Another religious holiday in Iowa

Today starts one of the most important religious holidays to many Iowans. Shotgun deer season (we don't allow hunting deer with rifles in this state) opens day and even though the sun is not yet up it is light enough to see the hunters driving by with their blaze orange vests and caps on. It is tamer than it used to be around here. My first year in this house it was almost scary. We had no neighbors that we could see (we have 2 now, the nearest is 1/4 mile away) and I watched in horror as some hunters, known by the locals as the cowboys, drive a herd of deer from their trucks, half of them loaded in the back. They almost caused an accident in front of our house by pushing the deer into the path of an oncoming car. I know at least two of the deer didn't make it out of the field next to my house, at least not on their own.

I am a more civil hunter. I prefer to wait or take a nice walk through the trees, by myself. I will give credit that the way they hunted they had a much better chance of getting something (like being shot) but I prefer my way to theirs. It seems more sporting.

In writing news- I managed to finish one story I have been working on since October, now I need to sit back and edit it. I also received a nice form rejection from one of the mags on Cate's list, Shock Totem last night. I will look over that story and figure out where it shall go. I might hold off on sending it out until the beginning of the year when Necrotic Tissue and Shroud re-open for submissions. I like the story too much to give it to the first market I come across. I don't know if that makes me a snob, but I don't care.

Have a good weekend.

today is a good day

I finally finished my edits, on paper, yesterday. Today I plan on transferring some of those edits to the computer. I know this takes longer, but I feel that I am more thorough. I know I am an anomaly when it comes to this, but I don't care. I also seem to add a lot instead of cutting. Yes, there was some cutting, but I seemed to add as much or more back. I hope it made for a stronger story. I will know on the third read and more after my wife gives it a try.

In other news, I was excited to see that Duotrope has added a ton of new markets, most don't pay, but the markets are there. Also Apex magazine is back and accepting submissions. I just wish I had a story to send them. My mind is aflutter with new ideas and not a single one is short story length. Am I alone in this?

I hope to start making my posts a little more timely and not so sporadic as they have become. I appologize for this. Have a great Tuesday.

April, in with a bang (or a slap)

Double whammy yesterday. Got my first rejection of the month, not a big deal. We are all adults here. I can handle that. Then as I was updating my Duotrope files I came across a post that From the Asylum was closing, for good. Crap. I had a story out with them for 3 months. Not like the story I had with them for almost a year, but still. Crap. Another one bites the dust. I think the hurricane they had in the area last year, really did them in. I have no clue what this is going to do for their anthologies. If you have a piece accepted with them, I wouldn't be afraid to contact them.

In other news. Started the re-write/editing process on my YA book, Big Chief's Gold. this is more fun than a short story, as far as the editing goes. I don't know, exactly, what is different, but it feels more fluid to me. Maybe I had good bones to work with- I don't know. I think I will be done with what I have in another two weeks. Then I will let it sit for a while and work on another book I have in the wings. After that comes the Novella and then I get to do it all over again until I feel I have piece good enough to show others.

Isn't this fun.

So Long Gone

How long is too long to wait for a response from an editor. That is the question posed by K.C. today. With a book I can see waiting up to a year for a response. I mean, it is a book. Lots of pages and yours isn't the only one out there so literally thousands of pages get sent in every day to some of these publishers.

I am sure some of the literary markets have the same problems. I can't imagine the slush that Crazyhorse (I know they get over 1000 stories a month) and Fantasy and Science Fiction (at least they are quick about weeding out what they don't want) get every day. It can't be healthy. I don't know what a smaller market would get, although we could ask Aaron about Sand and their slush pile. I guess the question remains, how long is too long to wait. I can understand a five month wait. Not a problem, I can handle that. Eight months? Okay, we are pushing it. Ten months? A year?

Aaron brought up an interesting point. K.C.'s book has been out 431 days. I have a short out 392-ish days. Aaron says he has one that is right up there (I wonder if it is to the same market). Since I subbed out to that market my writing has evolved. A lot. Once it comes back, if it is a rejection and at this point I am counting on it, it is going into my dead story file. It was a bad story. The line was sloppy, the characters unbelievable, the dialog craptacular. The description was pretty good but that does not a good story make. There was no plot to go off of. It was just a rambling description. Not unlike this post.

Wwhat do we expect out of our editors and does it have anything to do with what the story could pay if it is accepted? It does with me. I waited eight months with Crazyhorse because they are a prestigous market and I know they get a lot of submissions from the best in the country. I wasn't going to piss that chance down my leg by bothering the editor. Now if a non-paying or token market is going to try the same thing I am going to inquire. There is no reason for it. (For all I know the response got lost in cyberspace somewhere, as what happened with a tale I sent to Black Ink Horror.)

