A Weekend of Words.

I managed to escape my work, my studies and the city for a weekend of writing, laughs and red wine. Over the past two years, I haven't done anywhere near as much writing as I would like. This is mostly due to studies and other life events.

With four other writers, I headed into the countryside to a small cottage for a writers' retreat. We were all very good - well, most of us - and actually spent a lot of time writing. I brought a couple of stories I wanted to revisit. One I particularly like, but it needed work. I've attempted minor adjustments over the past year or so, but this time I went in and attacked the whole ending, which to me was the part that didn't quite work.

Now it does. It still needs another look, and a polish, but I feel it's much closer to the story it promises to be.

The other story is one I'm rather proud of.  Again, it's close but needs something. Before I left Australia, a writer friend gave me a solid critique.  This weekend another writer friend (both excellent writers, by the way) also gave me a critique.  What stunned me was how similar their comments and advice was. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect collusion.

At least I now have a clear plan for the story.

We went out for a meal, drank wine, talked a lot, laughed a lot, and played a fabulous card game for many hours on end. Thanks, team, for the retreat.  I really needed that weekend.

Meanwhile, it's back to work and onwards with these stories.

Wheels Turn Slowly.

When I first started writing, I attended a workshop where one of the attendees was the editor of a well known and reputable sf magazine. He liked my story, said it was "very very good" and told me to send it to him.

I did. And in my naivety and innocence, was surprised when I didn't hear back in a few days. Or a week. Or even a month. The website suggested querying after three months, which I did, and I never received a response to that email.

I received a response to my submission, though, four months later, and it wasn't good news. Yes, a short story which was going to earn me a grand total of about $50 was rejected after seven months.

While seven months is towards the top end of response times, it's not completely out of the ordinary. Most sit between three and four months. My fastest was two days, my longest is ...  well, technically about 8 years as they never responded at all. Not even after a couple of very polite email enquiries.

And then, of course, it can take up to another year to reach publication. Oh, and bear in mind most publishers ask you not to send the story out to more than one publisher at the time, which means you might only send a story out a couple of times a year if they hang onto it for too long.

And this is only for short stories - novels can take much longer.

I have a story out at the moment with a publisher who usually responds within two months. It's currently been out for 5 months, and although I have sent an enquiry email, I have not heard back at all. This is unusual, but I'm not particularly worried as I understand most  small press publishers have day jobs and other commitments.

But it would be nice to have a response. Especially as I have high hopes for this story. Now that I've written about it, and knowing the world's sense of humour, I'll probably hear back today.

Maybe that's why I wrote this piece - to try and force the world's hand.

Not All Are Equal.

Despite what Goodreads and Amazon reviews may suggest, not all publishers are equal.

I recently read an anthology from a small press, one that was given to me a couple of years ago. I'd heard good thing about this publisher, and I have no reason to believe they are anything but honest and supportive of their writers. This particular book had excellent reviews and ratings on the above mentioned websites, and I was looking forward to delving into this particular collection.

4.5 stars?  Give me a break. Family and friends, and possibly authors themselves, bumping up ratings.

As you may have surmised, I found it was well below average.
There were misspellings, sentences that were incoherent, absent punctuation, swapped homonyms, and generally sloppy layout. Editing? I wonder if that even occurred. Oh, and most of the stories were just poorly written.

I'm not even sure if this press is still operating. I haven't heard them mentioned in a while and I haven't googled. If they are, I wish them well and hope they have improved.

Your product is your greatest advertising. People won't buy a second if they are underwhelmed by the first. And, of course, this is the same for writers. Send out your best work, polish it and proofread to make sure it's close to perfect. Choose where you allow your work to be seen.

I guess this is one of the reasons I have decided to not go down the self-publishing road. The whitenoise of mediocrity is deafening. I have yet to personally stumble across any self-published work that I would consider recommending. I am sure they exist, and I know of the famous exceptions, but they are the tiniest of minorities. I don't even bother anymore.

