By the time the September IWSG post comes along, the kids will be back in school, I will have been to World Con, and I will have officially been married 20 years! And so much more. August is a busy, busy month.
Co-hosts this month are Tamara Narayan, Tonja Drecker, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor,Lauren @ Pensuasion, Stephen Tremp, and Julie Flanders! Thanks for co-hosting!
This month's question is: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?
The first thing I wrote upon deciding I wanted to actually write a novel was a paranormal horror story. I only got a few chapters in. I then wrote a few short stories that I submitted and got rejected, then got so busy with school, work, and health issues that I gave up for awhile. None of those things have been published, but I might revisit the short stories. The novel is a lost cause, and that's okay.
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This month's insecurity is really frustration with myself. I love the writing part, but not so much the editing part. I've got two novels needing to be edited. Instead, I write. It's time I buckle down and finish those edits. Both should be on the final round. I need to finish them and start querying! But I'm plagued with insecurities once I get through that fun part, and they hold me back, because this is the analysis portion of writing, and the more I think about it, the more doubts I have. I may love my stories, but will anyone else? The technicalities start to hang me up. Is this a sufficient story arc? Do my characters arc? Is the good guy good enough? Is the villain legitimately the hero of his or her own story? Are there too many cliches? So on and so forth. What I need to do is move past those and get the stories out there. I suppose I'll get my answer if they never sell.
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As part of a larger interview, which will be posted next week, AmyBeth Frederick interviewed me on video. It's less than two minutes, so check it out!
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12 short story submissions
1 acceptance of an already published story by Audible
8 rejections
1 publication
2 new short stories turned in to critique group
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My short story Shifting Sands came out in Dark Moon Digest, #24!
It's currently for sale on Amazon in paperback. It will be available in e-book soon.
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Links! I took an unintentional break for a few weeks (somehow I screwed up and posted two posts the same day that were meant to be a week apart, and then I was out of town), so now I'm way behind on links!
Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.
Accepting Submissions:
Turn to Ash is seeking short fiction for a themed anthology. The story must be in the form of a phone call to a late night paranormal talk radio show. Up to 3000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline August 8.
The Lorelei Signal is accepting short fantasy stories. Must involve strong/complex female characters, though they do not have to be the main character. Up to 10,000 words. Pays flat fees between $2.00 and $7.50, depending upon submission type. Current deadline August 15.
World Weaver Press wants your Krampus stories for Krampusnacht Two, an anthology. 1000-10,000 words. Pays $10, plus contributor copy. Deadline August 15.
Revolving Door Press is seeking new fairy tales or retellings for the anthology "Turn Left at Grandmother's House." 500-7000 words. Also takes poetry and artwork. Pay for short fiction is $.06/word. Deadline August 15.
Splickety Publishing Group is taking submissions for Splickety Love with the theme "All's Fair in Love and Uniforms." Needs to be romance and have something to do with uniforms. 300-1000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline August 26.
Wicked Tales is open for submissions to their themed anthology "A Scratch at the Door." 3000-15,000 words. Paying publication. Deadline August 26.
Vine Leaves Literary Journal is seeking vignettes and poetry. Pays $5 AUD. Deadline August 31.
Farenheit Books is seeking submissions for their Spekulative Stories Anthology Series. The current theme is Automobilia. Up to 7500 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline August 31.
Owl Hollow Press is accepting short stories for their anthology Dark Magic: Witches, Hackers, and Robots. Up to 8500 words. Pays $50, plus there is a Readers' Choice Award with an additional cash payment. Deadline August 31.
Blog Hops:
The August Write Edit Publish (WEP) Challenge is open for signups now. Theme "Gardens." Post on August 17.
What are your insecurities? How do you feel about editing? What's your favorite part, editing or writing? Have you submitted anything this month? Have you ever read Dark Moon Digest? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?
May you find your Muse.
46 comments:
I have the same trouble with the editing part. I love the writing, but not the revising. I've worked with this bad attitude for years and though I've made some progress, it's still a struggle.
Nice to see all those links! There's one I might just have to check out. Thanks!
I hear you on all those technicalities. Those are the kinds of things that hold me up, too.
Congrats on the publication of Shifting Sands!
Have a great August!
Once again, I missed that question. So I have a totally different post. I've been MIA.
Getting someone else to help with editing (while it can cause insecurities to rise even more because someone is looking at it and pointing out what needs fixing) can really help.
Good luck with editing!
Congratulations on the publication!
So, vampires stay fresh, huh? Unless bitten by a zombie. Good to know.
Hi Shannon and AmyBeth - loved the video - ok kiss a vampire for it to start again ...
But thanks for the links ... and good luck to the writers! Cheers Hilary
We're just the opposite. I love the editing. I'm not in love with the writing. That's the hard part for me.
My view is that if you love them you don't need to worry about the rest. If you love them, someone else will.
Of course, there is the finding of those people, but marketing is a whole different demon.
