The author, his writings, and his warped little mind.
Sales, publications, awards, or anything else good that could happen to a story.
At long last, some good news for L.R. I sent the story to the Zero Gravity anthology. I heard today that it made the short list for publication. It will be July before publication can be confirmed, but if it went to press tomorrow, I’d be in it. Works for me.
That puts two of my stories on short lists: L.R. and S.R. (on hold at ASIM). I don’t expect both will necessarily come through, but either one would be nice. It puts me in a happy place going into the weekend.
I was sitting at my computer, procrastinating my bedtime, and decided to query Every Day Fiction about a story I’d had out to them for 77 days. In my experience, queries usually grease the wheels of rejection and free up stories for other markets. I originally thought EDF would likely buy this story (especially since I’ve never taken the steps to collect payment from them on the first story they bought), but I’ve given up on overconfidence. So I queried.
Apparently the story had already been accepted and my response was lost in cyberspace (probably blocked by a spam filter that couldn’t prevent a boatload of canned meat from docking in my inbox). Moreover, the story hits the web tomorrow! (That’s probably today by this point!)
Yes, friends, “Drake’s Eye” will be EDF’s story of the day on May 6th. (If you missed it, it’ll be up for a while.)
That is what I call a well timed query. I could have missed my own publication. Whew.
So now I need to share this info with the world before said world wakes tomorrow and misses my mini-glory. Consider yourself informed.
The world didn’t stop turning; the seas did not boil; the chicken in my freezer didn’t even thaw. Life goes on, both the real life and the writer life.
I got some well-timed good news from Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. They are holding “Secondhand Rush” for potential publication. For those not familiar with ASIM’s process, stories go through two rounds of approval before entering the holding pool. I’ve had stories rejected in both rounds 1 and 2; this marks my first trip to the story pool. This means they like my story well enough to publish it. It does NOT mean they will buy it.
They say only 1 in 3 held stories will make it into print. Editorship is passed around issue to issue among their editorial staff and one of them just has to pick my story and put it in the mag. Stories are held for three months. If no one picks my story in that time, it will be released back to me to submit elsewhere. This story was my WotF Q3 story and earned an Honorable Mention.
ASIM is an Australian semi-pro magazine, but a well respected one with reasonable but not professional rates. This story will pull in about $50 if it sells, adjusted for exchange rates. Nowhere near what I’d pull down from a pro market and lightyears from the WotF prize money, but a lot better than the $1-5 I’ve pulled in for other stories. And it would be the second biggest feather in my cap to date (after WotF, obviously).
In other topics, I need to figure out what to do with my summer now that it isn’t devoured by a workshop. I may try to get into a one-week workshop (like OSC’s Boot Camp), but more likely I’ll save the money and write on my own. I am looking into cons, as I said I would. The most promising seems to be ConCarolinas in Charlotte. I have a friend there I might even crash with to save on hotel money (maybe one night and crash at the hotel the other). He might even go with me. It’s the DeepSouthCon this year (roughly the equivalent of being the Monday Night Football game with increased hype and attention) and I think that has/will improve the guest list. Jerry Pournelle is the guest of honor. That alone is worth the trip. I may get to meet him at WotF in August, too.
I think I’ll send an email to ConCarolinas expressing interest in being on a panel. As a WotF winner, I should have the pedigree to slip into one. It would be cool but intimidating. It’ll be a large-ish con (not like DragonCon, which I intend to go to every year and have never made it), so I may or may not warrant a seat. We’ll see.
I’ve never actually been to a con. It will be an experience, to say the least. I’m eager to give it a try. It’s my consolation prize for not making Clarion. It’s also something I should be doing as a writer. There are contacts and friends to be made.
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has offered me encouragement after the big Clarion West rejection. I assure you all, I will continue writing and I’m trying hard not to let it get me down. I’m just going to have to work other angles to get in the door. I may try Clarion again, I may not. I sure don’t expect it to be as big a deal as it was this year; I hope to get my career going on my own before it comes round again.
It’s official, I have a professional fiction sale. Better than a sale, a win. Writers of the Future XXVI, fourth quarter, second place. (Oddly that sounds less impressive than it should.) My story will be in a book in bookstores. A book people will buy and read. I get an all expense paid trip to California for a week long workshop and award ceremony. My story will be illustrated by one of the talented winning artists. How cool is that? How cool is all of it?
