Byron Bay in Winter

What could be nicer? Byron Bay in Summer, I suppose. Still, writers can’t be choosers. So I’ve just booked my place at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival for the first week in August. Is anyone else going to be there? We could shiver together around a tepid coffee whilst swapping war stories from between chattering teeth.

Just because it’s on my mind, I heard yesterday that the story I had published in the Absent Willow Review (’The Earth Ship’) has been selected by them to appear in their first print anthology – as yet unnamed and planned to appear in October. And it was my birthday yesterday. Wasn’t that nice? This will be my first opportunity to earn royalties on sales (another little milestone in the writer’s life)so I’d like you all to plan on giving away at least ten copies each as Christmas presents.

Only kidding. Five would be plenty.

happy easter!

hey, guys, just wishing you all a safe and relaxing easter.  hope you get lots of writing done!  any daily targets you’re aiming for?  i’m aiming for 1000 a day. 

j-a

Natcon Blues

Guys, I won’t be coming to the National Convention after all. It’s all a matter of money. It would have cost me about $1,600 to go, and I was ready to spend it too, but something much more urgent has come up and I need that $1.6K elsewhere.

Feel free to beat me up about it. I’m feeling miserable and impoverished and pissed off enough, but if you’d like to kick me while I’m down, well, I probably deserve it.

To make matters worse, I’ve had three short stories rejected this week and two more agents have turned me down. I also had a letter from Bernadette who seems to have taken another look at TimeSplash! (which is extremely good of her, of course) and wanted to let me know she really, really doesn’t want it – because of its ‘edge of violence’ which she thought didn’t suit Orbit’s list. (Hang on a minute, who publishes the insanely violent Peter F. Hamilton? Hmmm, I thought so!)

Depressing as this is, several of these rejecters went to great lengths to tell me how much they liked my writing. (One with almost embarrassing hyperbole, viz.  “One of the great measuring metrics of an artist’s skill is his ability to not only conceive of imaginative and creative work, but his ability to convey them to a reader. In that, Mindrider is a spectacular success.” and “The writer is definitely talented and skiled; most of the suggestions that I make here are really a matter of fine-tuning an already exquisite piece of storytelling machinery…”  So that’s nice, I suppose. I wonder what they say if they actually like your stuff

Anyway, I ramble. I just wanted you to know I’d be joining Terry on the benches.

Graham.

‘The City’ Rides Again

Hey Guys,

Remember that very, very short story of mine that was a runner up in the Concept Sci-fi Magazine micro-fiction competition?

Well I’ve just heard from AlienSkin Magazine that they have accepted it for publication!

That’s a lot of mileage from just 150 words, I reckon!

Outline?

Hi guys, I just got my first response from an agent that wasn’t a straight-out rejection. In fact, it was nicely positive and asked for some pages to read. So that’s good.

Unfortunately for my nerves, he also asked for “a good outline” of the rest of the story. Now, I included my latest 3-page synopsis along with the original query letter, so I’ve got to assume he’s seen this. In fact, I’ve put so much work into writing and re-writing that synopsis that I assumed it was this that finally got me some interest. But now he wants “a good outline”.

So, was my synopsis not a good outline? Is an ‘outline’ something different from a synopsis? (It’s not a word I’ve come across in my extensive reading on what to send agents.) Or did he ask for the partial on the basis of the one-paragraph summary in the query letter and not notice, or read, the three pages attached?

Does anybody have any suggestions?

This kind of stuff drives me crazy (as you’ve probably noticed). How can something so important hang on the interpretation of a single word?

Writing opps blog

Hi everyone, just came across a website and blog with what look like some great writing opps – well paid contests, markets, etc. Even some opportunities for playwrights (who’da thunk??)

http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com/ is the blogsite and the first few blogs visible include info about a short story comp featuring a mirror as a character, and a 15-20K story comp in the style of the Nero Wolfe series (one for Graham?)

Enjoy!  Janette

PS anyone coming down to Melb for Supernova (except MDP of course!)?

Dismayed

I’m a bit low today. I sent a partial (with synopsis and covering letter) for my latest novel, TimeSplash!, to Orbit – Bernadette had asked (on two occasions) to see it when it was finished. I explained it was a sci-fi thriller and said, as a joke, it was arguably a YA novel since the two main protagonists were both in their late teens. In fact, I’d argue the book is entirely unsuitable for children, being full of sex, drugs, and violence.

She wrote back within two days to say that Orbit doesn’t publish YA but that she would pass it on to a children’s/YA editor from Hachette who is visiting soon.

This was very nice of her, of course, but so inappropriate to the style and content of the book that it left me with the horrible feeling that she hadn’t looked at the sample chapters, nor even the synopsis. I can’t help thinking she saw the characters ‘YA’ in the cover letter and reacted solely to that.

The take-away lesson, I feel, is that I shouldn’t try to be funny in my covering letters – because the people reading them are scanning everything that comes their way at high speed, looking for rejection triggers. One wrong word and the partial is in the bin.

I now look forward to a second rejection from Hachette – this time from the Arrow editor, who will say she doesn’t think the book is suitable for a younger age-group.

Writing is so easy compared to all this stuff!

Graham

Agent Wanted

Hi Gang,

I just thought I’d mention that I’m looking for an agent for my new novel ‘TimeSplash!’ and ask whether anyone has a recommendation. It’s a sci-fi thriller – and possibly YA (I can never tell – all I know is that my protagonists are in their late teens.)

I wrote to Tara Wynne, by the way, to see if she was interested. She said she liked it but was only taking on work she absolutely loved at the moment since she’s off to have a baby in a few weeks’ time!!

Anyone else I should try (who isn’t pregnant)?

‘Skyball’ hits the streets – at last!

Just to let you all know that my story ‘Skyball’ – which was submitted just a couple of weeks after I last saw you all, and accepted in early June 2008 – has now been published in Bewildering Stories #324.

I’m well chuffed with the whole Bewildering Stories experience – and it just goes to show how much difference an interesting and engaged editor can make. If only this were a paying market, I’d be over the Jovian moons (instead of just over the local one.)

Dead America 2.0

Luke Keioskie writes:

Hey gang

Just a quickie to spruik the new and improved version of my pitch in pixel form, www.deadamerica.info.  I tell you, if anyone else is thinking of doing something online, get help from a friend who lives and breathes ones and zeros.  My web-friend Dr Soda (aka Jeremy Thompson) has gone to town.  Virtual applause please.

What’s everyone else up to?  Anyone throw a vote in for the title of Marianne’s newbie?  I went with ‘Death Most Social’.  Just my style.