Submissions And Other Debris.

I spent last weekend at a writing retreat with three fellow writers.

We booked a place down on the peninsula, spent lots of time in front of screens putting words down, had a great crit session of our stories, and wonderful discussions on a range of topics. A fantastic time was had by all, and I suspect that if I weren't moving to the UK in a few months, this might have become a regular event for me. As it is there will be another, only I won't be there.

So I managed to get new words down, plus I rewrote three stories that have been on the backburner for quite a long time. I was pleased with how these pieces turned out. They're good stories. Now they just need to find homes.

In the past week I've sent out four stories. And already had four rejections.  Which is painful. I had hoped for at least a personal rejection on two of them, but only received form rejections. Those stories went straight back out again.

I'm kicking myself because I missed three deadlines. Two are my fault. I was travelling, and forgot about them. The other was brought forward due to the high number of submissions. Sigh.

I started a four-week fantasy writing course with the fabulous Michael Pryor. Not only is he a well respected author and editor, but a fantastic teacher. I'm loving the time in class, and learning lots.

So my writing is on the move again, which is good. But it's been a while since I've had a sale. I need one soon.

Real 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.

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.

Bleah And Bleah.

More rejections this week, which was disappointing but not devastating. I don't actually worry about them so much anymore, although I obviously prefer sales. I had hoped these pieces would sell to these particular markets. But they didn't, yet I know they will sell because I know they're good stories.

I already have five stories slated for release this year, but I want more. I guess that makes me a writer.

I didn't have the best week. A couple of stupid comments from people who should know better, as well as a few situations that frustrated me. And then those rejections.

Sigh.

I'm hoping this coming week will be vastly improved. And if the events of last week is the worst than can happen to me, then I am indeed privileged.

Oh, and editors? Buy my stories. You know you want 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?

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.

Getting It Too Right?

While it's important for characters, settings, events and dialogue to be authentic in fiction, is it possible to have these elements too accurate for the reader?

I'm currently re-writing a story where John Belushi appears as one of the characters.In my story he becomes excited about something, and does a backflip in response. One of my readers informed me that Belushi would never have done this, and it didn't ring true. I know Belushi used a stunt double for the series of flips he did down the church aisle in the James Brown scene, but I understand that he did some of the other flips himself. More than that, I recall reading in his biography that when he got really excited about something, he would perform a standing flip spontaneously.

Yeah, so I read that book a long, long time ago, and now I need to dig it out and check that to make sure I just haven't imagined it. But even if he did behave like that, should I include it if readers don't feel it rings true?

Jack Dann published The Rebel, an alternate history that imagines James Dean didn't die in a car crash and went on to become a politician. Dann had reviews that criticised his lack of research for describing James Dean as a blond. While the public perception may be that Dean was dark, he was actually dirty blond. Of course, if Dann had given Dean dark hair, others would have criticised that.

I wrote a short story, Best Served Cold, about a detective who becomes involved in the vampire world. This story was rejected from one market, with a comment that in a particular scene 'a real detective wouldn't behave like that'. There was no reason to point out that after thirteen years on the police force, I actually knew of detectives who had done that. Mind you, this same critic also described a major plot point and said it made no sense. Um, yeah. That's because it never happened in my story. I guess they were too busy watching TV while rejecting the story. Ultimately the story worked for another editor who took it without any major changes.

A friend once showed me a painting he was working on. It was fabulous, but then he pointed out that one of the characters was missing a foot that should have shown behind the other leg, and one of the metallic objects had reflections on it that were impossible. He showed me that with the extra foot in place the character actually looked awkward and wrong, and the reflection was what the observer expected to see rather than what would actually be seen.

A story needs to sit right with the reader, bearing in mind that you will never be able to please everyone. It needs to feel authentic rather than be authentic.

Deal With It.

Rejections are odd beasts.

I've written a few times about how they don't bug me as much now as they did when I first started subbing. That doesn't mean they don't still frustrate me, though.

In the past year I've received a few rejections that have even made me laugh. Along with the usual 'well written' and 'just not for us' comments, I had one where it was obvious the reader hadn't actually read the story. The comment referred to an event that didn't occur. I guess the reader probably glanced at the first page while eating dinner and watching some reality program on TV.

I had another one tell me my story wasn't a story. Of course that piece then sold to a much better market, and has since received great comments.

And then there was the one that said that while the story was good, it wasn't SF. Hmmmm. I looked at it again, and realised if I were to pull the SF element from the story, the whole thing collapses. That makes it SF in my book.

These rejections didn't do any more than frustrate me for a minute or so. Of course I pay attention to the comments and suggestions, but I trust my own discernment in deciding whether to tackle to story again. Each of those stories were subbed straight out again at other markets. Different reader, different editor, different comments.

Pffft.  I blow my nose at your rejections.

In And Around.

A couple of rejections this week, although they were not unexpected and I'm not overly disappointed by them.

That's not to say I didn't have hopes they would sell, or even that I was sending the stories to markets where they had no chance. I'm a firm believer in aiming squarely at your level and not wasting editors/readers time by sending them every little thing in the tiny hope they might like it. No, if I send a story to a market I'm of the belief the story could sell there. It simply that these markets are very difficult to break into as they take so few stories.