And please, don't self publish then tell me you did so because your work has been rejected everywhere. It's hardly a glowing endorsement. Yes, editors and publishers make mistakes or reject stories that don't suit them, but maybe, just maybe, there's a reason no one wanted to buy your work.

Recent Scribbling.

It's been a good month for writing.

Not only have I submitted four stories in the past two weeks, but I have started another story and written an article. This week I was commissioned to write another couple of articles which will be published shortly.

I love writing, when I can manage to make the time. And I wish I had more time in which to sit and focus my energies on getting words on the screen. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a full time writer? Maybe not for everyone, but it's what I desire and should I win the lottery I think that's what would happen. Of course winning the lottery would actually require a great deal of luck; even more since I so rarely buy a ticket. But I can dream.

Writing these articles takes a great deal of research. A lot of time spent looking at documents, chasing links and leads, and formulating clear, concise paragraphs that are easy to follow. My feedback from editors suggest I succeed at delivering on this.

My fiction writing is improving as well. I plan on selling four or five stories by the end of the year. My Sherlock Holmes story is due for release in a couple of months, and I think I have another story out by Christmas. All I need is the confirmation and I'll be able to share those details with you.

It's time I found a writing group here in Lincoln. I need to mix with other writers. But finding the right group for you can be tricky. Ideally it should include writers at a similar and higher level than yourself. I've been in groups consisting of only beginner writers, and it was of little benefit to me. They don't have the experience and skills to critique your work as required. A mix is ideal, with new writers and some old hands.

I'll start looking around soon, see what's happening. There should be a group that meets my needs. After all, this is a university city. Surely there are fellow writers geeks.

How Will I Know?

I've been writing again. Re-writing, actually. But this isn't just a skim and edit, I'm completely rewriting the entire story, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, and trying to be ruthless with it. In fact I spent about three hours today completely restructuring a 350 word opening.

I hope it's improved.

This is a story I love, and it received great personal rejections from three pro-level markets. So there's hope for the story, and I'm hoping the changes I'm making at the moment give it the push it needs. I'm using those comments, as well as a solid critique from another writer, as my guide. These people know what they're doing, so I'd be a fool not to pay attention. The question is can I get it right.

But wait, as they say in the infomercials, there's more.

A couple of years ago a well-known and admired writer very kindly sent me three pages of notes and advice on things she'd learned along the way. At the time I read these notes, tried to apply them and thought I'd done a decent job. This week, as I prepared to delve back into this story, I re-read the notes. And that little light metaphorical bulb in my brain went on. Now I'm approaching the story with so much more rigour and determination than I've ever applied before.

Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees, and I just now as I re-read what I'd written, I had doubts as to whether it was better or not. And that's why distance and time, and a decent beta-reader, makes all the difference. So I'll get this piece done, have another set of eyes go over it, then send it out into the wild world.

Who knows? This time it might even survive.

Diving Back In.

I subbed a story to a pro-market this week. It's been a long time since I've subbed anything anywhere, and I must say it felt great.

Partly because of the move and trying to settle in at a new job while focusing on a new curriculum, but also for a number of other reasons, it's been while since I've written very much at all. I haven't written any new words yet, but I've done a major rewrite on one story, started rewriting another, and read through a few more that need work. Time and space between writing and self-critiquing is a wonderful thing. Fresh eyes pick up flaws.

I've also finished and submitted the edits on my Sherlock Holmes story. Even at this late(ish) stage I found a typo, clarified a few sentences, and cringed at the repeated use of the same word in a couple of sentences. But the proofs look fantastic, and I love the illustration for my story. Thanks to Christopher Sequeira and the publishing/editing team for their work. This is an anthology I'm really looking forward to. Very proud to be a part of it.

In the meantime I have continued making notes in my writer notebooks, the ones I carry almost everywhere I go. I never let up on those so there is a collection of ideas, thoughts, sketches and thumbnails waiting to be harvested.

For the first time in ages I actually feel optimistic about my writing again. It's a great feeling.

Look for more words from me soon.

Now Is The Spring Of My Writing Career.

