Write, Rewrite, Submit.

I submitted a story recently. It has been a while since I sent one out into the wilderness, but a market appeared before me, I had a story that suit and so off it went.

It's been a while since I wrote anything new. I wrote this story a couple of years ago, and never really sent it out. I received great feedback from a reader, who really liked it. I left it for a while and re-read it with fresh eyes, then re-structured it to make a better story. And then it sat on the hard disk for close to a year until a few weeks ago when I sent it on its way.

Will the editor like it as much as I do? I can never be sure unless they buy it. Even if they reject it, they may add a note about what they thought of it. And it might be one they love but it doesn't fit in with the collection they are preparing.

On the other hand, I might receive a standard for rejection, which leaves you none the wiser as to what they thought of it.

Ultimately it makes little difference, apart from the bruising to your ego and your own hurt feelings. And this can really hurt when you read the final product (from which you were excluded) and really hate some of the stories.  "Why?", you shriek as you raise your fist to the darkening sky and curse the editor, the publisher and the other authors.  And then you get on with your day and make your toast for breakfast.

But hopefully I'll hear soon, and the bonus will be an acceptance.

It's About Time.

Despite having five stories slated for publication this year, it's been about four months since I've had a sale.

I've had a bunch of close calls. Making shortlists, personal rejections from markets I once only dreamed of subbing to, and great feedback. But they're not sales. And that's what I want.

On the one hand I guess it means I'm improving. On the other hand it can be frustrating getting so close only to be rejected. But a miss is as good as a mile, they used to say. Close, but no cigar.

These are good stories, and I have no doubt they will sell. It would be nice, though, if it were soon.

In other news I'm currently setting up a music blog with an old friend. We're currently determining the scope and the format. And the name.

A good name is vital, and we've started shortlisting. More information on that when we're closer to launch.

Have a great week. I plan to.

Five Already.

I've been back at work for the past week, and the start of the school year can be tough. Lots of meetings, lots of planning, lots of everything.  Which means it has been a little harder than normal to ensure I get my writing done.

I'm still there, though. Still writing everyday. Not as many words as I would like, but some. And that's good.

A few rejections this month too. Not enough to make me give up writing, but disappointing all the same. Especially when I was close on a couple of them. close enough to receive personal rejections which indicated how close I was. Two of those were pro-level markets, and I feel I'm close to a breakthrough there. One of them is a market I've tried a few times. I'm starting to suspect my writing style is simply not a fit for them, and I may not bother subbing there again.

I have a couple of markets like that. A couple where I suspect I'm either not a fit, or I think I've been rejected for other reasons. And that's fine. Editors can choose and buy whatever they like. But I have no plans to waste my time writing stories specifically for them when I feel they aren't going to be bought. I'll write the stories I like, and if they happen to align with those markets I may consider subbing.

On the other hand I've had another sale. This now means I've had three for this year. Unfortunately I'm unable to give further details on any of them. Add these to the two stories I sold at the end of last year and I already have five stories slated for publication this year.

Cool, huh?

I will, of course, share more information when I'm permitted to do so. In the meantime, those rejections are being sent out again. And the whole waiting game starts over.

Why ever would you want to be a writer?

Sigh.

Dear Steve's story,

Thanks for coming along to the party. It was great having you here.

You're a lot of fun. You were well written and action packed and we loved everything you said, but ultimately you just don't fit in with the rest of the guests. I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave now.

Don't take this the wrong way. You're a good story, and we hope you can find another party where you will fit in. We'd certainly be delighted should one of your friends join us at our next party.

With love,

The other stories who were accepted.

Shhhh! Good news!

I have good news, although I can't share it yet. In fact I have three pieces of good news, and I'm hoping I'll be able to share two of those within the next few days. But for now, shhhh!

Yes, all are writing related. Three separate things that relate to projects which I've wanted to achieve for some time. As you young folk would say, achievement unlocked.

