Keeping it Real

I attended a great dinner with other writers this past week. There were eight of us, and several folks asked questions to get feedback from the others, which is how this group works each month.

One of the things that came up while answering a question was that we, as authors, judge ourselves harshly, but something that makes this worse is that we're seeing a flawed image of how everyone else is doing due to the nature of social media. Most people post the good things, but not much of the bad. (Guilty!) We don't see other people's losses, only their wins. Which makes it look like they're doing way better than we are, which further compounds our insecurities and makes us feel like failures.

This isn't going to change any time soon, but it's something we can all try to be mindful of. We all know we shouldn't be comparing our successes and failures to those of other people, but it's hard to avoid since it comes naturally to many of us.

And, for the record, I post my submission stats each month on my Insecure Writers Support Group posts. I can assure you I get far more rejections than I do acceptances. To give you a more realistic view of it, here's a summary of my submission stats since January:

Total submissions sent out: 36
Total acceptances: 9
Total rejections: 24

Note that the numbers won't line up, because I had some out for submission already at the beginning of the year, and have a bunch pending now. Also bear in mind that I had a higher rate of acceptances this year over last year, and that those numbers are atypical. Last year I got 80 rejections and only 6 acceptances for the entire year. I submitted a total of 95 times for the year, so I sold 6 out of 95 stories submitted in 2017.

I've also been querying a novel. So far, I've gotten 2 requests for the first 50 pages, both rejected after I sent them. Plus 14 rejections and 5 I've assumed rejected after no response.

Persistence matters more than a lot of other factors. I send a story back out within a day or two of getting a rejection.

Anyone who thinks I don't get discouraged is dead wrong. I frequently get discouraged. Some rejections hurt more than others. The stories I think will be The Ones fall flat once submitted. The ones that seem like a hard sell often sell the quickest. I definitely don't have it all figured out yet, and I've been doing this for several years.

Don't get discouraged. Don't compare yourself to other authors. Don't beat yourself up when you don't perform quite how you think you should. Instead, set realistic goals for yourself and celebrate the wins, even the small ones.

Do you find yourself in a slump and beating yourself up too often? What do you do to get out of it? Do you track your submission statistics?

May you find your Muse.


*Sad Scarecrow, clker.com, OCAL
*Quality Control: Rejected, clker.com, OCAL

A Serious Problem & Links

For the picture today, a note from my daughter.

"P.S. I need new books to read, can you bring me to Barns and Nobles, or the library?"

I know. This is a serious problem. How could I have lapsed in my book buying prowess? This is what happens when a teacher never sends home the Scholastic order forms. I'm going through Scholastic withdrawal.

Okay, link time.

Accepting Submissions:

The Colored Lens is open for speculative fiction short stories that "shift perspectives of how we see the world." 500-5000 words. And novellas up to 20,000 words. Pays $10-20, more for novellas.

Confrontation Magazine is taking submissions of poetry, nonfiction, art, and fiction. Literary. Up to 7200 words. Pays $75-100 for fiction. Pay varies through the other categories. Deadline April 15.

Blackbird is open for poetry, short stories, and personal essays. Up to 8000 words. Paying market, but pay is not specified. Deadline April 15.

Epoch is open for literary fiction, poetry, essays, screenplays, cartoons, graphic art, and graphic fiction. Pays between $50 and $150. (Mail-in submissions). Deadline April 15.

Rattle is open for poetry and artwork in the theme of adjunct poets. Pays $100 per poem. The current theme's deadline is April 15.

A Two Dame Production is open for submissions of fairy tales in the genre of literary erotica. They would love to see retellings of lesser known fairy tales, and especially ones that are not European. Up to 5000 words. Pays $25, plus a contributor copy. Deadline April 20.

The Establishment is open for articulate essays, features, interviews, etc. Pays between $125-500. Must pitch.

Iron Soap is open for 200 CCs, stories of 200 words. No genre restrictions. Pays $.01/word. They also have themed calls. The next one is for Mother's Day, deadline April 22. Non-holiday themed do not have a deadline.

Of Interest:

Grey Matter Press put up a post by Sharon Lawson on what it means when an editor says "Your Story Just Doesn't Work For Me!"