Things are looking up. There's a new optimism in the air. Spring has finally sprung, or at least it has here in Australia. And while the temperature nor the weather has reached their usual early September standards, it's certainly milder than it has been.

Things are looking up on the writing front as well.

Last night I received the best pro-level rejection so far. It had lots of positives, lots of complimentary words, and solid, clear reasons why the story was being rejected. Not only that, there were clear indications the story had been read all the way through. (A major feat in itself, believe me. Most stories are rejected after a paragraph or two) Then the editor finished with a phrase I haven't seen from him before, and signed off more personally than he's ever done in the past.

In the past, I've received hundreds of rejections, so I know I'm not reading too much into this. This is a good story that's close. It might need some tweaking, but I feel it will sell.

Another story I'm working on has been out with a couple of friends who graciously offered to critique it for me. I've received one crit back already, and the comments are generally positive. My friend also took the time to point out the parts which didn't work for him (which is what I'm looking for rather than a list of positives) and I must say he's right. It's amazing what you miss when you don't see the story through other eyes.

So rewrite time here at Chateau Cameron. And all is good with the world.

Know Your Product.

I've spent the week analysing a bunch of short stories.  All these stories have been published in the one market. I've been rejected there a bunch of times and come close a few times, but it's a market to which I long to sell.

Editors are buyers. And they buy according to quality and taste. Magazines have particular bents, particular types of stories they publish. And so I do my research.

I believe I have the quality, but I've been wondering whether my stories are lacking a certain element that this particular editor likes. Or whether my writing style simply doesn't sit right with the editor.

I've completed my research, and I've come to several conclusions.

Now to see whether I can successfully apply them to my writing.

Typo?

We all make typos. And they can be difficult to find.

There was one story I wrote which passed through about five readers. Each made comments on it. I wrote and rewrote and edited that beast many times. I sold it to a quality market, where it then underwent further edits with an experienced editor.

So you can understand how surprised I was to open my contributor's copy only to find a typo on the first page of my story. I hadn't even read the published story yet. The mistake just leaped out from the page at me.

I checked the piece I had submitted. I checked the final version before publication. I checked the very first draft. And the typo was in all versions. No one, including myself, had picked it up.

Typos will beat the best of us, but there's no excuse for not using a spellchecker.

I was recently trawling around the internet, checking out writing websites and author's pages, and I was surprised to see some dreadful writing and really obvious mistakes on some of these pages. Not all these authors are known. Many are 'emerging' writers, by whichever definition you choose. Some I know of, although none personally.

It seems to me though that it's hard enough to get published at pro-levels without making it more difficult for yourself. The story might be superb, but editors aren't going to get that far if the page is unreadable. Not everyone can punctuate properly, but at least check your spelling. Oh, and for that one writer on that one blog in particular who complains they can't sell a story?  You should try commas and other punctuation marks sometimes.

The Drought.

I haven't had a story sale since late last year. A few good, personal rejections. A few not so personal rejections. A few rejections that were so impersonal they almost hurt. For a number of reasons, I had reason to think one or two of these would be acceptances. I was wrong.

In the meantime I have had a couple of publications. Good magazines, with high profiles and reputations. There was even a decent review.

But the drought I'm experiencing isn't only in regards to sales. My motivation seems to have dried up as well. Not a writer's block. I have ideas, and I know how to 'make' ideas, just the willingness to sit down and write those words.It's been months since I've sat down to write new words. Well, new fiction, at least.

I started the new semester at work this week. A new group of students in my Writer's class. I've started showing them how to structure stories, and I learned a couple of points myself.

I'm hoping this is what it takes to push me back into the writer's chair. And yes, I realise it's something I need to make myself do.

It's The Write Time.

I'm on term break now, and I must say I've been hanging out for this one.

It's been a very, very busy semester. And, for a variety of reason, it's probably been the busiest time I've had teaching in the past ten years. I have a few things to do during the coming two weeks, but writing is definitely one of them.

I must sit down daily and get words out. I have to get back into that habit. Last week I managed some words, but nowhere near as many as I would like. I was able to sub a couple of stories as well, but even though these are markets that promise rapid responses, I'm still waiting to hear back on those.