One of these I've known for several months. And I've wanted to tell people since I was first told. It can be frustrating at times, hanging onto news when you long to share it but editors won't permit it. I do, however, understand why that occurs. And I suppose it's better announced closer to fruition rather than far too early.

As for those stories hanging out there in the void? Let's hope I'll have even more good news to share shortly.

The Waiting Continues.

I don't usually sweat on stories.

Once they're written I send them off and do my best to forget them. At some later point I hear back, either a rejection or acceptance, and I'm either happy and beaming for a day or so, or annoyed for about five minutes. With a few rare exceptions, the days of stewing for days over rejections are long gone.

Mostly I have some idea as to when I expect to hear back from the editor or publisher. The submission guidelines give some clue of how long they expect to take. Other websites such as Duotrope or The Grinder keep data on submissions so a writer can anticipate response times.

But this week I've actually been checking my email a little more often than usual. I have six stories out, and most of them appear to be overdue a response, based on the data I'm seeing online. These are stories I have high hopes for, and I'm keen to receive a couple of acceptances.

But there's danger in reading too much into long response times. No news, after all, is nothing but no news.

In the meantime, I'll be over here refreshing my email.

So Where Does Luck Come Into It?

In the past week I've been on the fringes of two online discussions regarding self-publishing, gaining audiences and rejection. Both are on different venues with different participants. Both dialogues evolved from quite different starting points. Both conversations have a number of similarities.

I thought I'd look at some of the points I've noticed.

There can be a feeling among newer writers that their work is not selected for publication simply because they're unknown. This is common, and I believe it is often due to an inexperienced writer not seeing the problems with their own work. The automatic reaction, and I confess to having passed through this phase myself, is that the editor obviously missed the whole point of the story. This seems to be accompanied by a feeling of  'what's wrong with the story, and I'll change that.'  The writer seems to look for the simple fix. Did I use too many commas? Should I change the character's name? Did I use the wrong font? If the fix was that simple, the editor would have asked for a simple rewrite. No, it's often more complex than that.

At this point the consolation from other writers often kicks in. "I'm sure your writing is fine. It's simply the wrong market." Even though I concede that this can be true, this approach generally annoys me as too much false praise can be harmful. If a story has received several form rejections, then perhaps you need to consider the possibility that the problem is in the writing.

Shortly after gathering a heap of rejections, some writers decide that since editors are all too stupid to see the value in their work, they will self-publish, unleashing their masterpiece on the world. And so Smashwords and Amazon are filled with stories, novellas and novels for bargain prices. As I've pointed out before, I have concerns about publishing work that a number of editors have elected not to publish. Surely there's a message in that. Oh, and please stop pointing out the two or three self-published successes that continue to be the poster-children. They are exceptions, and extremely rare ones at that. However, I realise self-publishing has its place. The best piece of advice I received from my mentor was not to stampede towards publishing your own work or your first collection.

Accompanying this is the current trend to refer to all self-publishing as 'indie publishing.' Sure, I recognise that there is a certain amount of independence in self-publishing, but I feel it detracts from the true independent publishers, the small presses that strive to build reputations, and differentiate themselves from the major houses.

Then there is the spam I receive on these venues from a number of self-published authors promoting their latest work - often three or four times. The argument raised in their defence is that it's hard to break free from the millions of other self-published stories. Yeah? Well spamming me has simply ensured that I will never buy your work. And if your work has been rejected by a number of editors, what makes you think it will stand out anyway?

Then, of course, comes the old argument about how difficult it is to get your work published. How difficult it is to even get your work seen by an editor. How all those other successes were simply lucky. It may surprise some people, but editors want to find good stories, want to publish stories and novels that sell well and win awards. And agents, they want to have authors on their books that will make them money. "JK Rowling was rejected 17 times. All those editors got it wrong. They don't know what they're doing." Actually 17 rejections isn't that many. Many writers have had far more than that. Those editors obviously couldn't see how the book would fit into their imprint. There was no precedent for the success of that tale. The publisher who did pick it up, Bloomsbury, was a minor player, who only did a small print run. They weren't even sure if they were going to take the second book. It was only because Scholastic picked it up for U.S. schools and kids' word of mouth that caused it to go nuts. Yes, editors can get it wrong sometimes, but they're more often right and good work will be picked up eventually.