Fun fact: I was short listed for a story with Grey Matter Press, which was later rejected. When I got the first email telling me I was short listed, I thought someone had yet again screwed up my name (Shannon Lawrence/Sharon Lawson). Imagine my surprise when I opened it and it was supposed to be to me, and was good news! P.S. When they have an open call, they're a great market to submit to. Very communicative and friendly.

Any of these of interest? Anything to add? Publication news? Does Sharon Lawson's article help?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Why We Do It & Links

New month, new insecurities. It's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Anyone is welcome to come along with the IWSG. Go to the link above and sign up! Then either post your insecurities or reassurances (or a little of both.) Be sure to visit some of your fellow insecure writers, too.

I'm riding one of those all too brief highs, courtesy of placing two pieces this month (a short story and a flash fiction piece.) So I'm going to keep on riding, right into a positive post. I think my last couple IWSG posts were down in the dumps.

We all know that, as writers, we must steel ourselves against the negatives that come with our chosen profession. Most people don't take rejection well, yet an integral part of our job is getting rejections, one after the other. So you find ways to cope, to move on, to harden yourself.

So why do we do this? Why do we set ourselves up for pain?

Because each time we get a yes it makes everything worth it. Each yes, each positive review, each affirmation, diminishes the little things.

But most of all, we do it because we love it. Because we feel driven to it. We do it because we have stories to tell, voices in our heads. I'm pretty sure a good number of us would continue writing, even if we had no interest in getting published. It's the only way to expel the voices from our heads. We have vast worlds inside us, and it feels beautiful to share them with others. It feels even better when they enjoy them, too.

So write. Have fun. Create. Exorcise those demons, both enchanting and horrific. And if you like it, put yourself out there. Push away the bad so you can celebrate the good. Take a chance. Then take another. Then keep right on taking them until you've achieved your dreams.

Having said all that, it's time to report my submissions for the month of July, something I do each month during IWSG to keep myself honest.

In July I:

Submitted 6 stories
Got 4 rejections
Made 2 sales
Was short listed for 1 anthology
Currently have 12 stories on submission

Now it's link time.

Bear in mind that I'm just passing these along, and that I'm not endorsing any of them, nor have a I researched these, so always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Autonomous Press is looking for poetry, fiction, and memoir for The Spoon Knife Anthology. They want stories about consent and compliance. They're open to all writers, but are also looking for neuroqueer authors. Up to 10,000 words. Paying market. Deadline September 8.

Cicada is seeking poetry, fiction, essays, and comics. They take work from those 14+ and adults. They're currently looking for work dealing with witches. Paying market. Deadline September 9.

Liminoid Magazine is open for submissions for their fall issue. 500-10,000 words. Pays $20/piece. Current deadline September 8.

AE is accepting fiction, nonfiction, comics, and art. Science fiction only. Fiction is 500-3000 words. They take submissions from anywhere, but give preference to Canadian authors. Pays $.07CDN/word.

The Baffler is seeking "poetry with grace and fiction with personality." You must pitch first. Pays a token amount.

Glittership is looking for LGBTQ+ speculative fiction. There should be some sort of queer content. This is for podcast, not print. 100-6000 words. Pays $.01/word.

The Fiddlehead is seeking fiction and poetry. Fiction up to 6000 words. Pays $40 CAD.

Contests:

The M.O. has announced its new theme: Lesson Learned. Mystery. 1000-1500 words. Pays $.05/word to the winner, plus publication, and all those short listed get published. Submissions open August 14 and close August 28.

Of Interest:

Just a bit of fun. Plug in 300 words of your writing at Hacker Factor to see an analysis of the gender of the author. Yes, you know what you are, but it's interesting to see the analysis.

Buzzfeed posted "30 Copy Editors Tell Us Their Pet Peeves." Interesting to look over.

Any of these of interest? Anything to add or share? Publishing news? What are your insecurities? Why do you write? 

May you find your Muse.

IWSG, SCREAM, & Links

It's the first Wednesday of June, which means it's time for a meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you have writing insecurities and/or want to offer your support to those who are insecure, sign up and join us!

