters you and your friends pretended to be as a kid? (I've known many of you for over 10 zine years - you have it in you!)

+ non-United States television experiences, or conversely, impressions of United States television programming if you don't live here

+ Just plain odd television-related stuff. Pitch me something! Send me something!

NO to the boring and tired:
+ "Why Lost (St. Elsewhere, Seinfeld, etc.) is the greatest show ever!" The point of this issue is to think beyond the popular and well-reported. However, if you can make a case for something really offbeat, obscure, unusual, or just plain odd, pitch it.

+ "Oh, I DON'T watch TELEVISION." This issue is a fete for television programming, not a lecture about how television rots your brain. (Plus, if you say you DON'T WATCH TELEVISION, but own all the seasons of The Sopranos, yeah, YOU WATCH TELEVISION.)

+ Routine "Top Lists" - best sitcom episodes, best science fiction, best stunt casting.

Comics are welcome! The issue will be digest sized (half-letter). The zine will be B&W and photocopied.

Length: I'm not going to get too hung up on length for this issue, but I would say between 500-1000 words is a good size. If you need to go longer, please do. If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it to the end. I'll let you know if a piece is simply too huge.

Due Date/Where to submit: This issue will be ready for the fall television season, so the due date (for now) is Sept 5, 2008. Send me your pieces as they are ready! Submit entries to syndprod@gmail.com. OpenOffice, MS Word, RTF attachements, or just paste the text into an e-mail. If you want to mail them, send them to: A.j. Michel, PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.

Yeah, I'm stupid enough to do another issue of Syndicate Product, despite the rising photocopy and postage costs. Won't you help me fill it up?

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Syndicate Product Covert HQ: www.syndicateproduct.com