Rejected! :c)

I received a form letter from Harper's Magazine today--declined. Shot down by a red scribbled signature (completely unreadable) of an editorial assistant. Oh well... I'll wait to hear from six other places with my fingers crossed and my expectations moderate.

Summer Days...

I spent 4.5 hours preparing for my class today... now I'm at home, full of junk food, and trying to decide what to do with the rest of my night. My options: 1) write the next chapter of my side project (a novella), 2) work on revising a short story, 3) try to write a new short story, or 4) read. The possibilities are endless and I'll likely start reading a new YA novel. I finished The Graveyard Book and really enjoyed it. I'm contemplating buying it for my collection--but perhaps I should wait until it comes out in paperback. Although there's something wonderful about a hardback book. I shouldn't buy anything considering I have about $10 to my name (honestly)... until tomorrow that is. Gotta love pay days. The economy sucks right now too... not that I needed to remind anyone of that.

I should write tonight. I'll do that and watch So You Think You Can Dance (guilty summer pleasure).

Update on the story that I have swimming in the abyss (aka. journal slush piles):

I checked my online status for Virginia Quarterly Review and it said: "Submitted 15 days ago, and declined 15 days ago." I'm taking this to mean that I didn't meet the May 31 deadline (although I did submit it on 5/26, but maybe that's cutting it too close?). Or maybe they just turned it down outright. I wonder if I'll receive any other notification--my guess is probably not.

Round One

Ding, ding, ding.

So, I bit the bullet (love those cliches!) and sent out a story from this year to a few journals (three so far, about to submit to two more). This is an expensive process, so while I was told to submit to 20 journals, I cringe and what that will do to my penny bank (literally, I'm working with pennies here). So, we'll see what happens, and of course I'll make updates on here. Maybe something awesome will happen.

Other news: none.

Still reading, doing some revising, thinking a lot about writing.

Self Publishing

I had an email this morning from a woman at Xlibris Book Publishing, a self-publishing book company based in Philadelphia. Here's her email:

Dear Tanya,

You have great writing style. This is what I have seen upon reading your works in FictionPress.com. How you weave your thoughts into words shows how prolific a writer you are and says so much about the person that I think you are – freethinking, imaginative and with depth. Have you given a thought about publishing your works in a book?

Sincerely,

XXXX

Have I ever thought about publishing? Umm... yes!!!!!!! :)

So I responded that I think about publishing daily, but hadn't really put a lot of thought into self publishing. I see it as paying a chunk of money to have my own novels published, which is fine, if I had the extra cash laying around to do so. I'm about to be a poor graduate student though, I may not have the cash to self-publish in a while. I really need to continue trying the traditional publishing route. But I'll admit... the idea of being in complete control of my novels is very appealing. We'll see what happens. I'm approaching this with a careful eye. After all, isn't it all just retail? Someone trying to get me to buy something? We'll see.

I'm very excited to be approached by anyone in publishing though. I've been day dreaming about being discovered through fictionpress for a while now.

Pretty cool email to get first thing in the morning.

Update: I found this interesting article ("Why People Hate Self-Published Authors") on line from Slushpile.net. Happy reading.

Big pressures....

This past week has been sorta stressful for me. My dad had a pretty big health scare--a mini stroke. It should be "strokes" since he had more than one while at the hospital. The man will be 70 this year. (I'm adopted for those trying to do the math of how old he was when I was born, which was 44, which isn't too old to father/adopt a child now that I think about it.) Anyway... so he was going to San Antonio to have a treatment procedure for prostate cancer when the mini stroke hit. He was admitted to the hospital and several tests later they discovered a little hole in his heart, which they think had been releasing tiny blood clots that travel to his brain. We're blessed that these weren't major strokes that left him either physically or mentally altered. But still... the word "stroke" is laced with horrible "what if" thoughts.

Dad's been put on blood thinners and has a shiny new pacemaker to keep his heart rate no lower than 60 beats per minute. It was pumping at 44 beats before, which maybe normal for extreme athletes, but not my old man. I've always been concerned about that low rate--it's not normal. And no matter how many times he said "I'm fine" or "I feel fine" I still worried.

He was released from the hospital yesterday. My sister says that in his impatience to be free of his hospital bed he was really rude to people. I shudder to even imagine this as my dad can sometimes be the epitome of "grumpy old man" and loses his patience in a flash. But he's cheerful now that he's back home and I'm sure his nurses are glad not to have to put up with his crankiness.