"Oh, but it's all luck," I hear. So many of those authors made it because they knew someone, or were in the right place at the right time. I actually take offence to that comment. I know that I have minimal experience and successes, but I've had to work hard to achieve those sales. I studied, learned, wrote, rewrote, submitted and resubmitted for all those sales.

Yes, luck can come into the story. But ultimately its about the quality of the work.

This Week, I'll Mostly Be Writing.

It's term break and I've devoted this week to writing. Three days in and I'm already kicking goals.

I've written a complete story, rewritten an older one, and submitted both. And I'm really happy with them.

I generally plan my stories before I start writing them -  not in complete detail, but I know where they're going to go and how I'll get there. In writing terms, I'm a 'planner' rather than a 'pantser.' But the story I wrote on Monday I hadn't planned. I knew how it was going to start, and had a couple of ideas for scenes along the way (two of which I ended up not using), but no idea where it was going to end up.

So I pantsed it. (I guess the term comes from the phrase 'fly by the seat of your pants') And it worked really well.

This time, at least.

I'm not sure it's something I'd be able to pull-off every time, but it has built my confidence and made me realise I can do it. And I've learned I can write a complete story in a single day.

Not that I want to do that every time.

But two stories subbed, and a third started this morning. Now I have to wait for the editors to make a decision.

You Don't Owe Me Nothing.

I received a form rejection this week. I had been hoping for a sale, or at least a personal rejection. Unfortunately that wasn't to be.

Form rejections, for those that don't know, usually follow a standard wording, something along the lines of:

"Thank you for sending us your story. Unfortunately it does not fit our needs at the moment, and we wish you luck in placing it elsewhere."

Which basically means it's not good enough, or it just didn't grab the editor's interest.

There are sometimes 'better' form rejections, which might include a line about sending more stories to them in the future. And then there are the personal rejections.

A couple of markets try to give personal feedback for every submission, and I've often found that to be valuable. But with thousands and thousands of submissions per year, some markets simply cannot spend the time giving individual responses.  (Bear in mind that some writing is so poor the editor rejects the story in the first sentence.)

I can't find it now, but some time back I saw a post from a writer who'd received a form rejection, and had then emailed the editor asking for further feedback. Now this is generally considered to be bad form, as the editors will already have given feedback had they chosen to. The editor in question firmly but politely responded thus, but the writer went public, bitter and nasty, and declared that she deserved feedback. She compared the submission to a job interview, and felt that she should be told why her story was rejected.

I wonder if she still has that attitude, or if she's still writing and submitting.

Firstly, submitting a story is not like a job interview. Out of hundreds of job applications only a few get an interview. That would be more like those whose stories are placed on hold and either accepted or rejected in the final cull. Even then potential employers don't have to give feedback on your interview.

Anyway, this analogy doesn't work.

When selling a story the editor is less an employer and more a customer. The writer should display their best wares and hope it fits the market's needs. And we should expect no more.

When salesmen visit me at home, I don't feel inclined to explain why I don't wish to purchase their products. And I certainly don't take it well if they choose to hassle or complain.

Any feedback is a bonus. And editors will certainly remember those who act unprofessionally.

Ouch!

I know rejections aren't personal, but for some reason that's how they can feel sometimes. I must say my immunity has grown - they generally don't worry me too much anymore. I get over them in a couple of minutes and send the pieces out to other markets pretty quickly.

It has been quite a while since I've had one that hurt.  And that one was more about the circumstances surrounding the rejection than the rejection itself.

The goal is to aim high while not getting your hopes up. Never count on the sale. But I must admit I feel a little surprised at a rejection I received a few days ago. I wrote a story aimed at a particular market, figured I'd nailed all the criteria and guidelines, and received a form rejection within eight hours.

