Welcome to Fred's Website
  • Home Page
  • Fred's Blog
  • The Right Writes
  • Mascot Serial
  • Contact

Success Stories

3/17/2019

0 Comments

 
Happy St. Patrick's Day. I don't have a lot to write about, but there is some.
On the personal front, my wife has developed some kind of a nerve disorder. So far there's no specific diagnosis, and the folks at physical therapy did not want to try anything because they don't know what to treat or how.
If it's not one thing, it's two things.
On a better note, we discovered that our first great grandchild will be a girl, expected around the end of July. (We already knew the rough due date, but the gender was revealed yesterday.)
Last entry I mentioned that I had submitted a short story to Page and Spine. "The Limp" was accepted and published on March 8, which is not news to any of you that drop in on my FB page or FB author's page. If you don't know, go The Reading Lamp tab at Page and Spine and scroll down. They published a new entry yesterday.
But wait! There's more!
There's a brand shiny new online magazine called Trouble Among the Stars (https://troubleamongthestars.com/issue1/) They publish, as the title implies, science fiction. Like Page and Spine, and Daily Science Fiction, they pay their authors but the issues are free to read.
I submitted a story, "Guidelines," that really fits the theme. It has been declined (I like that word better than "rejected") many times. Sometimes the rejections were a personal note and sometimes it was a form letter.
I'm reminded of another story of mine—sort of a cross between science fiction and fantasy—that was rejected—I mean declined—many times. After each setback I reread the story and tweaked it here and there. The changes were never to the story, but how the story was told. Perhaps add a sentence of description, or an appropriate simile; or take out an unnecessary phrase.
I'd always admitted that the story was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story, "Chrysalis." In 2013 Whortleberry Press set out to publish an anthology of Bradbury-inspired short stories to mark the first anniversary of Bradbury's death. My story, "Transition," was a good fit and they accepted it. It is still available in the paperback anthology, Dandelions of Mars, for sale through Goodreads or Amazon.
It is also available in Quickfic Anthology Two by Digital Fiction Publishing. The Quickfic anthologies present only reprints. I got paid more for the reprint than the original.
This story, "Guidelines," has benefitted from a similar situation. The story fit the theme and the editor. "Guidelines" has been accepted for publication in Trouble Among the Stars' second anthology. I'll let everyone know, here and on Face Book when it is actually published.
This story has undergone a lot of changes, including the title, the opening two paragraphs, and various rewordings throughout. That's what a writer does. It isn't necessary to change the whole story, and certainly not to abandon it after one or two rejections. Instead, just keep working on it, trying to improve it, and keep submitting. There are a few other stories of mine that I should be submitting more often. They, too, have undergone plenty of rewrites.
How about you? Do you write? Do you get the urge now and then to put something out there that's a little more complicated than a tweet or an Instagram message or a Face Book comment? Maybe something someone might pay you for? If so, please let me know if you think I can be of any help or offer any advice.  Plus, I can offer suggestions about where else you can get even better help.
Thanks again for your attention. Stay well, and stay well-read.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm a former teacher and current warehouse grunt that loves writing.

    Archive

    November 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly