As promised, I have decided upon the next magazine to submit my story to. This time, the lucky recipient charged with poring over my derivative, pseudo-Lovecraftian scrawl is Title Goes Here.
I'll keep you updated on further developments.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
From Bronze to Silver
Merrilee Faber was right when she said that Three-Lobed Burning Eye is prompt. They read and rejected my short story within two days of my submission, which has to be some kind of record. Even better, this time I got a personalized response instead of a form letter. 3LBE's extremely rapid reply has been duly recorded over at Duotrope.
Not only did I receive feedback this time, it was unequivocally positive. The editor said that the story was very well written. It's just not what they're looking for at the moment.
I should be able to start looking for another magazine to submit the story to on Wednesday.
Not only did I receive feedback this time, it was unequivocally positive. The editor said that the story was very well written. It's just not what they're looking for at the moment.
I should be able to start looking for another magazine to submit the story to on Wednesday.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The Week in Brief
Thought I'd provide a week in review post to help you follow the various goings-on around here.
The second submission of the "Reign of Terror" short story has been made to Three-Lobed Burning Eye. Their web site says I can expect to hear back within 90 days.
Mick has properly reformatted and forwarded our Robot Jocks script to someone who's in a better position to know how to query a film agent than we are. We also learned the crucial difference between a montage and a series of shots.
Souldancer revisions proceed apace. Two entire sections have had to be rewritten. The editing process hasn't been nearly as straightforward as I'd expected, but I'm appreciating the challenge.
I'm still trudging through Kirsch's Guide, picking up strange nuggets of information as I go. These insights will be shared in good time. Once I'm finished with that book, my only source of knowledge on the publishing industry will be personal experience, so I'm inclined to parcel out such wisdom sparingly.
End transmission.
The second submission of the "Reign of Terror" short story has been made to Three-Lobed Burning Eye. Their web site says I can expect to hear back within 90 days.
Mick has properly reformatted and forwarded our Robot Jocks script to someone who's in a better position to know how to query a film agent than we are. We also learned the crucial difference between a montage and a series of shots.
Souldancer revisions proceed apace. Two entire sections have had to be rewritten. The editing process hasn't been nearly as straightforward as I'd expected, but I'm appreciating the challenge.
I'm still trudging through Kirsch's Guide, picking up strange nuggets of information as I go. These insights will be shared in good time. Once I'm finished with that book, my only source of knowledge on the publishing industry will be personal experience, so I'm inclined to parcel out such wisdom sparingly.
End transmission.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Art and Additional Materials
Visual art seems to enjoy pride of first place among the aesthetic fields. One of the primary reasons for its universal appeal is probably its immediacy. Anyone can get the gist of a drawing or painting after even a cursory glimpse, but extracting the meat of a literary piece takes significantly more time and effort. Artists, therefore, seem to achieve recognition more easily than writers.
If you want a practical example, try finding a comic book publisher who's accepting unsolicited script submissions. Even bigger studios periodically have open calls for new artists, but unless a story is accompanied by finished pencils at least, good luck getting it in the door.
An interesting observation I made during my unsuccessful bid to launch a web comic is that, while many authors (myself included) openly admit that they can barely manage artwork equaling grade school notebook sketches, every artist I've ever spoken to judges his writing to be on par with his art.
Having been rebuffed by pencilers who already had stories to go along with their artwork, and thus no need for me, I resolved to abandon comics for the time being in order to focus on novels--an medium dedicated entirely to the written word...or so I thought, until I came upon a common clause included in many standard book contracts imposing upon the author the obligation of providing additional materials, including original art.
Since, as I stated, I can't draw, the obvious answer was to include no artwork in my book, other than the front and back cover, which are the publisher's problem. However, I soon discovered that the standard contract specifies that the inclusion of additional artwork is at the publisher's sole discretion. If I do get a book deal, the publisher can demand interior art. Now, publishers know very well that there's every chance a particular author can't draw or paint as well as he can write (a rare combination despite what many artists seem to think), so they add a clause stipulating that the author will be forced to pay for the services of a third-party artist (or even the publisher's own art department).
Usually the publisher will just go ahead and farm out the production of additional materials for the novel, including permissions and indexes (or even maps made by actual cartographers) in addition to original art. Then they'll charge a debit to the author's account which, like the advance, is recoupable via royalties.
Long story short, if you're an author with a book deal on the horizon, make sure to renegotiate these generally unfavorable provisions of most standard literary contracts.
If you want a practical example, try finding a comic book publisher who's accepting unsolicited script submissions. Even bigger studios periodically have open calls for new artists, but unless a story is accompanied by finished pencils at least, good luck getting it in the door.
An interesting observation I made during my unsuccessful bid to launch a web comic is that, while many authors (myself included) openly admit that they can barely manage artwork equaling grade school notebook sketches, every artist I've ever spoken to judges his writing to be on par with his art.
Having been rebuffed by pencilers who already had stories to go along with their artwork, and thus no need for me, I resolved to abandon comics for the time being in order to focus on novels--an medium dedicated entirely to the written word...or so I thought, until I came upon a common clause included in many standard book contracts imposing upon the author the obligation of providing additional materials, including original art.
