Thick Skin my arse

[erastes]

More rejection! I feel like the spotty fat girl at the school dance, or
when teams are being picked. No-one wants my baby werewolf who doesn't
understand what's happening and why everyone is Cross.

Miss Snark is running her 3rd Crapathon tomorrow, and I've got my query
letter and first pages all ready to go to be dissected by an expert. It's a
rare chance that she'll even pick mine to dissect, as she's "Only"
(Only!!!!) doing the first 100, but I'm going to give it a go.

I don't think it's a bad query letter, it certainly doesn't say any more
than it needs to, and it's a hell of a lot pared down from the burble I used
to put, but the weakness might be in my synopsis.

Or, or course... my writing!

I've done five crits now for the new Crit group. I know I'll slow down
after a while, but I'd like to get a few chapters of my own up there, and I
have to crit 3 for every one of mine I place. Trouble is, even in chapter 2
there are ... swellings, and talk of masturbation, so I've had to take it
out with "DELETED TEXT" on it. And I've said that if anyone wants the full
versions, to ask.

I haven't had any critiques for chapter one yet though. *frets impatiently*

Comments

[rwday.livejournal.com]

You need a big "CENSORED TO SPARE THE HOMOPHOBES" stamp or something. *snorts*

Sorry about the rejection, sweetie. It's always hard, probably worse for you as you're far more confident in your work than I am in mine.

*hugs*

[kethlenda.livejournal.com]

Cross broke my heart. It's a great story.

[haydenthorne.livejournal.com]

*commiserates*

My email hiccoughed yesterday and delivered duplicates of messages to me. One of them was a rejection from Pedestal Magazine. Sucks being rejected twice by the same publisher on the same day. ^^;

Good news will come our way sometime. Save for my double rejections, I haven't heard a peep for an entire month from the editors I sent stuff to, and I'm getting pretty antsy.

*petpet*

Keep yourself occupied with your crit group. That would be the best (and most productive) distraction from the madhouse of publishing.

*remains frightened of Zoetrope*

[rwday.livejournal.com]

This is such a waiting game. I have 23 stories in submission right now with an average wait time of 62 days. It can be very depressing sometimes, but in general, a longer wait is encouraging - it means they're considering your story, haven't rejected it out of hand. Or it's lost in the mail. Or they're on vacation.

Hmm, I think I need to import my Eeyore icon over to this journal.

[reddwarfer.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm sure that you'll find someone who will say yes, because you are a delightful writer.

[haydenthorne.livejournal.com]

Heh. One of those publishers I'm waiting on is supposed to have their August issue out by now, and it's not there. I submitted a couple of stories for that issue, which they acknowledged, but when I queried midway through August, they said that they received a lot submissions and were running late with their reading. ^^;

It's really frustrating when you have other markets you want to submit your stories to but you can't, and these other markets' deadlines are looming ahead.

I might have to re-upload my gothic Alice in Wonderland icon.

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

[off topic] HOLY F*#$ING CRAP. 23 subs out? RW, you are a *machine*. [/ off topic]

I, for one, would love to read about a baby werewolf.

Have you tried Not One Of Us?

[aunty_marion]

What?!?!?!?!? Some people obviously have no taste. 'Cross' is just so wonderful! It remains one of my favourites of your stories. I suspect it's just that it doesn't quite fit into the niche they have free at the moment, alas. Keep submitting it, though. It deserves publication!

[starparty.livejournal.com]

Stick with it! Just from the short sentence it sounds like somethings I'd buy so there *ARE* people out there that want it! Good luck!!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Aw.. thank you!

[rwday.livejournal.com]

I try to do the 'write and submit one new story each week' thing that I think Ray Bradbury suggests in his book on writing. I don't always meet that goal, but that's the attempt.

What generally happens is I write a story, and about half the time I recognize that it's crap from the get-go and stick it in the trunk, so I probably submit something new every 2 weeks. As soon as something is rejected, it goes right back out. Do that for a few months and you end up with quite a few pieces out there.

Of course, you have to remember that my children are 16 and 20, I only work part time at a job where I can spend usually 2-3 of my 4 hours there on writing related work. When I had small children and/or was working full time, I was lucky if I could write my name on a check without screwing it up.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I know! *giggles* I always feel like that. I don't really get dissapointed, I think "What? Are they mad?" It's disgusting, I know - blame my mother, she brought me up to have far too high an opinion of myself.

Aw thanks!

[starparty.livejournal.com]

I have a weak spot for werewolves to begin with but a confused baby werewolf? I'm sold. And I already know I like your writing so it's a double score ;)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*blushity*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Well I don't know if they are homophobes, exactly, or just blue rinse grannies, or perhaps 18 year old fundies?

I had a nice personal welcome from one woman (who joined at the same time) and another message on the board, so I'm hoping it will be a nice experience.

Horrible over-confident, that's my trouble. I end up going, What? What's wrong with you lot? Did you READ it? *giggles*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*smooges*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

That's HORRIBLE!

NO NO NO NONO NO NONONO!! WE DON'T WANT YOU!

I am cheered, only because if they can't accept the genius that is you, then I'm not surprised they didn't take my silly baby werewolf!

The nice thing about the crit group is that it lets me procrastinate, and we all know how I love to do that... but while I do, I am doing something positive in the writing field!

[maidenform.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the rejection, dear. What are these people thinking? If I ran one of those, I'd accept you. ♥

[sm-malfoys.livejournal.com]

* hand HUGS and tranquilizers*

Calm down maybe your trying too hard?

[lyras.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good luck with the Miss Snark thing!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*trembles*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

No.. I don't think so... I don't submit half as much as I should - I SHOULD be submitting at least one thing a week, but I'm nowhere near that. If I don't keep trying, then I'll never sell anything! *G*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Aw shucks. That's kind. I've just got to find the right market, that's all, everything's saleable, I'm sure, just got to find where.