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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

The Myth Of Writers.

'A writer is someone who writes.'

I've seen this written many times, as a definition, as some kind of motivational mantra, as a badge of honour. I'm not convinced by it at all. I find it a bit like someone who removes a splinter from someone's finger calling themselves a Doctor.

Yes, I know. It's not the best analogy. Writing is quite different. There's a lot of training required to be a doctor but no qualification is necessary to be a 'writer'. Of course you can study writing and improve and receive a qualification, but when I submit a story to a magazine the editor never asks to see a copy of my university transcription. And this is true for much of the creative arts field.

Here's a better analogy.

If I met someone who told me they were a football player, my first question would be about which team they play for. If they told me they just kicked the ball around their backyard or occasionally played with a couple of friends in the park, and had never actually been selected in a team, I doubt I'd consider them a football player. They're just someone who kicks a ball around with friends.

And I think this shows the difference between a writer and someone who writes. To be a writer there needs to be some kind of validation. My writer friend defines it as someone who is paid for words. This is a more accurate description.

Last night I went to see a 'musician'. One of the descriptors used in the advertising was 'amazing', and 'as good as they get', and so on. It was a very respectable venue, and I thought I might be on to someone hot very early in their career. I must admit I was taken for a ride - a bit of false advertising. I should have realised when the tickets were as cheap as they were.

Eight people were in the audience. The 'musician' was terribly unprofessional, no stage presence whatsoever, awful karaoke style backing tracks, and couldn't play their instrument very well at all.

My friend and I suffered all the way through a dreadful support act, only to leave during the second song.

My guess is this 'musician' and 'support' (who turned out to be good friends) booked the venue for themselves, advertised it in a few places, made a giant loss on the whole thing, but can now claim to have played there on their websites.

A musician? Absolutely not.

What about someone who has knocked together a couple of thousand words and stuck them up on smashwords? A writer?

Possibly, possibly not. As I said, there has to be some validation, sales or similar that can be seen as some level of recognition.

Thoughts?

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.

The End (Of The Year) Is Nigh.

Now is the time of year we traditionally reflect on the previous 12 months.

I made big plans for this year, and I had high hopes of achieving them all.  In some ways I feel as though I've failed as I barely made a dint on the list. Life happened - it was a difficult and busy year - and some writing had to be sacrificed.

And yes, I recognise it's a matter of priorities and I could have done more, had I chosen.

On the other hand, I made some great sales, including my first pro-sale.

Next year. I promise I'll do more next year.

Have a great New Year's Eve.

Tales Of Marrakesh.

I love waking up to acceptance emails.

Alban Lake, publisher of Outposts of Beyond, has bought another of my stories. I love this story. Not only is it a twist on the Aladdin tale, but elements of the story actually happened to me when I was in Marrakesh with my wife.

A magical city, a magical time.

I now have four stories scheduled for publication in the first four months of next year.

A pretty good start to 2014, don't you think?

The X Factor?

I read a lot of professionally published short fiction. Sometimes I wonder how some of those stories get bought.

One story I read this week was just plain awful. It had problems with its grammar, had lots of exposition, had inane dialogue and was generally pointless. Yet it had been purchased by a well known and respected editor.

A lot of people revert to the 'matter of taste' argument.  OK, I can buy that in some instances, but not in all cases. And certainly not in this one. Sometimes I read a story I don't like, but I can see why it was bought. This story would have been lambasted at many crit groups. I cannot believe it was published at all - especially professionally. In this case I'm not alone. Online reviews suggested similar points of view.

So what is it that pushes a story up from pretty good to publishable? There is, of course, an 'X factor' involved in buying stories. That indeterminable thing that you can't put your finger on. Some elusive quality that makes the story stand out. It is, of course, the magic ingredient I'm looking for. My stories are yet to sell at the pro level. And it's certainly not merely a 'matter of taste' when my stories are rejected from several pro markets. (And yes, I realise there are other factors at play - suit the market, word length, similarity to other published work, etc)

I suppose the editor saw something in that story that I and a bunch of other readers didn't see.

Or maybe the editor just got it wrong this time.

Times Are Lean.

Several months ago I made two sales in the one day. And a few others around the same time.

It felt good. I shared the news. Alan Baxter told me to enjoy it while it lasted, as I'd enter times that were much quieter.  Now is such a time. I haven't sold a story in around five months, and I must admit it's frustrating me somewhat.

Ironically, I've had a story published in each of the past four months - September, October, November and December. But that's simply indicative of the slow moving cogs that is the publishing business. And apart from one story slated for release in March, the next few months are looking quiet for me.

My time will come. A year from now, when I sell a bunch of stories in as many days I'll be telling you of that as well.

Editors. Stop procrastinating. You know you want my stories.

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.)

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...

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.

An Excellent Week.

It's been raining pretty much all weekend so far.  And it's been great not to feel the need to write an assignment, or do some marking, or get out into the garden. Instead I've been relaxing with my wife and watching DVDs.

And just enjoying myself.

After the waiting, waiting, waiting of last week, this week has been completely different. (or, as I heard an idiot say recently, a complete 360 degree turn)

Not only have I thoroughly enjoyed the buzz of receiving a glowing review from Thoraiya Dyer (Yes, Gitte, still floating),  but I appear to have passed the first two units of my university course. I've also had some minor success at work which I might be able to talk about soon, and I received the latest issue of Dark Matter (#6 - containing four reviews I wrote).

Oh yeah, and I sold another story.

Yes, one of those stories I had hopes for has found a home - and an excellent home it is too. It's amazing what a sale and a good review will do for your spirits, not to mention self confidence.  Doubts, get thee behind me!

On top of all that, I was able to finally sort out the comments on my blog - so they're working again.

Feel free to use them to tell me how things are going for you.

In A Holding Pattern.

While my friends are thrilled to be making some pretty impressive announcements this week (Congatulations, David McDonald and Gitte Christensen), I've got nothing new to report on the sales front.  Stories are out, a couple of them on hold, a couple more I'm quietly confident of selling, a couple I expect to be returned to me soon.

It's the same old waiting game. And as David points out, it's worse then the rejection.

Rejection is the short, sharp moment you rip the band-aid off. The waiting is the agony you feel for months building up to it as your hopes and dreads rise in tandem. It's like sitting in the dentist's office, the dull throb in your teeth, the anticipation of more pain and relief, and the stacks of old magazines that none of my friends ever actually buy or read.

And yet I keep writing and submitting, because when you do make a sale, and then later hear good things about your story, the pain is forgotten.

But editors, if you are reading this, get back to me soon, please. I'm tired of these old business magazines lying around here.