And that other story, the one that's been sitting at Analog for 135 days.  Yup, it seems as though my prediction was correct and response times have blow out again.

In the meantime, apart from waiting with fingers crossed on all these stories, I guess the only thing I can do is write. And that starts again tomorrow.

How Many Missions?

There are times I feel like Yossarian in Joseph Heller's Catch 22. Not that I imagine millions of people are trying to kill me and no one will listen. In my case that would be paranoia. Although as Yossarian was in the middle of a war it's likely he was speaking more than some truth there.

No, I'm talking about his missions.

Yossarian simply wants to go home, but his command continue to increase the number of missions he has to fly in order to do so. This is usually done when he's only one or two missions shy of the target number. And so, of course, he can never get there.

Earlier this year, I submitted a story to Analog magazine at a time when they had reported response times of around 70 days. While that may seem high, it's actually much lower than the 180ish days they were reporting a year or two ago. And so I waited.

Around the 70 day mark, I checked the response times, only to find they had increased to around 90 days. A few more weeks wait then.

Three weeks later, when I was on 90 days, they had increased out to around 110 days. Two weeks after that it was around 135 days.

I'm currently sitting at 119 days and there has not been a reported response for two weeks. Is that because no one has recorded a response, or because the editors have given up reading slush and all gone home?

Either way I'm sure the response time will have increased.

In the end Yossarian had to make a deal in order to go home. He had to pretend to be friends with his commanders.

I'm willing to do that. Analog Editors, would you like to come over for drinks some time?

Happy , Happy Thoughts.

Three times I've written this blogpost. Three times I've deleted it. Each one has been on a different topic. And then common sense got the better of me, and I begged off.

There seems to be a lot to be negative about at the moment. I see it on social media on a daily basis. Writing, publishing, awards, work, health, relationships, the environment, politics. And football. Mostly football.

Oh yeah. Something is definitely wrong at my beloved Essendon.

And no, all those categories above apply to me and my life. But I made the decision several years ago, when I was reluctantly dragged into the twenty-first century and Facebook, that I would only share happy thoughts, honest thoughts, and not permit my voice to become negative.

I've seen it happen. Negativity only leads to a downward spiral from which a return can be difficult.

So happy thoughts this week at Chateau Cameron. I have a job. I have a home. I have great family and friends. I have books. I have music. I have film. I have art.

Life is good.

The Carrot Beats The Stick.

No new rejections, but no sales either. Writing continues slowly as I struggle to find time. It's been a busy week, the first week back as school after the term break.

Parent teacher interviews, getting back up to speed on new units of work, organising plans for this term, chasing up students who may be behind in submitting work, and a host of other minutiae not even I am interested in.

The little I have been managing is rewrites rather than new words. I have a few deadlines approaching and I'm sure I can make them, but it'll have to wait until next week before I even start considering those. Ideas run through and depart as I realise they're not satisfying enough. One or two are keepers, but need to be smashed against other ideas to work. Into my notebook they go.

I've been teaching students how to beat writers block, or how to get ideas when you're sitting in a classroom with no real thoughts on how to proceed. Not only did I learn some stuff myself, but as I was showing the class, I got a bunch of ideas which also went into the notebook.

Parent teacher interviews were positive, and I found myself speaking a lot about motivation - both intrinsic and extrinsic. And I think that's something I need to consider in regards to my own writing at the moment. Self reflection time ahead.

It's time to get myself re-energised, re-enthused about my words. I need to get lost in a story. I need a carrot to lure me.

Another sale would probably help.

Three Heads Make Sense.

It's sometimes difficult to know how much attention to pay to readers' comments on a story.

The first time I received crits on a story was when I was just starting to write. Lots of comments, lots of comments. I tired to incorporate every single one of them. And sucked the life from the story.

Those changes were discarded. The story was rewritten, later one when I'd learned some discernment and had suggestions from someone I respected.

This week I had a rejection from a magazine I thought might like my story. It was an interesting rejection, though, because there had been three slushreaders, and the rejection included their comments.