But I find that for the most part I can handle rejections quite well. And so those stories, with barely time to catch their collected breaths, were shipped straight out to other markets.

An interesting week all round. Work was fabulous, the renovations at home continue, and my wife and I went to the taping of a new show with my brother and sister-in-law. It was a lot of fun, I scored some loot, and we all went out for dinner.

New ideas for stories continue to stockpile - and of course I make notes on them all. I even started work on one of them - although I managed only the opening. It will do for now.

Tuesday is a public holiday, students tend to take Monday off, and I have a few things to look forward to in the coming week.

Life is good.

Eat Me Cake.

Do you remember that scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice eats the cake and puts her hand on top of her head to measure her growth? Naturally, she ends up exclaiming she hasn't grown at all.

Sometimes I feel like that. I feel like I haven't improved in my writing, or that I'm no closer to pro-sale level than I was before. That's when my wife points out exactly how much I've achieved in the past couple of years.

OK, so I've made a few sales. But how close am I to the big ones? Does that personal rejection I received from a pro-market mean I will soon be selling there? And if I do, will it be regularly? (or at least more than once?) Am I like Topanga Canyon, or simply living in hope?

I think I'm improving. People I trust tell me I am. I can look back at my earlier pieces and see the flaws more obviously. And I try not to make those same mistakes again.

Sometimes I read stories in magazines and anthologies, and have trouble seeing why they were accepted in the first place. Then I wonder why my pieces were rejected from those same markets. Surely my piece was better than the ones they published.

Oh well, my day will come. We write, we submit, we write more.

(Gitte Christensen wrote a response to my Topanga Canyon post. This post started out as a comment to her.)

A Tale Of Caution.

Apparently Dean Wesley Smith, amongst others, tells the story of a writer who was submitting to a whole lot of magazines over the period of a few years. Smith refers to this man as Topanga Canyon, as that was where the writer lived. The writer was submitting good work and was regularly receiving personal rejections. The editors, in fact, all knew his name and were watching to see who would be the first to buy his work. Even agents knew his name. He was really close.

And then for no apparent reason in 1991 he stopped submitting and was never heard from again.

Until now.

This story was mentioned briefly on a forum I visit, and one of my fellow frequenters, Preston Dennett, read the story and thought it sounded like it could have been about him. He used to live in Topanga Canyon, he was subbing around that time, and he gave up because he didn't think he was getting anywhere and his non-fiction writing was starting to take off. So he shot off a quick email to Dean Wesley Smith, and sure enough, Preston was Topanga Canyon.

Part of him is elated that he was known by editors and agents, and oh so close. The other part of him is devastated. I know I'd be wondering what might have been.

I don't know how those personal rejections were worded, but maybe a few extra words - something that could have helped him realise just how close he was - might have made all the difference. He's started writing fiction again, and this time he's planning on success.

Don't give up. And if an editor asks to see more of your work, believe it.

One Of Those Weeks.

So every now and again you have a week where a rejection arrives from a market that really should have bought that story because not only is it a really good story but it's a perfect fit for them and they don't know what they're talking about when they reject it and the comments given by the slushreader shows how little they know about good writing and every bone in your body screams in pain and wants the right of reply so you can point out the error of their ways and explain to them how wrong they are and how several of their recently published stories are complete crap and nowhere near as good as yours but you don't do that because you try to behave professionally and deep down you understand that your story is a commodity and ultimately if they don't want it nothing you can say will change that so instead you have a five minute rant to yourself and ship it out again before settling into a quagmire of self doubt about your own abilities as a writer and wallowing there and wondering if anyone will ever buy anything from you again.

And then there a couple of events that lift you out of it. An unsolicited comment from a writer you respect and admire - or in my case, two comments from two writers. A nomination for an award. An email from another writing friend congratulating you and cheering you up. A comment from another friend and peer on your blog supporting you. An invitation to guest post with an introduction that simultaneously builds you up and humbles you.

That's what I love about the Spec Fic community in Australia. The support and encouragement. Thank you.

My guest post Advice on Advice can be found here on the talented David McDonald's site.

The Next Level.

This week has been fantastic. In a single 24 hour period I had five amazing things occur that really made my day. And, therefore, my week.

Little of it had to do with writing. In fact, during that time period I also received two rejections - one of them from a market that continues to call me with its siren song and yet manages to elude me every time. But neither of these rejections bugged me like the ones I referred to last week. (And yes, I'm slowly getting over those.)

I managed a sale - a minor one in the scheme of things, but it was a story that I really liked and yet it had received flat rejections everywhere I subbed. It's the only flash piece (sorry, Cat) that I've ever written. I must admit I was starting to despair of it ever seeing the light of day.

My rejections these days are frequently personal, with notes  complimenting my writing but then adding there's something that didn't quite work for the editor. And there's a lesson to be learned from that.

I've decided it's time to ramp it up, and proceed to the next level.

And so in two weeks time I commence Jack Dann's writing course. And this week I start my new writing regime. And then I have further plans for later in the year once my Uni assignments are over. On top of that I'm committed to keep all my available stories out in circulation until they are sold or dead. Everything I have currently completed is either awaiting a minor rewrite or subbed at markets.

Watch out for me. I'm determined you'll see a lot more of my work.