For the second time in a row, I was short-listed by the same Hugo award-winning, pro-paying magazine. For the second time in a row, I got a form rejection from the editor. A form letter. No explanation as to why it was good enough to make it out of the slush pile, but not good enough to make it. No feedback. I get that they're busy. I do what I'm supposed to do, not responding to the rejections or the short-listing so as not to clog up their inboxes. But a part of me is deeply frustrated when I get a form rejection after having been given that little extra piece of hope.

You know what it feels like?

You know, right after she sees her parents coming up the drive and gets that glimmer of hope? "Mo..." STAB.

Okay, so that's over-stating it, but, while I haven't reached the point of giving up, I haven't gotten an acceptance in two months, and it is always somehow worse when I get that close, only to then get a form rejection letter. It hurts when you fall off a step. It's crippling when you fall off the roof. I can feel the frustration and hopelessness setting in that say I'm no good, this isn't going to happen, I'm just not there. I'm fighting it, but it's hard to continually get rejections. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but blah, I'm on a low. Not the lowest, but low all the same.

I need an affirmation from outside myself to tell me that the fight is worth it. That subjecting myself to criticism and rejection is going to pay off.

I do make it worse by starting the submission process with pro markets and working my way down, but I can't know I won't make it into a pro market unless I try. And if pro markets short list me, it means I'm getting close, but I'm not there yet. I WILL make it into that publication. It is a primary goal for me.

Alright, here's the part where I keep myself honest by reporting my submissions for the month of May.

I wrote a new short story for a specific anthology call and submitted it.
I have 12 submissions out, including the new one.
I submitted 7 pieces this month, including the new one mentioned above.
I got 5 rejections this month, including the short-list.

Moving on, I also share various publication links every Wednesday, so here are this week's links. I am not endorsing any of these, merely passing along submissions calls I've come across. Always do your due diligence before submitting to a market.

Accepting Submissions:

Crossed Genres new theme is Sport. They're looking for fantasy and/or science fiction. 1000-6000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline for this theme is June 30.

The Literary Hatchet is seeking horror short stories, poetry, humor, interviews, art, photography, and illustrations. 1000-6000 words for fiction. Pays $1-$10, depending upon submission type. Current submission window closes July 1.

Defying Doomsday is seeking stories for an anthology of apocalypse survival fiction wherein one of the protagonists is suffering from a disability. 3000-7000 words. Pays $.07/word. Deadline July 1.

Emby Press is launching an Emby Kids anthology about monsters. Tell a campfire story of an original monster appropriate for kids up to PG-13. Middle Grade. 2000-8000 words. Pays $25 and an e-copy of the book. Deadline July 1.

Indie Authors Press has several anthologies open until filled. Altered States II wants cyberpunk. 2000-10,000 words. Pay is $10, plus an e-copy. Corpus Deluxe wants stories dealing with the undead. 2000-5000 words. Pay is a share of the royalties.

Bust is looking for she-centric articles. I didn't see whether it had to be written by women, but it is FOR women. They're taking pieces on everything from current news, pop culture, health, cooking, daily living, travel for women, local guides, sex guides, and short erotica up to 1500 words. Pay is not specified.

James Ward Kirk Fiction is looking for submissions to Ugly Babies 3. Poetry, flash fiction up to 1000 words, short fiction up to 4000 words. Two people will receive $25 Editor's Choice Awards. All published in the anthology will get an e-copy.

Martian Migraine Press wants weird erotica for Necronomicon, a tri-annual publication. Short stories up to 5000 words, poetry up to 50 lines, and up to around 5000 words. Pays $10 CDN, plus e-copies.

The Health Journal is always accepting submissions of health articles of varying types. Pays $.15/word. Rolling submissions for different issues. July 1 deadline is for September issue.

Plasma Frequency is always open to speculative fiction submissions. Preferred length is 6000 words or less. Pays $.01/word.

What are your insecurities? How do you pull yourself out of the submission doldrums? Any of these markets of interest? Anything to share? Publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

Rejection & This Week's Links

I was hoping to have good news to share today. I'd been short-listed for an anthology and knew today was the day I'd hear one way or the other. Unfortunately, I got the rejection email instead of an acceptance. But I took a few hours to mope, and I've already resubmitted that story and several others. So I guess that's good news.

I'm working on major sleep deprivation at the moment, so for [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, meet Skip. He's my co-pilot.

