So It Begins Again...

I just finished the final editing for six of my short-shorts and flash fiction pieces. I've found the appropriate genre journals/magazines for submission. So, I guess, here we go again...

I would love to be published. I don't know any writer who wouldn't. But this time, there isn't the sense of anxiety that came with sending them off four years ago. They're better pieces now, leaner and stronger. I know I did well. And that's (mostly) all that matters. It still matters that they are shared and have a place in the genre. But it's not a matter of my self esteem if they don't make it there just yet.

If they get accepted, I'll publish them here, too. Most of them are about the size of a blog post, after all! But I don't want to do it before it gets published, because the internet is a big sucking hole, and I don't want to watch them get swept into it. Because I'm paranoid. :p I have the rest of the year plotted out in terms of journals/'zines and deadlines as well as which story is going where after the first and second rejection. See, I'm not delusional about this process! In December, I'm going to mark the new submissions dates down and redo my bombardment strategy. Part of getting published, besides having a good piece, is constant harassment of places that might take your work. If you don't suck, you can throw enough stuff at enough places, and eventually something will stick. Once the first thing sticks, it becomes easier to make other things stick. Some submission forms include questions like "What were your last three publications?" Some claim it doesn't matter to the submission process, that this info is just for the bio specs, but it does matter on some unconscious editorial level. It gets easier after the first time, because you're a more trustable element.

I pulled out the next five pieces to work with. Two of them, I think, are going to be microfiction, meaning under 350 (or maybe it's 300) words. That' s exciting, because I don't do a lot of microfic. And there are actually well known literary mags that want stuff under 500 words. That's even more amazing. It really just reminds you of how connected the human experience is. I have a predisposition for these short pieces, and so, apparently, does a substantial number of other people. I also found the longest thing I've ever written (2510 words), although it may not be the longest after I'm done with it. I'll be working on these five stories for the next two weeks. After that, I have two new ideas I want to make stories of: one is about the KY Derby, and one is about a tweenager. Writing from scratch is a completely different process than editing is, so that may take the rest of the summer.

Besides the goal of sending stuff off again regularly, I want to get into the habit of writing regularly as well. I have several projects, both scholarly and creative, and writing is one of those things about me that just "is." If that makes any sense. I need to stop ignoring it and start making room for it, blogging notwithstanding.

Wish me luck!

-- Dante's Virgil