I talked to Joni Labaqui, the contest coordinator, for about fifteen minutes. She seems quite nice, even laughed at my jokes. It’s not set as to when the workshop will be, but it’s a good bet I’ll have to take a week off school to attend. No matter; I’m going to the workshop. Meeting other winners, rubbing elbows with pros, making connections that are worth their weight in gouda…yeah, I’ll be there.
The best part of the whole thing is the sense that I am good at this writing thing. Small press sales are nice, but I’d never sold a story somewhere that made me say, “that’s proof I have a future as a writer.” Now I have.
Despite some suggestions that WotF’s workshop (combined with the status of the win) might be a sufficient repacement for Clarion, I am still planning to go if I’m accepted. It has changed my mind about which to attend. I had been heavily leaning one way (not to be revealed) if given the option, but now I think money will have more to do with the decision than anything. CW is cheaper, but if there are scholarships to be had, I could go either way. If things come out fairly even, I guess I resort to my old leanings.
It is eye-opening to see Clarion and Odyssey grads competing in WotF, many doing well time after time without winning. My only workshops have been the online variety. My winner, “Poison Inside the Walls”, was workshopped at SFF OWW as well as Baen’s Bar. I have no MFA…no formal writing training at all. I do have a decade of experience with token sales along the way (starting with the ProMartian turned Sam’s Dot Publishing zine, _The Fifth Di…_), a masters in math (which I don’t think came into play in the story), a bookcase shelf full of writing and science books, a deep vocabulary, a pretty solid mastery of punctuation and grammar, a solid if smallish list of SF readings, and enough humility to accept constructive criticism. Oh, and the drive to keep doing this for a decade.
Winning WotF can be done. It takes time and work, but the odds are a lot better than the lottery and the sense of accomplishment is much greater. I’ve never been the guy that wins things. This is a huge boon for me. I just hope I can build off it. I refuse to let this be the pinnacle of my career.
I just went back through my blog and did some redactions, just to play it safe. There was a title I don’t want associated with my name because….
…I’m a finalist for Writers of the Future!!!!!
My story, along with seven others, goes to a few big shot pro writers to be judged for the three big prizes (including inclusion in the anthology).
Too psyched to type more. Woohoo!
I just put a story up at SFF OWW for critiques. I posted it Crit-for-crit, so I’ll be busy when the comments start rolling in. I’m planning to spend the next few days as a full-time writer, so it may take me a week or so to get the crits repaid. We’ll see.
I weep. Okay, more a sniffle.
“Secondhand Rush” was rejected today by Strange Horizons. It was my best bet so far, I think, but it “failed to win over” the editorial assistant. Shucks.
I’ll have to check to see what pro markets haven’t passed on it. So far, I think it’s only hit Clarkesworld, the bar at JBU, WotF, and now SH. I’ll keep trying. I could have used a big break about now…but when couldn’t I?
No real story production on my end of late. Between school and the fluid that refuses to evacuate my wife’s lungs, I’m hard pressed for time and too weary when I have it. My day job is trying to suck out my soul (one of Strange Horizon’s cliche story concepts) and I really need an energizer. Or maybe just a beer.
Finally got my Pseudopod rejection. Not sure what I anticipated. “Glow Baby” is one of those stories that’s not quite horror but not quite anything else.
Got some helpful feedback. I’ll try it elsewhere soon. Maybe Wierd Tales?
The day I put my Writers of the Future fourth-quarter story in the mail is the day I discover that my third-quarter story earned an honorable mention.
Good?
Eh…
I haven’t read that story in a while. Now I can give it a quick read and send it off somewhere. Market to be determined. I think I may take some market advice from a recent visitor (thanks David) on my second-quarter story (a reject — late speculative element) and try Pseudopod.
Sadly, I have nothing out there right now. Not a thing. School staarted and I fell behind with story subs. Time to throw a couple into the wind and see where they blow.
-Oso
At long last, “How Quickly We Forget” is up at Every Day Fiction. Please go by and have a read. The comments there are overwhelmingly positive so far. Read, rate, and comment.
I went for a brutal eight-mile (round trip) hike yesterday and now even typing is a challenge. Ouch. The falls were beautiful, but it was hard to appreciate them while dying of ouchiness. More updates when I return to civilization more permanently.
-Oso
Scott W. Baker .net 