Last night I participated in an online chat with the crew at Elder Signs Press, publisher of Dark Wisdom magazine and the Horrors Beyond anthology series. I currently have two stories being considered for HB2 and ESP editor William Jones confirmed that another batch of responses will be going out next week. Here’s hoping mine are among them. All responses are expected to be sent out by July 31st regardless, so it shouldn’t be too long a wait either way.
Finally got a response from Dark Wisdom regarding my story "Charlotte’s Frequency." It was a rejection, but as has been the case with the folks at Elder Signs Press, it was a goodie (which makes it easier to forget that it took almost a year for them to reply!).
The editor called the story a "clever work with strong characters" and that the plot "holds the story together and moves it forward." Of course, he didn’t like it enough to accept it, but he was confident that "Charlotte" would sell to another market.
In typical fashion, I have another one already lined up. Remember the "Inheritor" debacle a week or so ago? Well, the magazine that I had sent it to when Cemetery Dance accepted it said they were interested in another story from me. They’re currently closed to submissions, but I sent them an e-mail this afternoon asking if they’d still like a look at the story. It seems only fair to give them a chance before I send it back out again.
I’ll let you know what they say.
Just finished my final polish of "Inheritor" and sent it off to Cemetery Dance. It’s nice to look back at a story and fix up a few things while still appreciating the original qualities that made me want to write it in the first place. I think I’ve come a long way since the time I wrote this particular yarn, and although I didn’t make any drastic changes to the plot, I was still able to tighten up the prose a bit with all I’ve learned over the past few years. I guess that means I’m actually getting better. Wow. Good thing Kathryn’s here so it doesn’t end up going to my head.
This week I’ve been focusing on my mystery novella and made a lot of headway.
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I don’t like to describe what my stories are about, because it never sounds as good as actually reading it. All I can say is that it’s a missing-person story told in four parts: I. Old Laundry, II. Cankles, III. Children of the Early Evening, IV. Ruby in the Rough.
Tantalizing, I know.
I’m taking a break tonight, though. Kathryn’s treating me to dinner in celebration of my sale to Cemetery Dance.
Have a nice weekend, folks.
I’m really stoked about having a story accepted by Cemetery Dance, but I have to ask myself, what do I do now? Short of getting a story accepted by Fantasy & Science Fiction, I’ve really gone as far as I can in terms of short stories and genre magazines. I’d still like to have a story in the really big markets, like Playboy and The New Yorker, as well as the plethora of college/university literary journals I enjoy, but the urgency I once felt is gone.
The CD story came relatively early in my career — it marks only my sixth sale (and "sale" is used loosely; I wasn’t paid for three of those stories). I always hoped thought I’d get a story in CD, but I figured it would have happened much later, after I was a bit more established (whatever that means). The fact that they bought a story that I didn’t have very high hopes for only serves to confuse the issue even more.
Am I supposed to give up on short stories now? Am I supposed to concentrate only on my novel? I don’t know. I don’t think there is an absolute answer: do this, don’t do that. I think I’m supposed to do what I’ve been doing, though maybe now with an increased sense of confidence and worth. If I’m good enough to be in CD (or any of the other mags that accepted my stories), then maybe I’m good enough to write a novel.
Of course, writing it is only half the battle. Once it’s done I’ll have to figure out how to get it published.
But I’ll worry about that later.
Today I’m taking part in the monthly poker tournament here in Ottawa. Yes, I’m posting away from home… Kanata, actually. Hanging out with Glenn and Carrie.
Just thought I’d drop a short note to my peeps because one of the poker tournament organizers has put me down as the one to win today’s big game (scroll down to Peter S’s post on "Prediction Time.") I think it must be because the first time I ever played with these guys I made it to sixth place (out of 35), with the final two hours or so of play on about two dollars. Luck, of course, not skill.
Anyway, I’ll let you all know how it goes. Getting that story in CD might be the sign of a lucky streak.
Time to find out.
This is the big one, folks. And a strange one, too.
Today I received a letter from Cemetery Dance magazine saying they wanted to buy my short story "Inheritor." Uh… did I send you that story? I wondered. It turns out I did… last July. Then I started to remember… it was January of this year and, since I still hadn’t received a reply, I went to their website and found out that any stories sent to them before October 2005 were probably lost due to some post office snafu. Okay, I thought, and sent the story somewhere else. (I did send CD something else, but they rejected it. Ha!)
Well, it turns out they did receive the story and they want to buy it! Cemetery Dance! They’ve published Stephen King, Peter Straub, Douglas Clegg, Poppy Z. Brite, all of my favorites! The editor apologized for the lengthy reply but figured the good news would more than make up for it. Uh, yeah!
The really funny thing is that "Inheritor" is one of the very first stories I ever wrote, and if you asked me of all of the stories I currently have out right now which one had the least chance of being accepted, I would have had to say it was that one. And to have it accepted, and by the biggest horror magazine out there right now… well, it’s just staggering. I’m still in shock. I just remember Kathryn looking at me while I was holding the envelope and thinking This is awfully thick for a rejection slip.
Now I have an actual publishing contract to fill out and send back. The story itself will be published in early 2007, and I will be receiving professional pay rates which comes out to a couple of hundred bucks (US).
My third acceptance in the past month and my sixth in total. Number six with a bullet! Yowza!
Update: I had to send an e-mail to Insidious Reflections, the magazine currently considering "Inheritor," to let them know that it was accepted by Cemetery Dance. Well, I just got the reply, and it turns out they were ready to accept it, as well! I told them that it was a mix-up and that I never send out simultaneous submissions, and they understood. And they want another story. Crazy… absolutely crazy…
2nd Update: I was just sitting down to sign my contract and noticed the date on it: 06/06/06. Well, I’m a horror writer, so I guess that’s okay. Just call me Damien. Or Dame Ian… Uh no, stick with Damien.
It’s true. I actually get work done on weekends.
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Of course, it helps that I love my work. This story in particular, which is about a girl who lives on a train because she can’t fall asleep anywhere else, was a lot of fun to write. I think I’m going to send it to some of the really big markets and see what they think of it.
It’s all about aiming high, baby.
"Wendy" in Biff Bam Boo!
"Buffalo Money" in Rope and Wire
"The Kid Pool" in The Written Word #13
"The Nanny" in Nossa Morte #3
"Intervention" in Shred of Evidence
