This Is My Blood.

I'm thrilled to announce another publication. My story, This Is My Blood, is included in the January 2020 issue of Outposts of Beyond.

While it's disappointing the publishers are retiring the magazine, I'm excited to have been selected for inclusion in the final issue. Fortunately, they are creating some new titles to take its place. Alban Lake has always been great to work with, and I look forward to subbing future stories to them.

This Is My Blood is a fantasy story, a genre I don't explore too often. I originally wrote this story very quickly to meet a themed anthology. Unfortunately, at the time, I had missed a single word when reading the requirements. Urban Fantasy. Yes, I'd missed the word Urban and written a Fantasy story. I didn't realise until after the story had been sent and had been sitting in the publisher's slushpile for about a week. But I did the right thing and emailed them, asking to withdraw it from consideration.  There was no point wasting their time.

The story has undergone a couple of minor tweaks since those days, but it's essentially the same tale. I love this story, and I'm very proud of it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Guidelines And M&Ms.

Before I submit a story, I research the market. I like to determine the kinds of stories the editor likes, word length, sub-genre and so on. I read through the guidelines and do everything I can to comply. I have, on occasion gotten it wrong, like the time I sent a story as a DOC rather than a RTF file. They still read my story, but made a comment that I should have sent the correct format. I had actually prepared a RTF but simply attached the wrong document when I was writing the email.

But a couple of weeks ago I made a bigger mistake. I read the guidelines several times, as I do, and missed one word, one simple word that would have changed the way I would have written the story. I'm not going to go into details at this point because, surprisingly, the story is still at the market. I've seen evidence that other writers have already had their stories rejected. Of course this could simply mean the editor has yet to read my story or, and I am quite optimistic, it's sitting in a 'hold pile', having been read and passed the first round of reading.

I'll have a better idea when I receive the email that accepts or rejects the story.

But I am frustrated at myself for not having read the guidelines closely enough to have picked up that one, small, game changing word.

Sometimes I read the guidelines and see requests for stories to be submitted in only one particular font, or with particular spacings, or selected words in the heading. I shrug, comply, and then wonder whether the editor is being a bit rock star - you know, all those demands rock stars make? Van Halen are infamous for their contract demand that a bowl of M&Ms be backstage, but with all the brown ones removed.

Many times the request is simply to make the editor's life easier. For example, it saves them reformatting the many stories they receive to suit their particular reader. And I can think of a bunch of other reasons why they request particular formats in the emails, cover letters and manuscript.

Or maybe it's to simply weed out those who haven't actually read the guidelines.

Van Halen's request is not as ego-based as it first appears. Their contracts include a lot of technical and safety requirements, and generally run to something like 150 pages. Hidden in the middle of all this is the M&M clause. And should they arrive at a venue and find a bowl of M&Ms with brown ones included, then they know immediately the contracts haven't been read, which could lead to safety issues.

I know the judges at Writers of the Future, a speculative fiction contest and publication, receive manuscripts of all sorts. Everything from romance, to memoirs and even recipe books. Seriously.

Too many writers, particularly 'newbies', send their story to every single market without researching properly. Perhaps some of those submission guidelines are the editor's brown M&Ms.

The wrong heading might mean they don't even bother reading it.

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.

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.

Duotrope and Grinder.

We're a couple of months into 2013 and I'm coping without Duotrope.

For those late to the game, Duotrope is a market and submission manager for writers. I've used it for the past couple of years and made every effort to ensure my statistics were accurate. I've even donated money to the project.  As of January, they have decided to operate on a subscription basis - no pay, no access.

While I fully understand the operators' need to do this, as well as their right to run the site any way they see fit, I was disappointed at the cost.  $50 a year may not seem like much, but if I were to tally my writing income over the past four years and deducted an imagined $200 Duotrope cost for that same period, I would have spent about as much  on Duotrope as I'd earned.

Yes, I found it useful, and yes, I might join up once my earnings become somewhat more than they are now. But so far I've been able to find everything I need elsewhere online.

Diabolical Plots run an alternative, The Submission Grinder, that seems to borrow heavily from the Duotrope layout. The only downside is it doesn't have anywhere near as much information or useable data yet. Hopefully that will improve as time goes by.

Please, I am not attacking Duotrope for their decision and practices. I'm simply disappointed that I can't justify paying the charges they have set.

Giving It 90%.

So that 10,000 word story I swore was as lean and tight as it possibly could be?  I easily trimmed 1,000 words from it yesterday.

Now this is a story I really like. And my first readers really liked. And slushreaders seem not to really like. Of course, now it's been trimmed and tightened to within an inch of its life, I'm sure the slushers will love it. Unfortunately, it's already been rejected at the markets I really wanted to publish it, and it can't be sent back to them. So now I have to look for others that would suit this story.

It's been very productive here this week. I've rewritten three and a half stories so far. (The missing half will be done this afternoon) Two of those have already been subbed, while the third (as mentioned above) is looking for the right home. The fourth, once complete, will be sent out for a weekend deadline.

And then I have a fifth, smaller rewrite to be done. That already has a market in mind. And then all my stories will be out in the wildwoods and I'll have a clean plate again.

