Yesterday I posted some rejections from my past. Today I have current news. Dreams and Nightmares accepted a poem from me called "Blue Soul." D and N is one of the premiere poetry magazines in the speculative poetry world and I've been hoping to sell them something. David C. Kopaska-Merkel is the editor there and I have great respect for his work.
On the other hand, I had a story rejected by Space and Time. It was a nice rejection, though. I quote: "Your piece came up through the editorial ranks and made the "final" grouping under consideration, but alas, we've decided to pass on it. Good luck with the story elsewhere, and keep writing!"
This was for a tale called "Love in the Time of Cybersex," which I originally wrote for an anthology at the request of the editor. It was accepted for that anthology, but they ended up unable to get funding for it and the story reverted back to me. I've tried it at most of the big SF markets now without luck so will have to send it to some smaller markets. I think the problem is that it has too much romance/sex in it for the primary SF audience. The anthology was going to be called "Erotic Women."
This is one of the things you can face in a writing career. You get an opportunity and write a piece to match that opportunity. But if that situation doesn't pan out the story has to either be reslanted or completely revised. In this case, the romantic elements are so much a part of the story that rewriting it just doesn't make sense so I'll keep sending it out until I find a market that wants it.
At least with fiction I will probably eventually sell the piece. I once spent an entire month writing four articles for a non-fiction book on Star Trek. The book never materialized and only one of the four pieces ever sold. The other three were so specific to that book that there was no other market for them, and they've all long since become outdated. So figure three weeks of writing time wasted.
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20 comments:
It is especially bad when you get huge exposure and reviews on a story, you are asked to do another and suddenly your mind goes blank.
Weeks and weeks of false starts and you produce a mouse.
Was it John Cleese who said each success brings about it an almost corresponding failure?
But a big huzzah to getting the poetry accepted! This is not easy to do.
I haven't sold any poetry since university days.
Last rejection letter said, right out, "These are not good poems."
Ouch!
Congrats, both on the sale and on the heartwarming nonsale! Way to go!!
Hi Charles-
Congratulations! Your post from December 26, 2007 “A Dream of Fire” has been selected as our Post of the Day on “The Rising Blogger”. It is a site that awards posts, not blogs. We will email your winning badge to post in your sidebar and all our info, if you contact us with your email address. To encourage your readers to comment on your award, it helps if you make the first comment on our post about your blog, yourself. We ask winners to nominate a post favorite of a fellow blogger. Call it “paying it forward”. Neither is a requirement. You have won this award because we truly feel you deserve it. To reach “The Rising Blogger” site:
http://therisingblogger.blogspot.com
Have a great week!
Judd Corizan
The Rising Blogger
Congrats on the poetry acceptance and the Rising Blogger post...!
I'd be interested in a nostalgic look at the Star Trek article(s) if you decide to post excerpts at any time.
Ivan, I've noticed that successes and failures seem to go hand in hand in the writing biz at least. Maybe in the creative fields as a whole. Ouch indeed on that last rejection. I've gotten some like that.
Steve Malley, thankee. I know that story is pretty good and will eventually sell.
Judd Corizon, WoW! Thanks very much. That's cool. I'll check out Rising Blogger today. Much appreciated.
Julie, thanks. I may do that with the Star Trek pieces. Will have to see if there's anything worth having a look at.
Ah, but the time wasn't wasted, Charles. SOMETHING came of it. You'll revisit it or parts of it at some point.
Congratulations on the poem! Oh, happy day!
Ya win some; ya lose some.
Donnetta
Congratulations on the poem!
Making the "final" group...is that like getting beat on a last second field goal?
Congratulations on the poetry, baby! :)
Congratulations on the poem, Charles. That is wonderful news. And I don't think any writing you do is wasted. It all is exercise for the brain, right?
Congratulations on the sale! I'm sure the other story will find its home too.
Congrats on writing both, getting one in, and another that *will* go in -- with a great title like that, it has to get picked up by somebody sooner or later.
Trans-genre express . . .
Donnetta, the problem with most of those Star Trek articles is that they were very technical. But I do agree I probably learned something from them.
Travis, yeah, pretty much. You know what they say, close only counts in....
Lana, thankee.
Ello, you're right, but had I not been writing those articles I would have been writing something else perhaps. Still, at least it gives me something to talk about, so not a complete waste.
Lisa, thanks. I need to send it out again tomorrow.
Erik, thanks. I think it probably will be.
Love in the Time of Cybersex
What a fantastic title! That's awesome. One of my favorite pet titles I keep floating around for later use is called American Heretic, playing of American Heritage, which I always thought was a bunkish phrase. I just like the ideas it suggests. I'd love to write a novel around it, one day, when I get a good wind at my back and the words truly do flow like wine...
Great job with the poem. I have exactly one publication, and that came years ago in an anthology called Invoking the Muse. And I thought it was the lamest thing I had ever written, I sent it just to send something. Haven't sent out in years. I have this strange idea of just getting better and better, then storming the scene with a never ending supply of poetic works.
Maybe it's time. A lot of bloggers who drop by my place are floored that I'm relatively unpublished. Some of them are editor or former editors who really offer a lot of encouragement.
Maybe it's time to stop saying it's time. Just kind of stuck right now. But not writing wise, that gets better every day, at least in my humblest opinion.
Good work, pal. And good work yours is, you know that.
Happy New Year!
For me, this is one of the reasons I don't think I would ever try to sell any of my stories/poems.
Not that anyone of that sort was ever interested of BUYING them :-P
This must be frustrating, Charles.
(But you have tonnes of pages selling well.)
And you've been awarded for that interesting post about the old warrior! Great news!!!
Great news!
eric1313, yeah, I like that title. I'm kind of a collector of good ones. My favorite of all time is Harlan Ellison's "I have no mouth and I must scream." "American Heretic" is a good one. Why not try some poetry subs? We all get rejections, of course, but they only hurt for a little while.
Wayne, thanks, and happy new year to you as well.
Szelsofa, The first few rejections always hurt the most. After that you get accustomed to them and it doesn't ruin your day.
Sidney, thanks.
I will also say congratulations, and I think that writing time is never wasted. Truly I believe that. I've been writing a lot of stuff lately that will never go into a story or something I will want to have published, but it is honing my skills for my 'real' work.
P.S. Congrats on the recognition for your post about the dream. See? Everyone is telling you this piece of writing is very compelling.
Congratulations on the poem. :)
Hey, I've been meaning to ask, I got a short story (from Fictionwise, I think it was) called "The Road to Hell" by a one Charles A. Gramlich. It was from 1994 - was that yours?
Congratulations on Blue Soul!
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