They can't tell you "no" if you didn't ask

Ah the joy of rejection. Just checked my e-mail to find a thanks but no thanks. A long time ago I used to get really bummed out when a story was passed on. These days I think of it as proof that I'm trying.

When I was in college at ECU, the best teacher I ever had, Luke Whisnant, brought in a shoebox full of little slips of paper. He passed it around and had us all look through his little box of rejection. There were form letters, letters with handwritten notes, letters with just "NO" written across the top...all sorts of "thanks but no thanks."

His reason for bringing this in was to show us that all writers get rejected on their road to publication. Every no in that box was an attempt.

If you're not getting rejected then you're not really trying. Now, that's not to say that I don't feel a flicker of disappointment when a magazine I thought might take one of my stories doesn't, but it's just a flicker. I don't take it as evidence that the story isn't worthy and that I'm no good at this thing.

Luke found homes for all those stories. All those the magazines that where represented in that box were just names of places that didn't jump at the chance to be part of his resume. And that's ok.

It's ok for me too. One magazine down, hundreds to go.

To cast or not to cast

I asked a writer friend of mine once how she had gotten so much in print so fast. Of course, her work is amazing and deserves to be printed. But alot of folks are good writers and yet their stuff never sees the light of day.

She said, in words that I'm paraphrasing, that she cast a big net. She submitted like it was going out of style and she had a shit load of it left. Her advise though, was to be careful. She said she had gotten some things printed that in hindsight, she wasn't thrilled with. Whether she meant the story or the publication (likely some of both) I don't know.

But of late, I've tried to take this to heart a bit. I have a tendency to let time get away from me. I will look back over a submissions list and see that it's been nearly a year since I sent out "this" and even longer since I sent out "that."

I've been making myself put ass to chair and read and research and send things out. I've gotten a couple of things printed this season...one that i've been submitting (randomly) for a long time and one that I had just finished.

Thanks to the popularity of online submitting, I've gotten loads more out than when it cost paper, ink, and postage.

But, as I edit an online journal myself and therefore, only take electronic subs myself--I see the downfall here as well. It's darn easy to cast a line with the wrong bait on it.

When I was putting out money to print and send, I was careful about how I used those funds. Since online it free, it's tempting to just send your stuff out everywhere and see what happens. This can be a dangerous thing. And what a pain in the ass for the editors.

I see that in my own journal. I get alot of great stuff and alot of stuff that was cast out in a big net with no thought. It overloads my inbox and makes it hard to give everyone the through read that they deserve.

So my advise, find a happy medium. Don't let time get away from you. Submit and then submit again. Take youre time and make good choices. Dont' contribute to mass mailing and overloaded editors. What's it's costing you could be a chance to be read and published.

Midlife Crisis and loving it

I'll be 40 in less than a year. Midlife crisis time, eh? Should I buy a sports car or date a younger man? I don't think my husband would approve of either of those. So instead I had another baby, quit my job, and decided to focus full time on promoting my husband's biz and my own writing career.



Life is full of new beginnings--and thank God for it. How boring would this all be without those twist and turns.


I've had two stories come out this month. One in Saltwater Quarterly and one in
Quite Curious Literature. Check out those two markets.

I'm full steam ahead with Blue Lotus Review and proud to say that we're on our third issue.


I'm enjoying the time to connect with my children and to make writing my full time job (along with laundry and dinner and the garden and the dishes, and .... )

I couldn't be happier. And besides, I can't fit three kids in a sports car.

So Now I'm Back From Outerspace

I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face....ok, that may or may not be the words... point is GOOD LORD it's been almost a year since I wrote anything here. When last I stopped in I was

working on getting an online magazine launched--check
www.bluelotusreview.com

going back to school--nope!

pregnant and didn't know it--check
baby boy due March 16 2011

So now I'm off work till baby comes and knee deep in the nesting phase (cleaning out closets and cabinets and making way for a new little life) I'm surprised to be 39 and starting the baby game again but excited beyond belief.

I've been putting tush to chair and writing everyday which I'm glad about as well. Getting some old stories in shape and sending them out into the world and even working on a little guilty pleasure novel that is worlds away from what I usually do, but fun as all get out to write.

Anyway....I'm trying to get back to some of the things that I love and have been ignoring because of work and procrastination.

We'll see how it goes.

New Adventures of Busy Amy--New Online Mag!

So I thought I didn't have enough to do...enter major project of mass reading and time in front of computer. Fit in between family, friends, own writing, full time job, garden (let's face it, that baby is on its own), housework, etc.

Let idea roll around in brain for some time, but put off doing due to lack of real computer skills with which to create and manage the needed website.

Oh, yeah, and I'm going back to school in the fall.

Enter friend with massive talent in graphic design and misguided (and probably regretted--thanks Matt) decision to help out.

And you get:

Blue Lotus Review
http://www.bluelotusreview.com/

Does anyone need their car washed, house painted, laundry folded? I think I'm free this time next year for a few minutes, if you don't mind me checking my e-mail while I'm working.

When life imitates art

So I was reading this book and the main character's husband had a heart attack and if I was picking up my foreshadowing correctly it didn't look good for the daughter either--so seeing as how my youngest daughter was about to have major dental work done and I'm a fearful believer in the possibility of the worse case scenario-- I stopped reading it.

I was writing a story about these two neighbors and one of them collapses in the elevator and disappears forever into the hospital-- and of course, the real life guy who I pictured as I was writing it and who by the way told me correctly that everything would be fine with my daughter, ended up in the ICU the very next day. So I had to stop writing it.

None of this would bother me if I read or wrote things in which the outcome could be considered remotely positive. But seeing as how my Delia is fine and my Simon is getting better every day, perhaps I'll let art imitate life for a change.

Bliss

My life has gotten blissfully busy. OK, maybe blissful is not really the right word, but I liked the alliteration. The holidays, old friends, new friends, and the welcome chaos of hearts beating has turned my life into a swirl of things to do and places to be, Christmas light to hang (and now soon to remove) drinks to meet for, friends to sit with, and family to visit.

So what have I to show for all this? Well that depends on where you place your value. I could beat myself up for not getting too much writing done in this past month, but on the other hand, I've been out in the world, soaking up material and experiences, strengthening friendships, and deepening my understanding of love, life, and family.

As the new year creeps up, I feel the need to make resolutions. At first I thought I should unbusy my life a bit. Maybe meet less often for a drink, or sit less long in a conversation, or go to bed earlier instead of seeing the kids to dreamland and staying up late with my husband.

But instead, I think I'll make my coffee a little stronger in the morning and maybe I'll miss an episode or more of my favorite tv show. Maybe I won't get all the laundry done in a timely manner and I'm sure my house will not be clean.

But I'll have stories to tell and some of them might even make it to the page.

Happy New Year!