TECH: 101 Tips (26)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting 14 June 2009

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"Continue to learn the craft. Try to make each book better, stronger. Never settle for adequate. Learn that the delete button is your best friend. Know that every time you do a rewrite, the book is going to shine that much brighter." Katherine Sutcliffe

What can I say? Sing another verse of The Impossible Dream? Beyond satisficing -- upwards and onwards! Yeah, wordily, though I write through the night, there are still pages to go and plots to twist before I sleep?

As I've said a time or two,
WRITE!

and I know, if I'll only be...

TECH: Markets and such

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 12 November 1993

Roger Writes (and Randy and Chris kicked around, too)

-> -- for example there's much less talk of literary markets than
-> I thought (are any of you sending your wonderful SUB:'s out?) -- Roger
->

do you remember someone recently mentioning depth-charges and the effect they have on subs? Sometimes I feel that must be the fate of these rascals.

Actually, with enough patience, the swallows do return to Capistrano and shit all over the walls.

Then I put them in another envelope and sending them winging out into that great darkness again.

And come back to writers to keep my spirits up during that long, cold winter.

Someday, someway, the sun must rise, and we'll go surfing in the summer sun, with the beach boys riding the waves and the salt breeze spitting on our smiling face. [this is my obligatory pie in the sky by and by dream...]

In the meantime, what would you like to know? I know how to make up a list of markets, how to send things out, how to wait impatiently, how to wait quasi-patiently, and how to vent frustrations while waiting and upon getting that dreaded "your piece was not selected..." I even know how to grit my teeth, skim it once more (and edit if I see something major), and put back in envelope to restart waiting.

Say, is there any way to wait patiently? That is something I haven't learned!

My market lists come from the Writer's Digest big book (groan!) and Gila Queen's monthly (if you want to subscribe, mention that I told you about it - sometimes she gives out extra issues...) I also get Scavenger's right now, but may drop that next year, simply because it seems aimed at the "pays in copies" magazines and I cannot afford them (it costs me about three dollars in postage to send out a submission - reject me a few times and we're talking money! I want some payoff...)

[Edited June 18 2009 to add: No longer true. There are some excellent web listings that can help. For the speculative fiction genre, try these
Ralan's SpecFic & Humor webstravaganza: http://www.ralan.com/
StoryPilot's Science Fiction and Fantasy Market Search Engine: http://storypilot.com/
duotrope's digest: http://www.duotrope.com/]

How do I make a list? Sit down with book. Read and guess. Toss out obvious no-fits. Scratch head and guess. Play with ouiji board. Guess. Throw dice. Guess.

Highly scientific approach, no?

This is not my favored part of the biz, but I haven't seen anything better. Do it up as nicely as possible, send it out, and keep on sending it out. During #&@*( blank pauses, work on other pieces, and try to keep as many out as you can.

And dream.

(whoever it was saying they were happy to get a rejection - I always love them, too. at least I know the thing hasn't vanished in the post box or been eaten by bookworms or whatever fantastic tragedy I can dream up to account for it disappearing somewhere on the way. It really did go there and come back, and now I get to do something with it again, at least for a little while...)