I'm Not Dead

I try to be a good blogger, I really do.  I just have trouble writing about writing, I guess.  I don't really know what I'm doing.  I've only been writing seriously on-and-off for the last five years.  (First grown-up poem was published in 2007.  Prior to that, I had a poem published in an anthology in fifth grade.)  I have way more rejections than acceptances.  Who am I to give advice?

I have picked up a few tips along the way, though (all this pertains to short stories, bee tee dubs):

• Write about something you care about, something that interests you.  If you're not invested in it, why should the reader be?
•  After you finish, let the story set for a day or so before you begin to edit.
• Don't be afraid to cut out words.  A concise story is more likely to get published.
• Make friends with other writers.  A writer will be able to edit/proofread your story better than a non-writer, in most cases.
• Grow a thick skin.
• Don't be afraid to send out your story.  Submitting to publications is emotional:  it's like sending your baby out into the cruel world.  (Side note:  Duotrope is what I use to find markets.  It tracks deadlines, checks dead markets, etc.  A lot of people use Ralan, but it's just a matter of personal preference.
• Expect rejection.  It'll definitely happen.
• Don't ever think your story is perfect, because it isn't.  Also, if a publisher is cool enough to offer a personalized rejection with feedback, consider the changes he or she suggests.  (That being said, don't make any changes if it compromises the integrity of the story.)
• Expect people to try to screw you over.  It'll definitely happen.
• Celebrate when you get an acceptance.  You deserve it.

I hope these tips help someone.  Also, if you want more advice, you should follow Brooke Johnson's blog.  She writes words good.

***

I almost forgot.  The issue of Scifaikuest that I'm in is out.  The editor said my haiku was her favorite.  Also, Tales from the Grave, the anthology that will contain my true ghost story "My Life with the Dead" doesn't have a release date yet, but it will come out sometime this month.

Giving Up

Relax, it isn't as serious as it sounds.

Sometimes, as a writer, you have too much on you're plate.  You've mentally committed yourself to various projects.  Or, maybe the deadline for the particular story you're writing is looming, but the story just isn't working out.  You have no idea how you'll meet the goal.

Unless you're contractually obligated, it's okay to give up sometimes.  It's better to let a story fall to the wayside than to stress out over a story that will turn out to be crap and not be accepted anyway.  The old saying "quality over quantity" really applies here.  You want everything you put out to be the best it can possibly be, and that's hard to do when you're concerned about getting the thing done.


Don't feel bad if you have to give up.  Just because you don't finish the story now doesn't mean you'll never finish it.  There have been many times when I have to put a story on hold because I can't think of what to do next.  Then, months or even years later, I'll suddenly have an epiphany, and I will finish the story.  


Of course, before you give up on your story completely, you should try to see if there's some way to tweak it.  A few weeks ago, I was writing a story for an anthology of true ghost stories.  I was writing about my first encounter with a spirit (long story), but it wasn't long enough to reach the 4,000 lower word limit.  I was about to give up on it until I decided to add an experience from college.  I was able to finish the story, and it got accepted.


Giving up is part of the business of being a writer.  You have to know when to stop working on something bad and when to keep working on something good.  Hopefully, you'll have more "keep working on something good" moments.  Those are the best.

I know the secrets that you keep/when you're blogging in your sleep.

(I'm not blogging in my sleep, but I'm not far from it.)


I have ten things out: nine stories and one poem, if I'm remembering correctly.  I wish I would hear something out of at least one of the places.  To be fair, I just sent one thing, and it's before the deadline on a couple of anthologies, but the other places have continuous submissions, I think.  These publications probably get hundreds of submissions, and I'm sure a lot of the a lot of the editors probably have other jobs and lives and stuff, but I'm impatient.


On the bright side, I received my copy of Evolutionary Blueprint on Wednesday.  That's the cryptozoology anthology that contains my chupacabra story "Night Things."

I didn't necessarily mean to match my shirt and the book.

So, that's pretty neato.

