March 1, 2014

Emily,

It's been ages. A really long time. Looking back at this, it's as if these posts are artifacts from another life. I took 2013 off writing. I mean, I didn't stop writing. I'm not sure if I could, I even tried to make myself write the shittest, most half-hearted things in the beginning. But then I just let it go.

Things are coming back around now. The creative block is gone, at least I'm mostly sure. So, I've got a few responses to list out, don't I?

Submissions Pending

• Every Day Fiction for "eReaper" (out 49 days so far) 
• Three poems ("collection", "intersection" and "the emptied poet") to Quaint, decomP and Corium.
• The poems above and "i wish i was a magician" sent to Maelstrom.

Rejections

• Word Riot (x2) for "transitions" and some poems.
• Neon for "Ghosting".

Acceptances

• Three-Line Poetry (2.5 hours), in Issue 23 on January 14, 2014.
•  "Closet" was accepted by The Molotov Cocktail (32 days response time) on February 15, 2014. Yay!
  

  "We very much enjoyed "Closet" and would like to run it in our upcoming issue (to be posted by Monday). Vivid imagery and a gripping narrative. Nice work.”

• "Sticky Notes" was accepted by theNewerYork (2 days) on February 17, 2014. Doubly yay!
  

  "Thanks for submitting! We love your piece Sticky Notes and want to publish it."

theNewerYork will have my story up within a month and the other two are up already. Otherwise, I'm waiting for some free time to get some fiction written. I only have time for poetry and short shorts these days.

I really like the Every Day Fiction story, and I hope to get it accepted somewhere. Response times have really changed since I stopped submitting. I need to just forget about it for another... fifty days.

I'm glad to be writing again, Em.

Until next time,

Emily.

February 9, 2013

Future Em,

I have to decide whether being paid for my words is worth it or not. Does that matter when I make submissions? Because sometimes I forget and wonder later. I'm not all that good and I'm so excessively doubtful that I haven't been able to finish a story in a long while. Publishing has put a pressure on me that I always knew was going to ruin the good thing I had going.

Anyways, this is no time to angst.

Publications

• "The Last Time the Pipes Were Drunk" published in Every Day Fiction on January 27th, 2013.

Submitted

• Neighbours sent to eFiction Horror on February 4th, 2013. [Note: This market is nonpaying, I was unsure but I sent it because I doubt they'll accept it anyways.]
• Teeth Lips Tongue to Every Day Poets on February 4th, 2013.  

Waiting On

• Hourglass from Camera Obscura. (145 days as of today)
• The Butterfly Box from Little Fiction. (65 days as of today)

And that's about it, Em. Hopefully I'll be able to edit a couple stories (The Opal Guard, Vitam Corp) and send them out to a few sci-fi publications. I'll beat this block, I just haven't had the inclination or the resources to lately.

Best to ya,

Em.

January 22, 2013

So this isn't really a good time to be talking, Em, but I'm sure things like getting a proper education can wait till later.

Publication killed inspiration. I've been having writer's block on and off since late last year, but I think it's gone now. Now for the news (of which there's very little):

Publications

•  "The Rope Ladder" was published in Fiction365 on November 8, 2012.

Acceptances

• My rewrite of "The Last Time the Pipes Were Drunk" was accepted by Every Day Fiction. It's out on January 27th, 2013. That's five days from now.

Rejections (newest to oldest)

• Form from 100 Word Story.
• Form from Modern Haiku.
• Form from decomp. 
• Form from Spinetingler.
• Form from Neon.
• Personal (in the vaguest way) from 101 Fiction.

 Submissions

• .....................
• .....................

Yeah, no new ones since December or November.
I think I'm taking a break from publishing. What do I really want from it, anyways? Who knows. I'm having a writer's crisis.

See you next time, Emily, and hopefull I'll have better news.

- Future Emily.

November 3, 2012

Damn, it's been a while.

A while back I had the fleeting intention to write something, but now, I don't get those much.

Hey, Em. How've you been? Bored without my updates, I bet. So, here's the short and sweet:

• Deconstruction is up at Crack the Spine, Issue 44
• 0 new submissions
• 2 or 3 rejections
• 10 ditched story attempts
• 2 completed poems
• 2 rewrite requests I've yet to start

 and all in the last month and a half. Impressive, right?

No, not really. I've lost motivation to write. The whole pursuit of publication and rules of writing conventionally are exhausting and boring. For now, I'm taking a little break and going back to what I like doing, and maybe I'll finish those other stories another time.

Updates will be sporadic from me, Em. Don't wait on them.

- Em

September 26, 2012

Alright, Em, that's enough slacking! You've got personal rejections and an acceptance to mention!

Personal Rejections

•   Niteblade for "Decay Me"

"That said, I liked the language here and do hope to see some more from you in the future." 

• Emerge Literary Journal

 "I appreciate the chance to read it and especially enjoyed "Kissing Toast". Unfortunately, though, these pieces are, overall, not a snug fit for Emerge Literary Journal at this time."

• Stupefying Stories

"Thanks for giving us the opportunity to consider your story, "Romaine." We liked it, but in the final cut, it's a close miss. Good luck placing it elsewhere.

Not this one, but maybe your next one. Send us another story, please."

•  Liquid Imagination 

"As I say in the review, this developed into a lovely piece, and I really hope to see it again with a few tweaks. You have a gift which I'd like to see develop."

They offered me some individual feedback on my story and were very nice about it. Now I know, editeditedit, even if you love the story, even if other people like the story, doesn't ever mean it's perfect. They say they'd like to see the story again, with edits, so hopefully I can kick my lazy, non-revising butt into action and put that feedback to good use.


Acceptances

• Crack the Spine

They accepted my horror flash, Deconstruction, out in October. 
....
......
And that's it.

You know, at this point, I think my personal rejection list is big enough to compete with my acceptances. They're more helpful, that's for sure. On top of that, I haven't finished a story in maybe a month or two (or ten?). I still write, but I've ditched more ideas than ever before. And not only that, but my poetry has went from every other day to once in a blue moon.

So, that's what it is, Em. Please tell me school doesn't consume you and drain the writing out of your brain. I need to keep writing.

Later,

Em.

August 31, 2012

So Em,

This talking to yourself thing is getting a little weird. It's been a while since my last update, mostly because everything I've sent out has a huge wait time.

Nobody seems to want your poetry, which is fine, but it's not so good when you're so impatient. Anyways, recent acceptance from Short, Fast, and Deadly for a little poem-type composed of four lines in its entirety.

You also got an interesting personal rejection from Emerge Literary Journal, who liked "Kissing Toast" but didn't think everything was a "snug fit". If anything needs a good revision, it's your pages and pages or verse-like rambles.

School starts in a week. I hope I can keep up my already dismal amount of writing. If not, my classes will probably distract me from my pending submissions long enough. Anyways, I'm exhausted.

Until next time,

Emily

August 14, 2012

Hey Emily,

So your typos issue is fixed as of now. That's a load off my mind. You need to remember that editors are going to want the best version just like you will. I'm a little baffled it took me nearly five days from receiving my acceptance email to deal with it.

Then again, this whole week's been a bit of a blur. I need to get back to writing before school starts, swamping me in another seven/eight months of homework. Need to start revising, writing and submitting. I definitely need to start submitting, or I'll be waiting on nothing very soon.

I need to get to it, now. Till next time.

- Em