Since, as I stated, I can't draw, the obvious answer was to include no artwork in my book, other than the front and back cover, which are the publisher's problem. However, I soon discovered that the standard contract specifies that the inclusion of additional artwork is at the publisher's sole discretion. If I do get a book deal, the publisher can demand interior art. Now, publishers know very well that there's every chance a particular author can't draw or paint as well as he can write (a rare combination despite what many artists seem to think), so they add a clause stipulating that the author will be forced to pay for the services of a third-party artist (or even the publisher's own art department).
Usually the publisher will just go ahead and farm out the production of additional materials for the novel, including permissions and indexes (or even maps made by actual cartographers) in addition to original art. Then they'll charge a debit to the author's account which, like the advance, is recoupable via royalties.
Long story short, if you're an author with a book deal on the horizon, make sure to renegotiate these generally unfavorable provisions of most standard literary contracts.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Novel Film Adaptations: What's Next
Hollywood has always mined popular books for film ideas. The two most recent novel series turned movie franchises to dominate pop culture have been Harry Potter and Twilight. Long before either movie series reached its climax, speculation about their eventual replacements raged, even among those who hadn't seen Potter or Twilight.
Now, with the finales of both media juggernauts fast approaching, the studio acquisitions offices seem poised to answer the perennial question: what comes next?
The Wrap posted an intriguing list of contenders for Rowling and Meyer's thrones. Included are hip upstarts like The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments. Meyer herself is returning with The Host.
Most of these titles hail from the recent crop of contemporary trade fiction. We've heard them thrown around before. Personally, one name does stand out from the pack: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Though a bit longer in the tooth than its fellow contestants, one need only recall The Lord of the Rings trilogy to know how potent the film version of a classic novel can be. Rumors of an Ender's Game film adaptation have been making the rounds for years. Now that Harry Potter and Twilight are bowing out, Ender is due for his time in the limelight.
Now, with the finales of both media juggernauts fast approaching, the studio acquisitions offices seem poised to answer the perennial question: what comes next?
The Wrap posted an intriguing list of contenders for Rowling and Meyer's thrones. Included are hip upstarts like The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments. Meyer herself is returning with The Host.
Most of these titles hail from the recent crop of contemporary trade fiction. We've heard them thrown around before. Personally, one name does stand out from the pack: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Though a bit longer in the tooth than its fellow contestants, one need only recall The Lord of the Rings trilogy to know how potent the film version of a classic novel can be. Rumors of an Ender's Game film adaptation have been making the rounds for years. Now that Harry Potter and Twilight are bowing out, Ender is due for his time in the limelight.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Next Stop: Three-Lobed Burning Eye
After meticulous research--okay, I searched Duotrope, I've decided to resubmit my short story to Three-Lobed Burning Eye. To be honest, the Lovecraft reference put them over the top.
In keeping with Nick's experiment, I have stepped down from publications offering pro pay scales to semi-pro. Since my primary goal is to build a portfolio of published short stories, a few cents less per word is no problem.
According to Duotrope, their acceptance rate is about 2 and a half percent (pretty good odds while still having standards). They publish online irregularly over the year and print a trade anthology every other year.
I've got a little editing to do in order to meet their submission guidelines. After that, we wait 90 days and see...
In keeping with Nick's experiment, I have stepped down from publications offering pro pay scales to semi-pro. Since my primary goal is to build a portfolio of published short stories, a few cents less per word is no problem.
According to Duotrope, their acceptance rate is about 2 and a half percent (pretty good odds while still having standards). They publish online irregularly over the year and print a trade anthology every other year.
I've got a little editing to do in order to meet their submission guidelines. After that, we wait 90 days and see...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The First of Many
I reached an inevitable, yet no less important, milestone in my literary career yesterday. After electronically submitting a short story to Shock Totem slightly over a month ago, I have finally received my first ever rejection letter.
As far as I'm concerned, this response was welcome news, primarily because the magazine responded at all (sometimes they don't). The swiftness of the reply, which was less than half the maximum, was impressive. Even more impressive is the fact that Shock Totem is currently on summer break. So not only did they reply faster than normal, they did it with a diminished editorial staff. All told, I was extremely satisfied with my first rejection experience.
I'm not marking this one as a loss. It's a bronze medal. The story's going back out as soon as I find another magazine with the right submission guidelines. Just four more rejections and I can submit it to The Rejected Quarterly.
As far as I'm concerned, this response was welcome news, primarily because the magazine responded at all (sometimes they don't). The swiftness of the reply, which was less than half the maximum, was impressive. Even more impressive is the fact that Shock Totem is currently on summer break. So not only did they reply faster than normal, they did it with a diminished editorial staff. All told, I was extremely satisfied with my first rejection experience.
I'm not marking this one as a loss. It's a bronze medal. The story's going back out as soon as I find another magazine with the right submission guidelines. Just four more rejections and I can submit it to The Rejected Quarterly.
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