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

August 10, 2012

Hey Future Emily,

You've got a new acceptance. It's the first story you've "sold" so far. It was so good to finally hear back from one of my submissions out there. Fiction365 accepted "The Rope Ladder", a post-apocalyptic short story about a boy and his family hiding in the hayloft of their barn when something breaks in. I received the acceptance yesterday on the ninth, coincidentally my favorite number (ohwhaddayaknow?). It's very exciting, but there's something else.

Future Em, why didn't you warn me? The story is littered with awkward sentences and tiny typos and mistakes everywhere! It's in such a state I'm embarrassed to ask them to allow me to send them a revised copy. Would it be insulting if I asked? I don't know, but I really do need to fix this up. Ugh. Nice going, Me.

Alright, Future Me, I'll keep you posted.

Emily

PS: Partial acceptance letter below;

Hi Joyce:

     This is really good - we'll gladly publish. 

I'll put it on the schedule and send you a note when the publication dateis set in stone - right now that's taking about two months.

August 4, 2012

Dear Future Emily,

I know, I know, I promised I wouldn't talk about rejections, but I've changed my mind, and you should already know that. Nine: A Journal of Imaginative Fiction sent me a rejection letter a few days ago and if anything, it was almost as good as an acceptance. You know how it is, aim high and then work your way down. Though, when I say aim high, that's completely subjective. I aim for what I want.

And in the beginning, I was extremely lucky to have gotten what I wanted- Corvus as a first publication. But now I have to get used to reality and less on idealistic goals. They were right, anyways, you have to agree with what they said. Anyways, I really like the way this publication looks and what they stand for (quick response times, for one thing). Hopefully I have a better story to send them eventually, I'm putting them on my Likes list. Below is the rejection letter. The story was called "The Butterfly Box". Happy (?) reminiscing, Future Me.

Emily

"Thank you for submitting "The Butterfly Box" for inclusion in Nine. We have read and discussed the story, and have decided to pass on it. There were moments that we liked a lot - the confusion over the word "free" was really nicely done, and was pointed out by a few reviewers - but the story overall just didn't do enough to work for us. As soon as we met the toy soldier, the rest of the story was a bit predictable. Good luck placing this one elsewhere, and thanks again for sending it our way."

August 1st

Dear Future Emily,

Your first publication is out! Corvus magazine is run by a couple of writers in the UK and published quarterly. I can't believe how lucky I am, to be in there along with all of these other talented writers. I think I've been waiting for this day to come, neglecting everything else in life, unfortunately.

As I may have mentioned before, I love every single story they publish, every poem and line. I could not have had a better first publication. So, future me, is this small fry to look back on it? It's a non paying pub, but I think as soon as I make something substantial on a story I'll be sending them a few dollars. Of course, that's me being idealistic-I mean if I ever make more than a token payment on a story.

August first, a nice clean start.

Best of luck, Future Me!

Emily

P.S. Don't forget about "Blue Valley Falls" in Linguistic Erosion, that came out July 31st. A bit of a shocker it got accepted. I'm chuffed about all of this, today. 

My Three Firsts

Hi Future Emily,

This past week has been busy. I've received three acceptances as well as a few rejections to match. Since you might be interested in the details, I'll leave the dates and such below.

Corvus - This is your first publication. Be proud, because you've been staring longingly at Corvus Magazine for a while, you love every story they publish, and it's a huge privilege to be in a publication you respect so much. I'm excited. It's only a small poem, and I think I should have left the title as 'Spilled Ink', but your/my writing is so obtuse, no one understands what the hell you're trying to say. Had to make it obvious.

It's called 'Boys and Writer's Block' by the way, fourth issue of Corvus.

Linguistic Erosion - So you know a couple people who've been published here. It has a decent acceptance rate, but you're still surprised they took your story. It was like trying to fit a triangle into a star, and you just got lucky. People can leave comments there and stuff, but since no one knows you write, it'll be hard to collect too many readers. I wonder how many viewers that site gets? Well, I'm sure you know, Future Me. Also, this is your first published piece of fiction. It's up on July 31st.

'Blue Valley Falls' was about a magician, remember? Murder and confetti, what a spectacle- though the story probably needs more work.

Three Line Poetry- They accepted your little poem, but the only comment they had about it was "Nice!". I guess that's good? You probably wanted a little more meat from it, but it works just fine for me. They offer a token payment per issue. Your first paid publication, though you do have the option of donating it back to them.

It doesn't have a title, but it's the one about angels and starlight. I pulled it out from one of those 60 page documents you have of poetry. I hope you're more organized, now. Really, it takes forever to wade through all that crap.

So, Future Emily, I hope it's nice to look back on these firsts. It's been a strange week. As I suspect I'll make a habit of doing, I've left out the rejections. I'm sure you don't want to look back on the negative stuff, besides, I'm still learning. Jumping headfirst into this whole "publication" thing can make a girl dizzy.

Happy reminiscing,

Emily

Diary of a Closet Writer

Dear Emily,

That's right. You read the title right; I'm in the closet.

Don't act like you don't know this. Six years I've been writing, and I've not told a single person. I even have some published pieces now, but nope, no one knows.

Maybe you're different now. Does anyone know? Does it even matter? I hope where you are now, you've collected a few more publications. Gee, I hope you're still writing. Maybe not a novel or anything, but the little things at least.

Best regards, future me.

Emily