Resolutions

It's the second day of the year, (if you're reading this right after I post it and in the same time zone) and people are talking about their resolutions for 2012.  Many of these goals include losing weight and becoming a better person.  While I have similar resolutions, I'm not going to discuss them here.  Since this is a writing blog, I'll discuss my writing resolutions.

One of my goals is to have more things published in 2012 than I did in 2011.  I had five stories published last year.  Two things are forthcoming this year so far:  a haiku will be in the February 2012 print edition of Scifaikuest, and my end of the world story "Fire in the Blood" will come out this year.  Add to the nine things I have submitted to various publications, I think it's possible.

My main resolution, though, is to finish writing a novel.  I have a handful that I've started.  Two of those are a few thousand words.  My word goals is around 80,000, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?  Wrong.  Some people can write thousands of words in a day, but I lack the focus.  I'm starting out with 500 words a day.  Then, if I consistently hit that target, I'll increase.  I should have a novel written in around five months.

So, it's a new year full of promise, unless the Mayans are right.  Hopefully, a year from now, I'll have at least one finished novel, and I'll have the twin joys of editing and querying.  Good luck to everyone with their resolutions, and may 2012 be better than 2011.

Wherein I'm a terrible blogger.

The title pretty much says it all.  I haven't posted anything since Halloween.  Honestly, things have been kind of quiet on the Mosley front.  I found out that "Fire in the Blood" is getting published.  That's super neato.  I finished "Revelations" on November 6, according to the tweet/Facebook update about it.  Since then, though, I haven't done much of anything.  For a solid two weeks I didn't write anything, and I haven't written a whole lot since.

(Well, that might not be entirely true.  I've started on about three things.  I just haven't gotten far with them.)

I'm not a good blogger.  I don't think I should give advice because I really don't know what I'm doing.  My life isn't particularly interesting.  I fail at being funny on purpose.  If, by some weird miracle, I ever become a professional writer, I'm not sure if I could successfully blog.  But, practice makes perfect, right?

Oh, a bit of good news!  Evolutionary Blueprint, which contains my short story "Night Things," is now available from Static Movement Press.  Should you be so inclined, you may purchase it here or here.

Waiting.

Firstly, Happy Halloween, y'all!  Don't eat too much candy/possessed by a demon or something.


A couple of stories I had subbed came back to me because of unfortunate circumstances, so I had to submit them to other places.  After I did that, of course, came the waiting.  Waiting is horrible.  You want to know if your story has a home right away.


The best thing to do while you wait is to stay busy.  I do that by writing.  I haven't been able to do that much writing in the past week because I've been "busy."  (And by "busy," I mean finding other things to do other than finish a story that's almost done.)  Writing helps get your mind off things, and it gives you more to submit later.


I have six things out right now.  (I totally didn't realize that before I counted, though.)  In the back of my head, Super-Neurotic Kristina is going a little bonkers, but Slightly-More-Rational Kristina is writing to try to get her to shut up.  It's mostly working.


So, if submission anxiety gets you down, write!


(This is unrelated, but if you like books, and I assume you do, go check out the Twisted Library Press.  They do good stuff, and they've published me twice, so they're not dumb.)

Changing My Miiiiiind (sung to the tune of "Wasting My Time" by Default)

Remember last time when I posted my project list for the next eight months or so?  Well, there have been some changes to that list.  First, the market I was to send "The Persistence of Memory" to pushed up its deadline to October 14.  I knew that I couldn't get the story done in time, so I pushed it aside and finished "Inheritance."  It is with my critique partner now.  "Revelations" is still good to go if I can finish it in time, so that leaves me with "Love and War," "The Hunger," and "Blood is Thicker."


My...goals, I guess, changed when I saw that the market to which I was going to send "Blood is Thicker" changed from paying to exposure only.  I then became doubtful about the market for "The Hunger" because, if I could finish the story, I'd only get, like, six bucks tops.  Thursday night, I revisited the website for "Love and War" 's market.  The covers for their other publications were terribly unprofessional.  I understand that costs can be high, especially for a press that is just starting, but no one will take them seriously with covers like that.  (Plus, I wouldn't be paid very much for my story, either.)