Hang in there, Lady. You can do those edits. Just take it one story at a time. Looking forward to your short story being published as an eBook.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia
Congrats on the story release! And I'm totally impressed with your July stats. Great job! As to editing...you and I should swap. Writing the 1st draft is so hard for me, where I swim in editing bliss...that's when the trash of the draft starts to resemble something that might be called a story. As to self-doubt, just shove it to the back of the mind and go for it. Because that monster never goes away.
I have no good advice. Except you can do this.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
LOL! I loved the interview. Fresh, eh? Oy. You totally need to edit the novels. You do. You know, once I've finished a novel, I make a diagram of the story showing the character arcs, the major plot points and how far they spike the tension. Mapping those two aspects out really help me get the balance of a story right. Beyond that, polishing is part of the business. You've totally got this, woman. You can do it!
I'm discovering that I actually kind of like the editing part, getting to fit in all those last pieces of the puzzle. And where do you find the time to do that many submissions!
Yes, the editing stage has its share of worries, but judging from your acceptance rate, you're doing it rather fine. Keep going, Shannon. And congrats on your recent publication.
Myself - I love editing. Maybe even more than writing the first draft.
Wow - you accomplished so much during July! Very impressive!
Congrats on your short story in Shifting Sands!
No matter what's going on, I've noticed that you always have a few stories out on submissions...such a good habit!
Great video clip.
Zombies & vampires? I wonder...
Congrats on your story acceptance and publication! Liked the video clip. Funny and kind of ewwww at the same time.
Stuff those doubts in the closet and ignore them. As I read earlier in the comments, if you love your stories, someone else will too.
Hey Shannon,
Editing? Have no idea what that is. I just write away and okay, the dog edits my crap. Well done on getting your short story pawblished, um, published.
Vampires biting zombies and vice versa. Nice little interview!
Have a nice weekend, Shannon.
Gary
Hi Shannon! You're doing great with the submissions! Editing is what i love to do, so, same result. I edit the WIP to pieces, then look back and don't recognise my story. Hmm....
What a cool question - zombie bites a vampire. Loved your answer. I like editing as opposed to actual writing, but I can get stuck in that hell for a long time too. I submitted a short story to The First Line (thanks for the link) and after hitting that send button, I looked it over one more time and realized I should have spent lots more time editing. Ah well, that's what happens when you let that deadline sneak up on you.
Congrats on your acceptance. Wow, you sure have a lot of writing accomplished. Kudos :)
Congrats on Shifting Sands! And also on your story being accepted on Audible - very cool!
You got so much success and still like all of us so many insecurities. We are a funny bunch! :)
Congratulations!
Checking out your interviews once I leave here. I'm still trying to catch up with Wednesday's work! :)
Congratulations on Shifting Sands and your accepted piece. Yay! I hope you can push your doubts back so that you can send your novels into the world. I'm sure you will find readers for them. Yep, editing is from the devil:) It gets easier with time, or at least for me it did. Don't give up.
Haha, it is a bad attitude, isn't it? I actually just finished an edit preceding sending my WIP out to some beta readers, and it was fun for some reason. The question is, what was different this time??
Eventually, I imagine those get a bit more comfortable.
I missed it in the September one. Totally forgot about the question.
Good point! I've actually just finished the edits and have it off to beta readers with questions, so we'll see how it goes. It will still need editing since it's too short.
Thank you! Yes, totally fresh. Hahaha.
Isn't a group of vampires called a kiss?
It seems everyone prefers one or the other, but I'm not sure if anyone loves both?
I like that. And, yes, marketing and finding those people is the hard part.
One story at a time is good advice!
I figure we just keep working through the self doubt so we can have those little zen moments where we briefly feel good about things.
Thank you!
Fresh! hahaha. I had no idea what to say. Good idea on the diagramming. I post outline since I'm not a plotter, and it helps me move forward with edits. Now to figure out what to do after that.
I'm actually starting to come around on the editing as of this last one. I'm not sure what changed, but I enjoyed it. Though I still get more stressed about my story than when I'm writing it. I do the submissions as soon as I get a rejection unless I think it needs an edit, so it helps.
Thank you! I feel like I need to do a poll to see whether which is the most favored: first draft writing or editing.
Thank you!
I definitely try to keep stories out there on submission, and actually panic if I get too few at a time (even if it's because I placed the others).
What's ew about fresh zombies? Hahaha.
I bet Penny rocks as an editor.
I think I've had more people say they like the editing than those who've said they prefer the writing!
I love the idea of The First Line and The Last Line, but I have yet to submit to them. I hope you do it again!
Thank you!
We writers are definitely an insecure group. I wonder if other artists have the same issue?
I got through edits on one of them, so far, so I'm calling that a success. I still had to stop myself from defending it/putting disclaimers when I sent it out to my beta readers, but I successfully go tit out without adding those.
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