Now that this health scare is over he's certain that he's on the cusp of death. Every time he calls me he asks if I've submitted my novel to publication. In March he told me that all he wanted for his birthday was for me to send my novel somewhere. Wish granted, I sent a query letter to HarperCollins last week only to be told my story wasn't right fit. I told my dad and he basically told me to try harder--that he doesn't have that much time left. What the hell?!? I told him not to talk like that, because honestly, the man is a beast and will probably live to be 120. He's not going to die any time soon. (We all say such things, don't we?)

Our most recent convo went like this:

Ring, ring.

"Hi Dad! How are you feeling?"

"Oh fine. So, have you sent your story to any other publishers?"

My non-verbal reaction went a little something like this: Roll eyes, put him on speaker phone, and open Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Loss Solution in full preparation to tune out the rest of our conversation.

"Um... yes, I've got a few written down."

This is a tiny lie... I have the Writer's Market sitting in front of me, but I haven't cracked the pages yet. I just don't want to hear a lecture. Besides, I'm going to send it off... I really am.

"Well, send it to more than just one this time!"

"Oh, I will... don't worry." My eyes move to the TV where I'm watching reruns of Discovery's Deadliest Catch. I'm big on multitasking.

"You've got to make sure there's action and suspense in it--or mystery. Those books sell. I know you like to read the romance ones, but you should write something with some suspense to it."

I smile. "Yup, it's got all of that."

He repeats what he last said about the suspense and mystery--he likes to repeat himself quite often. Could be old age. Could be a subconscious effort to really pound these tips into my brain. He does the same thing when he tries to tell me how to get out of credit card debt. The lectures get really old.

"You'll sell at least one copy--mom and I will buy one!"

We laugh.

"I want to read something you've written--I don't have much time."

What the hell?

"Ummmmm.... Ooooookkkkkkkaayyy. Let's talk more positively."

Dad doesn't elaborate and I suddenly have fears that he's not telling the whole truth about his condition. Suddenly I feel this immense pressure to find SOMEONE who will want to publish my popular novel. Anyone? I mean, I don't want to let him down. I want to be a "success" before he dies, which he makes it sound like it will be tomorrow or something. I am ever the optimist--Dad's gonna live forever.

That's a lot of pressure to put on your kid, which is not at all unfamiliar in my family. I guess I could tell him that it's not going to happen overnight, although I daydream that it will all the time. Maybe trying is all that matters. But we'll still talk about the same things whenever he calls me. The first words will out of his mouth will be: "Published yet?" Just like his first words to my sister are: "Found a job?" To my brother: "You really need to get off the drugs." To my little sister: "You need to finish high school or you'll never get a job." To my oldest brother: "Have you tried Nicorette?"

The pressures that parents put on us are intense most times. I suppose it's a good thing that I have one who cares about what I do and that I'm successful in it. He could not care at all, I guess. Still... I want to tell him to let up just a tad. And at the same time I think I need the pressure of him "not having time" (whatever that means) to motivate myself to do something FOR myself as much as it's for him. I want to be able to hand him my first novel and see the pride in his eyes. Although knowing my dad, he'd just ask how it was selling.

You can't win sometimes.

Shot down... oh well...

So... I received a quick turn around on that query letter! And it's a no go... here's the response email:

Dear Writer:

Thank you for the opportunity to consider your work. Unfortunately, your story idea is not right for us at this time. We apologize for the form letter, but with the number of submissions we receive, it's not possible to give a personal response in every case.

But thank you again for your interest in Avon Books; we wish you success in finding a home for your work.

The Editors
Avon

It's like getting a rejection letter from an MFA program. I didn't really expect too much, but there was always those hopeful daydreams that it would be easier than it seems to be published. I'm welcoming myself back to reality as we speak. Oh well, this isn't the end of the world... my dad will be disappointed. I'll just try again! At least I tried this time, I guess that's a pretty big deal.

Okay... I am disappointed. Who wouldn't be? But nothing's handed to you right out--I've gotta work on it a little harder. It'll happen eventually.

First attempt at publishing...

So, I've been behind the pack I'm sure as far as it publication is concerned. I think I tried to publish a short story in Seventeen magazine back in high school--like 10 years ago or something. Foolish little writer that I was, I'm pretty sure I filled out the envelop with magic marker or something. Not very profession, eh?

Well, today I took the first step toward publishing and submitted a query letter for a popular fiction novel I wrote a while ago. I'm pretty excited about it--about taking that step. It was an email query, so I should know something in the next 1-2 weeks. The first step is always the hardest, I think. Now I just need that first rejection letter/email and I'll be a real writer! ;) That would be really cool if they wanted to read more though, so I think I'll aim higher than a rejection letter at this point. I hope they ask me for a few chapters and then send an advance to make moving to NH easier.

Anyway, monumental day for me. Now I just need to finish editing the story! :)