I am reading and editing them as they come in, and rejecting any submissions that are hopelessly inept (I have sent back submissions that are only 500 or 1,000 words, and suggested that they be rewritten to the 2,500-word minimum), but Thurston Howl has said to not accept anything before the October 1st deadline. Then we will select the best 120,000 words and regretfully decline the rest. So far, we have not gotten 120,000 words submitted. You have a few days to revise your story before submitting it.
FurPlanet Productions is a lot more flexible. My guidelines for “The Furry Future” were to accept 120,000 to 150,000 words. We got over 190,000 words that were good. I asked FurPlanet what to do with the extra 40,000+ words, since it was a shame to let any of it go. FurPlanet decided to publish all 190,000+ words. Since the $19.95 price had already been announced, this meant a greater expense for FurPlanet in buying the stories, and paying for extra paper for a thicker book.