That rejection doesn't hurt either, but I am a little curious as to the reasons why my story didn't advance to the next round of selections.  Of course it's bad form to ask, and there's no obligation for the editor to tell me. And ultimately it probably wouldn't help me anyway.

But sometimes just a few extra words would be appreciated.

My Own Collection?

I've recently had a number of people suggest that it's time I compile an anthology of my own stories and publish them on Amazon, or Smashwords or whatever.

Anyone who knows me will no doubt be aware that I am quite averse to self-publishing my stories anytime soon. I recently had the opportunity to read a couple of self-published stories and was generally underwhelmed by them. As I've stated before, I recognise that traditional publishing values are shifting rapidly and the future world of e-books is wide open, but there's still too much white-noise out there at the moment. How we end up filtering this and finding the gems is yet to be determined.

Amazon reviews are of limited value. Some of the stories I read had been given a number of 4 and 5 stars, but were actually poorly written. (To be fair, I have also found one or two that were pretty good.) I believe that it's wise to reach a certain standard before inflicting your work on others. For me, that standard is a couple of professional sales and regular appearances in semi-pro markets. I'm working at building a reputation, and editors and respected publishers are the benchmarks in reaching that goal.

If others will invest time, effort and money in regularly publishing my stories, then perhaps it will be time to put together a collection. But in the meantime, I'll let the editors judge my work. After all, people keep telling me writers are rarely the best judges of their own writing.

My Deep Thoughts For The Week.

1. Unfortunately, as defined in a dictionary, means undeserved bad luck, disastrous or regrettable. Most editors and publishers commence rejection letters with this adverb. My rejections have nothing to do with luck, they weren't disasters, and I suspect the editors didn't really regret their decisions.

I've recently had three or four personal rejections that commenced with this word, and then pointed out strong aspects of my work before declaring that the story simply didn't fit in with the 'vision' of the anthology.

So what is this elusive vision? My stories hit the guidelines and met the published 'what we're looking for' criteria.  I guess at some point during the slushing process the editor forms a more detailed overview of the direction the anthology is taking.

I understand this, but I do feel a little frustrated this couldn't be defined earlier. (And I recognise that's not always possible) I only wish they could let me know my story isn't a fit prior to the closing of subs to allow me a second chance. I feel most annoyed when my story is rejected like this, but when I read the final anthology I see stories that neither fit the guidelines or theme. (None of this is a criticism of the editors and their processes.  They can choose to buy and publish whichever stories they want, like and believe fit together the best. It's merely my own frustration and lack of understanding at what they are looking for.)

So when I receive a rejection with the words 'unfortunately' and 'didn't fit the vision', I have to wonder whether this is completely true, or whether they are just being polite and trying to pre-empt further correspondence from crazed writers.

2. Duotrope is about to become a paid service.

I have previously donated, but I must say I haven't yet sold enough work and made enough money from writing, or found Duotrope necessary enough to warrant the $50 per year subscription charges.

One area I do find useful is the suggested response time based on data received. The suggestion is that this user data represents approximately 10% of all submissions. As of next year I suggest this will fall as fewer writers will subscribe. Thus, of course, will lead to less accurate data.

I understand the need to finance this website. I don't believe it's worth the subscription they want.

3.  So the Universe is accelerating its expansion. I've known this for some time, but the consequences of this hit me during the week. Of course, we can't think of this expansion occurring from a single central point as it's more of a stretching expansion that anything else.

The Universe is estimated to be around 136 billion light years across, and it's expanding at a rate of 74.3 plus or minus 2.1 kilometers (46.2 plus or minus 1.3 miles) per second per megaparsec (a megaparsec is roughly 3 million light-years).

OK, fast and big. And one day it's going to tear itself apart.
 
See? Not all my thoughts are happy thoughts about writing.

Fishing.