Now for some links, just a few hours late, yeah?

Accepting Submissions:

Vandercave is seeking humor. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or illustration. Deadline for first issue is December 17. 1250 words or fewer. Pays $10.

The Puritan is looking for fiction, poems, essays, reviews, and interviews. Deadline for the winter issue is December 25. Pays $15-$50, depending on submission type.

Simian Publishing is seeking submissions for their anthology Apotheosis: Stories of Survival After the Rise of the Elder Gods. 2000-7000 words. Submissions close December 31. Pays $.03/word.

Mocha Memoirs Press is seeking steampunk submissions for Avast Ye Airships!, and anthology. 1500-6000 words. Pays $10 per story. Deadline December 31.

The call is out for the Year's Best Weird Fiction anthology. They are seeking the best of your weird fiction published in 2014. Reprints. Deadline December 31. 17,499 words or less. Pays a minimum of $.01/word and 2 contributor copies.

Darkhouse Books is taking submissions for their anthology of historical fiction. Historical crime and mystery fiction. Deadline December 31. 2500-7500 words. Royalty share.

Infinite Acacia is seeking submissions for their anthology Infinite Urban Fantasy One. 1000-17,500 words. Flash fiction, short stories, novelettes, novellas. Deadline December 31. Pays $.01/word.

Another Dimension Magazine is seeking stories of 1000-3000 words. Horror and dark fantasy. Pays $.03/word. Submissions for Issue 1 close December 31.

Contests:

The Were-Traveler is holding a Shinigami Stories contest. Some element of the Grim Reaper must be in the story. Flash fiction or short story. First prize is $15. Deadline December 20.

Blue Mountain Arts is holding a Poetry Card Contest. Deadline December 31. First prize $300, plus publication on their site.

Any of these of interest? Anything to share? Publication news? 

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Rejection, Rejection, Rejection & Links

It's IWSG time! Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

My insecurity is the same as usual. Rejection after rejection received.

My numbers for 2014 stand at:

16 rejections
4 still out on sub
7 stories to re-sub
3 stories that have been through critique group and need a final edit before sub

The kids start back to school in 1 1/2 weeks, though, and I'll be throwing myself into editing and writing during the day again. Here's hoping I get some acceptances.

Now for some links.

Accepting Submissions:

Eldritch Press is accepting submissions for their steampunk anthology The Lost Worlds. Up to 20,000 words. Pays $.08/word.

Shades of Romance Magazine is open for articles with the theme "children's books." Deadline September 1. Query before submitting. Also taking short stories, devotionals, and fillers. Pays $10-$25, depending upon type of submission.

Ginosko Literary Journal is accepting short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, interviews, social justice concerns, and spiritual insights. I'm unsure of payment details.

Max Avalon is accepting short stories. Speculative fiction. 5000-20,000 words. Pay unknown.

Perihelion is looking for science fiction short stories (not spec. fic., ONLY hard sci-fi). 400-1600 words or 2000-8000 words. Pays a maximum of $75 for longer works, a minimum of $12 for the shorter works.

Daily Science Fiction is accepting speculative fiction stories of 100-1500 words. Pays $.08/word. They would love to see a flash series of three or more.

Freelance Job Available:

Good Catch Publishing, a Christian publisher, is looking for freelance writers to conduct interviews and write pieces on inspirational true life stories of overcoming. Stories average 3500-7000 words. Pays $175 per story. A friend works there and says they're great employers.

Contest/Award:

The Sustainable Arts Foundation is offering a Visual Arts Award and a Written Arts Award. This is for those with a child of under 18. $6000, with multiple awards being given. Deadline for application is September 8.

Blog Stuff:

Kyra Lennon is hosting the Charity Cat Anthology Hop, to be held September 5. You can write a story of up to 2500 words. This is for a charity anthology.

Of Interest:

The Noteboard is an interesting little deal for writers. It's index card sized, but unfolds into a much larger board. Dry erase and comes in a pouch. 

What are your insecurities? Any of these links of interest to you? Anything to say about any of them? Have you got any submissions out? Anything to share?

May you find your Muse.

5 Fun Things to do With Rejection Letters

Rejection letters. If you get them, you're doing something right.

Wait, what?