Don't worry, I have a list of stories ready to go.

Including one based on a dream I had last night about John Belushi. And it ties in nicely with this other idea I've had running through my brain for the past two weeks.

And then there's the one about ...

Heck, I have a couple of pages of ideas just waiting to be written. And right now I actually have some time to make a start on a couple of them.

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...

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.

Nine Thousand Divided By Four?

I never did get that story started on the weekend.

My computer decided it was time to crash, and so I spent much of the day saving files from the C drive (they were all backed up, but it was good to make sure I kept everything in its very latest form) then rebuilding the machine.

I'm one of those unfortunate enough to have had the issues with Windows 7 on their system. Whenever it's loaded, the machine locks on a black screen. About a year ago, I worked out how to fix it. Unfortunately I didn't take notes and this time it wouldn't work for me. Eventually I gave up and installed an older Windows.

Then I started installing all the software I need. Of course that didn't run smoothly either. I found the Office installation disc, and that was fine, but for the life of me I couldn't find the pocket it came in. And that's where the product key is printed. (Yes, legitimate software here.)

I did eventually find it, on Monday night, but by then I was tied up with work stuff. I made sure I found the time to tweak the story I'd written for the Jack Dann workshop, but beyond that I still hadn't written my words.

Of course Saturday is the 30th, and the end of the month is the natural time to close subbing periods. I had a brainwave for one antho on the weekend, which you may have noticed my peers decided to discuss in the comments section of my last post, but no ideas for the other.

And now it's happened. I've had an idea. Which means I should write two fresh stories and rewrite another by Friday night - all ready for subbing on Saturday. I completed the first draft of one last night, and I'm pretty happy with that, but it still needs a lot of work.

I can do it. I know I can. If Sean Williams can write 784 Star Wars novels in 18 months, I can manage 9,000 words in a few days.

Can't I?

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.

A Most Excellent Week.

Yes, I'm still grinning. Anywhere But Earth is beautiful, lovely to look at and hold. And now that I'm reading it, I find it even more delightful (and I haven't even reached my story yet!)

It seems to be doing well on Amazon, having climbed many thousands in their ranking system (although that could reflect only a handful of sales) and has broken into the top 100 of Amazon's SF Anthology list.

It's available in eBook and paperback here.

And, of course, I'm heading up to Sydney for the launch next Saturday. (info here) Hope to see you there.

But beyond that, I've received very positive feedback on a story (send positive vibes in that direction, please), rewritten and subbed two more, and subbed a third that was just waiting for the right market.

Which means I now have TEN stories out in the submission wildwoods.

And that is a personal record.

I am cautiously optimistic for at least three of those stories. And I expect to hear back from editors on a couple in the next week or so.

But then again, submission land is a strange and weird place that works in mysterious ways.

Speaking of which, two excellent posts on submission caught my attention this week. Tehani Wessely and Alisa Krasnostein are both lovely people and excellent editors, and I'm not just saying that because I'm hopeful of selling stories to their presses. I would point out I met them at Worldcon last year, and they certainly have their evil sides, as in when they held me down and forced me to purchase their books.

But they are currently producing high quality anthologies through their award winning and respected presses, FableCroft and Twelfth Planet. 

If you're interested in subbing, and doing it right, the advice in these posts is invaluable.

A Free Market?

I had a conversation with another writer this week about the process of submitting and getting published. Standing with us was a non-writer, who seemed genuinely surprised at the long delays, non-allowance of multiple submissions and general difficulty we have in selling stories.

There is one particular story I have that has only been submitted four times in two years.  On its first submission it was gone for four months before rejection, then seven months before rejection, then nine months before rejection. At least its final rejection came after only three weeks.

The delays were extremely frustrating. And I suppose I could have pulled it earlier each time, but I was given hope and encouragement on each occasion that made me think it was worth leaving there.  What I found most frustrating, however, was the lack of reply to my enquiries each time. I finally sent four enquiries (two to each of the longer submissions), each a month apart, and each extremely polite.

And I never received a reply to any of them.

Now I understand the editing process is a long process, but a simple response after that amount of time would have meant a lot to me. My non-writing friend was amazed, and suggested we should just ignore those guidelines and submit to as many places as we liked. If the editors want my story, then they should claim it quickly or lose it. (Of course this presumes my writing is such that editors want it.)

At first I could see the thought behind this, but after I considered it for a while I realised this would work against beginning writers, as publishers' in-boxes and in-trays all over the world would be stuffed with submissions. My sub, with my unknown name, would be sat at the bottom of a very big pile every time, with known writers getting snapped up before others could get them.

It's easier just to vote with your stamps. The above mentioned mags don't receive my subs anymore. If they can't be bothered even replying to my polite enquiries, then I don't wish to deal with them. Anyway, the best way to get your stories snapped up is by writing quality stories. That's the direction I hope I'm heading in.

And of course I have this fantasy running in my head where one day, as a famous guest-of-honour at a con, an editor asks me why I never submit to them.  I smile, and explain I did...

Ah well, it's a nice image.