I don't mean to sound entirely superficial or mercenary, but I do hope to become a professional writer.  When I started submitting things after college, I aimed high, sending stories to professionally-paying markets.  My writing wasn't up to snuff.  I developed the attitude that I just wanted to be published, so I sent my stories to markets that would have me.  That lucked out for me a few times, but ended poorly in others.  (Two of the markets are now currently dead.)  My writing is better now, and I'm going to be more discerning.


So, I'm going to submit to markets that are semi-pro and up now.  That's not to say that I won't send some flash fiction to a token or non-paying market or send a story to a charity anthology if I'm feeling altruistic.  I'm just going to have the attitude of someone who wants to make her living from writing, not a hobbyist.


Wish me luck.

I'm a masochist, apparently.

When I submitted "Fire in the Blood" last week, I thought that I didn't have anymore deadlines for the rest of the year.

I was a filthy liar.

About an hour or so after I submitted the story, I found a new sub call for an anthology dealing with body enhancements gone wrong.  I decided to write up the brain transplant idea I've had since I was around fourteen.  The deadline's November 30, which was bad until I saw "or until filled."  The editor is only accepting twenty stories for the anthology, and it already has sixteen. D:

Then, a few days after that, I saw a sub call for a Valentine's Day-themed anthology.  I started a story years ago, like, before junior year of college, that would fit.  I just had to finish it.  The deadline's December 1, which isn't horrible.  My main problem is that the story has to be rated PG, which isn't an easy task for Lil Miss Violence and Swears.  (I should have a t-shirt made.)

Before I could go to bed...last night?  Thursday morning?  Anyway, I had to make a project list for the next several months.  I figured if I wrote something up and tape it to my wall, I'd be less likely to shirk my responsibilities.  (By the way, "Inheritance" is the story I describe as, "necromancer doesn't know she's a necromancer, featuring Paco the Skeleton".)

I decided to add the picture because it accurately represents my feelings.  The next few months should be fun.  (Of course, if I get a real job, this will all pretty much go out the window...)

Wherein I'm attached to things

I had a thought today.  As much as I want to get "Lessons," the vampire hunter story, published, I think I'll wait a bit.  I'm having some issues finding a good market for it.  One, it's a vampire story that's not exactly horror.  That's an issue because a lot of markets are all vampired out.  Two, it's 5,745 words long.  The cutoff for many markets is 5,000 words.  I'd cut 745 words out of it, but there's no way I can.

Sure, there are some markets that'd publish it, but, to be honest, they don't pay much.  I know in the past I've been just trying to get stuff published, but I put too much time, too much effort, too many emotions into it to sell it for five dollars.  I deserve way more than that.

So, it's just going to sit on my hard drive for a bit, waiting for the right man publication to come along.  Until then, I'll work on something else.

Staying Busy

My dragon flu story, "Fire in the Blood" is with my critique partner for the third time.  I probably won't have to do much to it now when she gets it back to me, hopefully, so my mind is on the next thing.  I have a list of dozens of story ideas I should work on, and I have a few partially-written stories on my hard drive waiting for me to finish them.  I don't know what to pick next, though.

I have a problem.  I have issues with just writing a story and finishing it just because I want to write it.  I have to have a home for it in mind beforehand.  "Fire in the Blood" is one example, as is my vampire hunter story "Lessons," as is everything else I write, it seems.  Even if I've had the idea for years, I can't get it out until there's a sub call.  Take the novelette I wrote, Strange Days.  I had the idea since I was fourteen or fifteen.  It sat in the back of my head for ten years until a press was doing an angel anthology.  I started writing the story for that, but quickly blew past the maximum word count.

Now that I think about it, I can't think of anything I've had published that wasn't for something.  Even if it didn't get in the anthology or whatever that I intended, I wrote or rewrote the story for that thing.  Huh.

On that note, I already have three deadlines for myself next year.  They're in January, March, and June, so no pressure.  Probably.  For two of the anthologies, there are stories already started.  For the one in March, however, it's just a vague idea I have that I have to flesh out.  We'll see if that deadline whooshes by.

Well, staying busy is better than nothing, right?