A great deal has changed since the first time I put pen to paper.
The internet, social media, ebooks, just to name a few. When I first started writing, personal computers were a novelty, and priced beyond the average person's means. I wrote everything long hand on legal pads then painstakingly transferred what I'd written to 20lb paper using a manual typewriter. After that it was off to the printer to have several copies made. Returning home with my latest masterpiece I would painstakingly write a cover letter then weigh the return envelope, the story, and several blank sheets of paper for the editors rejection, or dare I even pray for it, acceptance letter. Once the proper postage had been affixed to the return envelope everything would be carefully packed away into another envelope for delivery to the intended market.
I never sold anything those first few years and soon life demanded I find a real job to support my growing family. It's not to say I didn't try, I did, and I racked up a pretty impressive pile of rejection letters during the course of my first foray into writing. I did learn one very important lesson. A lesson that is still valid even in this age of instant gratification via the internet.
Story matters.
Give a reader a compelling story with believable characters and they will follow you to the ends of the earth. Rip off the reader and they will never trust you again. And what's even worse is they will tell all their friends about your work. Even in this high speed electronic age word of mouth it still the most powerful advertising medium out there. If the writer doesn't honor the reader, the reader will not honor the writer.
Sorry for the delay.
My apologies for not posting for the last two weeks. Until recently I've been unemployed which has given me plenty of time to write and marker my work. But now I'm back to work in retail as a shift manager so things have been a bit hectic for me for the past couple of weeks. I know, that's no excuse, but it's the best one I've got right now. What time I've had available has been reserved for my writing.
Recently received the following rejection from Fear & Trembling magazine for my short story, Bobo.
The writing is good, the story details the horrific things people do to each other, and the ending is psychologically chilling.Quite honestly, this story repulses me. I cannot say I like it, nor can I say the author didn't do his job.
I'll take a rejection like that over an acceptance any day. It tells me I touched the reader in a place they didn't want me to. That I pulled them into the story and dragged them kicking and screaming to the bitter end. Yeah, I'll take that.
If you 'd like to read the story it's available in kindle format right here. I'd love to know what you think of the story.
Bobo
I'm also working on an old short, MUSIC OF THE GODS, that appeared in Nocturnal Mutterings back in 1995. This one will be available through Smashwords once I've finished updating it. I'll keep you posted.
Recently received the following rejection from Fear & Trembling magazine for my short story, Bobo.
The writing is good, the story details the horrific things people do to each other, and the ending is psychologically chilling.Quite honestly, this story repulses me. I cannot say I like it, nor can I say the author didn't do his job.
I'll take a rejection like that over an acceptance any day. It tells me I touched the reader in a place they didn't want me to. That I pulled them into the story and dragged them kicking and screaming to the bitter end. Yeah, I'll take that.
If you 'd like to read the story it's available in kindle format right here. I'd love to know what you think of the story.
Bobo
I'm also working on an old short, MUSIC OF THE GODS, that appeared in Nocturnal Mutterings back in 1995. This one will be available through Smashwords once I've finished updating it. I'll keep you posted.
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