Got another rejection, from Asimov’s this time. Too bad, I thought that story was a good fit for that magazine. Well, one more for the pile. I did a quick readover and sent the story off to Orson Scott Card’s Intergalatic Medicine Show. (There’s got to be a shorter way to refer to that mag) I’m wondering if I’m not reading enough short stories. Most of the stories I’m reading are George Martin’s or Raymond Chandler’s or belonging to writers in my critique groups. I wonder if I should be writing short stories directly targeted at a particular magazine or a particular editor, once I figure out what his/her taste is?
On the other hand, the short stories were just a happy accident, a little challenge and palate cleanser after slogging through month after month of revisions. So if something from that sells, great. If not, at least I’m getting used to rejection again. I write for myself, first and foremost. I have to, otherwise it’s not really fun. Of course, I’m not a professional writer, yet. I’m not doing this for a living. If/when I am, my objectives may change. I wonder if that is the reason so many follow-on books loose the thing I liked in an author’s first books. Not every writer, of course. Some are consistently good but for a lot…I wonder if those first few books were labors of love, created (like mine) out of stolen hours and written for the sheer joy of telling a story. Once you quit your day job and write full time, there’s got to be a new pressure on a writer. To produce stuff that sells. I don’t know, maybe it gets easier once you’re published and have a few books under your belt.
I got a couple more chapters finished last night but I paused at the end of one chapter. I’m debating how important it is. It feels superfluous, the only thing that ‘happens’ in it is Jael and Jacob’s discussion about wishes. The rest is just emotion and getting inside Jacob’s head after the leavetaking. I may cut it and combine the important paragraphs with the next two chapters. Which may mean a re-write of those chapters. Oy. I have a sneaking suspicion that I wrote that chapter just to keep my alternating POV structure. Man am I kicking myself over that decision. I guess we’ll find out soon if it works or not.
Bleh. Writing is fun. It’s all the stuff that’s not writing that’s hard, frustrating and confusing.
On the other hand, the short stories were just a happy accident, a little challenge and palate cleanser after slogging through month after month of revisions. So if something from that sells, great. If not, at least I’m getting used to rejection again. I write for myself, first and foremost. I have to, otherwise it’s not really fun. Of course, I’m not a professional writer, yet. I’m not doing this for a living. If/when I am, my objectives may change. I wonder if that is the reason so many follow-on books loose the thing I liked in an author’s first books. Not every writer, of course. Some are consistently good but for a lot…I wonder if those first few books were labors of love, created (like mine) out of stolen hours and written for the sheer joy of telling a story. Once you quit your day job and write full time, there’s got to be a new pressure on a writer. To produce stuff that sells. I don’t know, maybe it gets easier once you’re published and have a few books under your belt.
I got a couple more chapters finished last night but I paused at the end of one chapter. I’m debating how important it is. It feels superfluous, the only thing that ‘happens’ in it is Jael and Jacob’s discussion about wishes. The rest is just emotion and getting inside Jacob’s head after the leavetaking. I may cut it and combine the important paragraphs with the next two chapters. Which may mean a re-write of those chapters. Oy. I have a sneaking suspicion that I wrote that chapter just to keep my alternating POV structure. Man am I kicking myself over that decision. I guess we’ll find out soon if it works or not.
Bleh. Writing is fun. It’s all the stuff that’s not writing that’s hard, frustrating and confusing.
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