Sorry to ramble on. Happy Thursday!

And the tally is. . .

Well it is that time of the month. No, not that time of the month but the time to pull out the numbers and see where my work stands, at least in a numerical basis.

November was--interesting to say the least and not unsatisfying in the least. I managed to write a book for NaNoWriMo. Yippee!. I also managed to write one short story (1600 words) for Dark Jesters which is still pending.

The month of November actually came in the same way it went out. With bookend acceptances. The first one was for the flash piece Nine which was quickly gobbled up by 52 Stitches and the second piece to get accepted was Coffin Nails, which was taken by Night to Dawn. In between those two acceptances I had a total of eight rejections. Which still gives me an acceptable ration for the month of 20% acceptance. I can live with that.

This month I am looking forward to doing more work on two books and if I can get out of noveling mode I am going to write some short stories. I am also looking forward to hearing back from the following markets (they have to be getting close to getting back to me) : Boston Review (out 122 days), Apex (out 34 days), Dark Jesters, (only out 11 days but the deadline for submissions is up), Dogs Anthology (Deadline is up today), Clockwork Pheonix (Deadline is up), and I really hope from From the Asylum (out 289 days so far). I either expect a flurry of acceptances in the next month or I have to find a bunch of new markets. I am hoping for the first one (Oh what a merry Christmas that would be!)

Well I now havo to get my daughter's snowpants and snow boots in to her school because I am an idiot and forgot to pack them with her before she got on the bus.

Last post before the weekend starts-

Unless something terrific or horridly tragic happens this weekend you won't hear from me until at least Monday. Now, before you go wailing 'how could he do this to us! Why me!' in the night, or day depending on where you are at in the world, let me explain. My wife doesn't work this weekend. When she is home my writing,inevitably, takes a turn for the worse-i.e. I don't do any writing at all, unless my boy gets me up at two in the morning and I am not tired for some reason when he goes back to sleep.

Okay, now that I have appropriately reassured you that I will, indeed, be back sometime early next week.
Now, lets get down to business. NaNo report: going well, I have about 400 words until I hit the 15,000 word mark. Can't complain about this progress. I am well ahead of schedule. I am liking the story as well. My characters are just getting into the meat of the plot. The action is about ready to really ramp up. (big explosions and close calls)

Been a slow week, heck it has just been slow for correspondence from editors lately. At least the markets I have shown interest in. I am hoping this is a good sign. something Brian Keene said on his web site the other day struck me. 'If you want to be a professional writer you need to submit to professional markets.' sounds good to me but also harder than it sounds. There are only so many professional markets.

Anyway, here is to only good news to editors and much productivity on whatever project you happen to be working on this weekend and I will talk at you all later.

Let the day begin

I started this morning looking at markets. I often do this, trying to figure out which ones I will hear back from next and I have narrowed it down to three markets that I should hear back from in the near future (two weeks or so) I figure at this point I should be hearing back from Susurrus: the literature of madness (Glass Jar, 1000 words, 123 days). Hobart (Open Graves, 5200 words, 65 days). Ninth Letter (Wine for Two, 2200 words, 10 days) These markets I have found are pretty predictable on their response times.

Some other stories I have given up waiting on and figure they will get back to me sometime (I hope) In particular I am having little hope for From the Asylum. They said they were going to get back to normal in August and it is, well it isn't August anymore. I could be wrong. The story I have out to Ploughshares that I sent out last month I don't plan on hearing back from them until May. That is just the way they are. I hope they prove me wrong.

I am feeling a good writing vibe today. I hope it translates into a good re-writing vibe but I will see.

In other news. I am reading a book by Lisa Gardner, Alone. Pretty well done and a fairly fast read. I am not the fastest reader in the world by any stretch of the imagination but in the little time I have to plow through a book I am making pretty good progress. It probably doesn't help that I like to pick up anthology books when I read novels and read several short stories in between chapters.

I can't help but notice. . .

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, and I do know that the summer months are the worst time for this, but Duotrope.com has had a hell of a time this summer keeping up with donations. It doesn't take much, a buck or two would be appreciated I am sure, to keep the sight free. I would hate to have to pay the $29.99 (I am thinking of the price of some other writer's sights) to keep up to date on all the markets the way duotrope does.

Just a little food for thought.

Speaking of new markets, if you are into zombie's (and who isn't) www.coscomentertainment.com has a new zombie antho they are looking for subs on.

Good luck to all.