I have only 3 sales to professional markets. Life gets in the way, and I’ve been distracted by my studies and have gotten out of the writing habit (except non-fiction – sigh). This is why I started posting to Wattpad and made a resolution to post something every week. Except for end-of-semester craziness, I’ve managed to keep it up so far.
Someone asked about my publications, and it occurred to me that this is a teachable moment. Don’t you hate those? But HEARING about this one is harmless, and could help prepare you for when you find yourself ready to publish.
Going through the editorial process is traumatic. Getting critiques from Wattpad helps you get past the ‘they said my baby is ugly’ reaction that is a natural first response. Listen to the critiques. Think about what they say. Only you can decide whether what they say is useful or not, but if several are saying the same thing.…
Here’s the thing: a professional editor is experienced and knows the market. If you’ve submitted your story for publication and an editor tells you ‘fix this’ or ‘make this change’, not only are they saying ‘this is what it will take to get us to buy the story’ but usually it will make your story better. This was the case for my two fantasy publications: ‘Havoc’ and its sequel ‘Bellwether’, both published by the e-magazine ‘Beneath Ceaseless Skies’. The other was…a story in itself.
‘Broken Canes’ was published in the ‘Bending the Landscape’ horror anthology under the nom-de-plume Alexi Smart. Warning: All of the stories in the anthology include at least one significant character who is not ‘straight’. This includes my story. The problem was, my characters were teens, and the editors wanted something more explicit than I was comfortable with. At this point I had to sit myself down and ask myself, “Self, do you want to be a published author and do whatever it takes to become one? Or are you an ‘artiste’, a legend in your own mind, who’s every word is golden and hoarded in a box somewhere because it’s too ‘perfect’ to change as the market demands?” The answer was painful. I made the required changes and it got published. I still like the original form better. Maybe I’ll make it available at some point – with a warning. It is based on a true story that gave me nightmares, and there really isn’t much that does that anymore.
