Write fast, Edit slowly, Submit carefully.

c2011Shalako


Back in November I was pretty much done editing and proofreading my books, so when Nano rolled around I wasn't too interested in jamming out another full-length novel.

With a much better idea of exactly what that entailed, I didn't want to start anything I couldn't finish, or had no ending for, or with no basic premise other than to write every day. I might write fast, but much of the story has been visualized or 'daydreamed' well in advance. It's a matter of getting it all down in some logical sequence...(okay, I had nothin'.)

Instead, I wrote about 44,000 words worth of short stories. After not making too many submissions lately, today I opened up the old sf/f/h folder, carefully checked for the proper manuscript formatting, read through, made minor changes, and submitted three stories. One story had only been subbed once, and another about three or four times. And this evening, I pulled out another three to clean up and submit.

Those first three stories were already written. They are recent. Yet I did make three or four changes in them. The process of submitting three short stories took at least two hours.

I studied my list of subs to make sure I didn't re-submit the same story over and over again to some tired editor; and I checked to make sure it wasn't already subbed anywhere else. After a few submissions disappearing into the sub-ether, I study the bloody guidelines for the subject line!

Those went to the highest possible paying markets, incidentally. If rejected, we'll drop a notch or two down the totem pole and try again. That's our 'rules of engagement.'

***

My big challenge lately is to come up with new twists, otherwise it's just some guy with an auto-tweeter spamming out links to a free get-rich e-book. Unfortunately, I don't have any books like that to promote.

Never having asked for a review before, I nevertheless sent out a couple of simple queries. I don't know, to find an example of one good one on the net would be nice.

But, there are one or two lists I can comb through--saving links is another one of my passions, after all--and sooner or later I'll get a review. Viewed with as much objectivity as a shy perfectionist can possibly muster, the thing to do is to bite the bullet and take whatever pain I got coming!

And then we'll move on to the next one.

***

Nominations for the 2011 Aurora Awards, the awards of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, will close April 30, see links at top right. We are eligible in several categories, and would appreciate your support.

See the SF Wiki link upper right. Look for 'The Case of the Curious Killers,' and 'The Stud Farm,' as well as, 'Thirty Years Gone.' Our poem, 'Mr. Robot,' may be read at the bad poets club.


http://badpoetsclub.blogspot.com


Thank you!