Overdue
Sorry faithful readers (that means you, Mom). It appears that I have neglected this blog for quite a while. So let’s get through some quick and dirty updates.
Received my contributor copy of Margie. It’s gorgeous.
Received my contributor copy of MYTHIC 2. It’s gorgeous.
Wrote my first short story in over a year, submitted it to Clarkesworld Magazine and got a really nice rejection from editor Nick Mamatas. Some have said that his rejections (which come in the form of critiques) are unusually harsh, bordering on cruel. Many more have said that his comments are incredibly accurate and helpful–often pinpointing the errors that the author doesn’t want to face.
As for my rejection, he called my story “funny, charming and sharp at the same time, very engaging”. I know it’s still a rejection but I can barely suppress my desire to dance around. He also gave some suggestions to strengthen it before sending it on to the next market. They were general comments about fleshing out details and characters rather than major restructurings so I have high hopes that I’ll be able to place it somewhere. Oliver thinks that I should try for lit markets, but I honestly don’t know. It’s not uber-speculative, but it’s also not uber-realistic. Mamatas didn’t say anything about the speculative element or seeming lack thereof, so I may go ahead and exhaust the list of spec markets before I start sending out to the literary ones. If Oliver’s reading this, he’s probably shaking his head. Shake away, boy. Shake away. 
Oh and in other news, my poem is live on Strange Horizons, and my poem is live over at .
December 4th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
In my totally unnecessary defense, the reason I suggested lit markets was not because I feel the speculative element was too slight to sell to a speculative market. On the contrary, I think it’s perfect. However, this story also has a literary edge to it, and I think that a literary sale would prove more beneficial, ultimately, to your career goals.
But it’s your ballroom. You get to pick the dance you want.