I landed a few fish this weekend.

I've used the fishing analogy for writing a few times now, and I think it generally holds true. This time, however, I mean actual fish. A couple of Australian Sea Salmon, and some smaller flathead which I threw back in.

I hadn't taken my rods and reels with me for the weekend trip, but once I was down there I decided I wanted to fish. I bought a small hand reel and bait, and stood on the small jetty for a few hours and chatted casually with the others that fished nearby.

Makes me want to go fishing more often. My wife dropped down to see me at the jetty and told me how relaxed I seemed.

The salmon we later pan-fried in butter, and they were delicious.

As for my metaphoric fishing lines? No new bites there. Sigh. The editors make me wait.

It's All White Noise To Me.

It's no secret that I have made a conscious decision not to self-publish. And I've also made it very clear that others may do as they choose. There is no one path for writers, no single road that leads to success. I know this is something I've posted about before, but this subject reared its head again in a discussion earlier this week.

I'm not against self-publishing per se. But I do think it's far too easy nowadays.

From time to time, writers ask me to read their self-published work. Even to pay for it. Then they tell me they made their story available because it had been rejected everywhere.

Hmmm, so you want me to pay for a multi-rejected story. A story that is probably flawed and lacking. Let's see, for a couple of dollars more I can buy a pro-mag that has up to ten stories by pro-writers that have been selected and polished by a pro-editor.

That's not to say there isn't some great self-published work out there. There are some very capable writers who self-publish older work, or upload stories as a promotional tool. And even unknown writers who release the occasional gem, but these are exceptions and rarities.

But there's loads of sub-standard work out there, too much white noise. I choose not to add to it until I have reached a self-imposed standard.

And I already have far too many books to read without downloading more from amid the static.

Halfway Through.

I had big plans for this week. Suffice to say life gets in the way, and I haven't done half as much as I'd hoped to.

Still, it has been good so far. I've had my snapshot linked by Deakin University's MyCourseMyCareer page, I've done some writing, done some organising - even done some gardening. I've seen some friends make some great story sales (admittedly with a certain amount of envy in a couple of cases) and sympathised with others who missed out on sure things.

I sold a story about a week ago, to Eric J. Guignard's anthology, After Death. Now this is a sale I really wanted, and the story sold very quickly. I'm happy.

But as for the rest of you editors out there currently sitting on my stories, buy the darned things already.

Please...

Self Publishing.

I recently became involved in a discussion on self-publishing, and so I thought I'd try to articulate my thoughts here on how it relates to me.

I'm certainly not ready to self publish. Before I do I want to be able to maintain a consistently high standard and since I'm not yet selling regularly to semi-pro markets and above....

I know a couple of people who sub stories all around to different markets, and then once it's been rejected everywhere, they self publish. My thoughts are that if the story has been rejected everywhere, then there's probably something fundamentally wrong with the story. Writers (myself included) are notorious for not seeing faults in their own work.

Some of these writers suggest that a couple of bucks is a fair price for their short stories - the ones that have been rejected by all the major markets. I respectfully disagree. Not when I can pick up an anthology like this as an e-book for $8.48. Twenty eight stories, by some name writers, all of which have been through a quality-control gatekeeper and a decent editing to within an inch of their lives.

I've also been disappointed by virtually all the self-published work I've read. Usually they're not particularly good and the lack of proper editing gets in the way.

Of course I'm not referring to work that has been previously published and the rights have now reverted to the author. That is a different matter, and it's an excellent way to keep works available. And I'm not referring to writers who have honed their craft and built their reputation to the point where there is some assurance of quality.

I've been advised that self publishing even a bad story won't harm your reputation, and at the very least you'll make a few bucks. Again I disagree. There are a few writers out there whose work I avoid, based on a sub-standard piece of work. Give your readers some credit for intelligence. And a memory.

If you want to self-publish, then great. Go ahead. It's just not for me. Not yet. I still want to build my craft to the point where editors regularly want to buy my work.