And all three readers said very similar things. And, when I thought about it, the suggestions made sense.

I slashed into that story, armed with a will to improve it, and rewrote it in a matter of days. And I believe it's for the better.

Thank you, slushers. I appreciate it.

Writing Aimlessly.

I've had a very productive couple of months.

I've completed the first drafts of seven or so stories since October, rewritten two of those, subbed five, had a reprint, sold two and I'm waiting on the rest.

But for the past ten days or so, I've found it difficult to get my teeth into any one story in particular. I have maintained my daily wordcount average, but mostly I've written openings, a few paragraphs that may or may end up going somewhere further. Admittedly, I've been very busy finishing up at work, and all those other reasons that prevent me writing as much as I'd like. But I just couldn't get the groove happening. And then two nights ago I started a piece that has hooked into my subconscious and has started taking on a life of its own.

For me the most important thing was to keep writing, to get something that fired up and felt like a story could occur. And it has.

Will this story see the light of day? Possibly.

Sometimes we wander aimlessly when we're not sure where we want to go, and the places we discover when we don't plan too much  can be exciting and wonderful.

Another Story Finds A Home.

I had another acceptance last week, a few days after Aurealis bought one of my stories.

That was kind of nice, receiving two in the one week. I'm very happy about it, and I will certainly let you know more details when I feel I'm more able. Like when the contracts arrive. There are still a couple of other stories out in the wildwoods I'm waiting on. One in particular would be a really encouraging sale at this point of my development. And although I'm not sweating or checking my email every thirty seconds, I am becoming a little more anxious as time passes.

Is it taking longer than others because they're holding it and on the verge of accepting it? Or have they simply not reached that far down in the slushpile yet.

Rejectomancy is an evil area in which to venture. For now, No News is No News.

Ideas From The Backburner.

I've recently written a few stories for which I had little more than an idea that had been floating around for a while.

Of course an idea alone does not equal a story. It's merely the launching point. But I thought these were pretty good ones, and I dutifully wrote them in my notebook several years ago. At the time I didn't run with them for two reasons. Firstly, because I didn't know what to do with them, how to develop them into something more. Secondly, I didn't feel I had the skill to pull off the descriptions I knew these particular ideas would require.

But a few weeks ago I knew I had to ignore both those self doubts and just start writing them. And I did write them. And I finished them. And I'm really happy with how they turned out.

I usually have a rough idea of where a story is going to go, and tend to work within that loose framework. From time to time they take me in unexpected directions. And this is what happened with both these stories. It was actually rather exciting to see where they went, because in at least one of them I had nothing beyond the original idea and the first paragraph of setting and character.

These are good stories. They will sell. You will see them.

But now they're settling, before I go back in a week or two and give them the second draft they so long for.

Six Out.

It's been a long while since I've had this many out at once.

Yep, I currently have six stories out on submission, with one of those on hold, one of those still under consideration longer than others I know who submitted, and a couple more I have some confidence in.

Add to this another five stories congealing on my desk, waiting for a bit of distance and space before I have another look at them and send them out.

I also have at least three more publications in the next few months, and I'll be relieved when I'm given the green light to mention them. Plus a couple of stories underway.

However, it's been a while since I've received an acceptance email. Even just one would be great. Six would be better.

Editors, are you reading this? You know you want to buy my stories. Come on, do it!

Kicking Myself.

So that story I expected to be rejected was rejected. And the misread guideline was mentioned in the rejection.

And so I was really annoyed with myself.

I don't know whether my story would have been accepted had I got that one element right, but I'd like to think it would have. It would certainly have stood more chance than it did. But it's been given a quick once over and sent straight back out. I believe it's a good story and it will find a home.

I realised this week is the four year anniversary of my first publication. Now that was a feeling I'll never forget. It was a good sale, and it's a story of which I'm proud. Looking back, I can see how much I've progressed and how much I've achieved since then. Of course it's not as much as I would like to have achieved, but I plan to continue improving and selling stories.

Ahhh, hindsight. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?