It's that time again.
The first Wednesday of each month is when we all gather our neuroses for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. The IWSG exists so we can share our insecurities and support each other. Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, anyone can join. Simply click on his name and put your blog on the linky list. Then hop around and visit your fellow insecure writers.
The co-hosts this month are:
Kim Lajevardi, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Olga Godim, Michelle Wallace, and Louise - Fundy Blue. Be sure to stop by and give them a visit as thanks for co-hosting!
This month's optional question is:
What genre would be the worst for you to tackle, and why?
I'm skipping this month's question. I feel like the bulk of the answers will be horror and romance, and honestly I'm not in the mood for more anti-horror stuff right now.
After a lot of thinking, I'm going to be making some changes to my writing career in the coming months. I don't completely know what that's going to look like yet, but I have an idea. A few ideas. Unfortunately, drama in the horror writing world has started tainting how I feel about horror, and I'm not okay with that. I'm not going to stop writing horror, and I have some long-term projects in the works, but my focus will be elsewhere for a while. There are other worlds to explore, basically, and it's time I branched out more.
Of course, change is scary. I've dipped my toe in elsewhere and had pretty good luck with it, so far. I'm thinking of writing under a pen name, maybe a couple, so I need to decide about that, as well, before I submit anything more in other genres, so I can keep some consistency. I'll definitely be paying attention to those of you who already publish heavily in multiple genres.
Anyway, wish me luck! I feel a bit like I'm flapping in the wind right now with a loose anchoring rope.
Note that the monthly post on open submissions will likely be delayed by a week, as I have a guest post next week.
Okay, time for a submission recap for the month. I post each month during the IWSG to keep myself accountable.
August Submissions:
12 submissions
0 acceptances
12 rejections (1 shortlisted, 1 invitation to direct email another submission right away, 8 personal rejections)
1 withdrawn story
20 submissions currently out
What's your writing insecurity? Have you ever made a drastic change to your writing career? How'd it go? Are you ready for fall?
May you find your Muse.
16 comments:
Hi Shannon - I couldn't write any genre ... just admire those who can ... my change was to start the blog - amazing what it's done for me. Thanks to all administrators and co-hosts of the IWSG events ... and well done on all you do ... you Shannon really do write, and write!! Cheers Hilary
Good luck with the change. Plenty of people in this group write in multiple genres who can give you some tips.
I write multiple genres, but for better or for worse, they are all under my name.
Hi,
I sincerely hope you find the new direction that is right for you.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I have a book out next week so I'm chockful of insecurities!
Change can be such fun (even when it's scary) - hope your change sparks all the things.
I WISH I could write horror - my nightmares are debilitating so I don't want to live in that world for that long. My daughter loves twisty psychological horror tales!
Not a lot of detail on why the change, but that's OK. It sounds healthy. I look forward to hearing how it's going!
I don't know what drama is going on in the horror genre, but I do hope this time of trying something new will nurture your writing AND confidence. My stories began as gritty historical fiction, and, for fun, morphed into art crime mysteries with historical underpinnings. Follow what you love!
Good luck changing the focus of your writing. I think it's good when we're versatile and can write in more than one genre.
I'll be interested in what you decide about the pen name. I've read a lot of pros and cons about using either your own name or one you create.
Sending all good wishes on your new path(s). Branching out can be scary, but it can also be incredibly liberating.
A fresh start can be so refreshing! I jumped from my nonfiction, science based, data driven world first into YA contemporary, then plunged into my current (loving it!) spa of YA fantasy. It's a huge change to go from a pristine, peer-reviewed journal submission backed by over 40 deeply researched articles and countless hours of peer-requested detailed edits...to dragons and demons and betrayal of true love. But oh, man! I am having such a great time with it. I am sorry about the drama in the horror world (wasn't aware of it), but very much understand that none of us at all need any more drama in our lives, especially in a field of creativity. I will be very interested to see where you end up! Enjoy your personal spa day of self revision!
Change is always exciting. I hope it brings happiness and success with it.
Anna from elements of emaginette
I'm excited to see how this change is going to be. Best of luck! Can't wait to read contents from your new venture :)
Good luck! I hope your toe-dipping works out well for you!
The only horror I've written is short stories, and I'm not plugged into the horror writing community (yet) so I've missed the drama. It seems like several genres have had lots of issues lately, especially YA and romance.
I hope you're able to find a direction that feels right for you. I've written in several genres and enjoy all of them for different reasons.
I currently have books out in a couple of genres, all under my own name. I might be tempted to use a pseudonym if I radically changed genre; everything I have now is PG-13 most (probably PG, and includes children's books), so if I ventured out of that it might be best.
My big insecurity right now is that I'm too lazy and unmotivated to do what needs doing if I'm to be a writer who sells stuff.
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