No, really. Getting rejection letters means you're working, that you're writing, editing, and submitting. At least in terms of those seeking traditional publication.

But what are you supposed to do with those rejection letters that swarm in via email and snail mail? That is, after you set it aside and send your piece to a different entity RIGHT AWAY...

Courtesy of OCAL, clker.com

Here are five ideas:

1. Wallpaper a room. Your office would be best, but you can paper any room, even the bathroom. Oo, or maybe a closet. One with an old light bulb that flickers, and a chain to turn it on. Yes, do that!

2. Send them back...rejected. Write your own rejection letter about their rejection letter*. Example:

Dear Agent/Editor, <---Write exactly that if they didn't know your name, but feel free to fill in their names if they were polite enough to check your query for your name

In reference to your rejection letter, submitted January 9, we are currently not taking rejections in this genre. Please check your rejection letter over again and re-submit somewhere that is a better fit. If you'd like to review our rejection guidelines, please see www.rejectthis.com and click on the Rejections tab.

Sincerely,
Author X 

3. Make a flip-book. Draw a new image on the bottom of each sheet and glue them together on the top to create a flip-book. Come on, you know you secretly love those things!

4. Make them a different kind of art. Carefully connect the periods to create pictures, then color them in. Submit them to art magazines or have your own juried art show! You could become famous.

5. Put them where you really want to. Use them for kitty litter or to line the bottom of a bird/hamster/guinea pig/you name it cage.

Or you can do what I do and put them in a plastic sleeve in a binder with the acceptance letters. It's a story in itself to flip through there and see my history, and I hope to fill that binder one day (with far more acceptance letters than rejections, of course.)

Share your ideas in the comments!

What's your favorite above? What do you actually do with your rejection letters?

May you find your Muse.

*A moment of seriousness in a post of levity...don't really do number 2, mkay? I will not be responsible for you getting blackballed!

Pressure!

Ever get to that place where you're incredibly busy and feel...



Ah, that's a good one, isn't it?

This week the pressure is on!  I need to get my PowerPoint presentation finished for Friday.  Add that to the billion other things I have to do.  Luckily, I like playing around with PowerPoint.  This will be my first time using PowerPoint for a presentation using a projector, and I won't have my Personal Tech Guru (PTG) on hand.  Wish me luck that my Super Villain powers don't come into play and zap something.  After all, without PTG and his Super Hero powers, who knows what could go wrong?!

I do enjoy being busy and having jobs to do, and I'm very excited about Friday.  All of this busy, busy, busy is good for one other thing, too: I finally said "no" to someone.  You see, I'm one of those people who doesn't want to let anyone down.  I want to help them out, and I hate to disappoint.  Thus, I will find a way to be able to say "yes," even if that means a significant amount of stress or pressure.  Well, someone asked me to add one more massive project on top of all this and I told them I couldn't do it.  And you know what?  The world didn't blow up!  I don't even think they hate me.  Go figure!

One bad thing about the busy is that I haven't made any time for writing or editing (other than blog stuff), so that is something that must change.  I am going to give myself license to not feel guilty about that for this week only, and then next Monday I will begin NaNoEdMo.  I did NaNoEdWriMo (which I made up) last year, but this year I plan to hit NaNoWriMo for real in November, thus leaving me October for editing.  I want to edit my WIP#1, Lonely Hollow, and I want to edit several short stories I have written but not revisited.  If I could FINISH editing Lonely Hollow I could start querying in November or December.  While that puts a sort of additional pressure on me, the butterflies it causes are ones of excitement, which I'm delighted to discover.  I get excited when I think of getting back to editing my WIP, and I get excited when I think about beginning the query process (hopefully).  Do me a favor and remind me of that when I'm getting those rejections and falling into a deep hole of depression.  Mmmm-k?

Speaking of rejection, I did receive two rejections in the last two weeks.  One rejection I was quite okay with; the other I found very disappointing - I wanted it very badly.  Happily, a few people cheered me up on Facebook, and I was able to just spend one evening being sad then move on.  It happens, and I'm going to re-submit both pieces elsewhere.   

What's your pressure this week?  Does Billy Joel still rock or what?  What are your favorite and/or most productive ways to cope with pressure/stress?  Do you have trouble turning people down?

May you find your Muse.