Stories Dance

Ever dance with a story?

She smiled at me. “I’m so glad I met you tonight.” It’s what you’re supposed to say in an evening like this.

“I’m glad I met you,” I answered, because that’s how you’re supposed to answer.

She looked distant then. “You should probably go soon. I don’t want to die.”

“Stories Dance” will appear in The Spell Books, a collection of fantasy stories about festivals. The book will be released June 1st. I’ll share more info as it becomes available, but in the meantime… enjoy the cover!

The Spell Books Vol 3 Nabu Carnevale Front CoverThe Spell Books Vol 3 Nabu Carnevale Back Cover

Rejections and Submissions

Woo! I’m an author!

Like, look at my Published Works page. I have allthestories there! So far ten published works, and more on the way! My first novel is at an editor to make the whole thing better, and then it’s off to a publisher – doesn’t mean the publisher’s going to, you know, publish it, but they’re willing to take a look, and that’s a good sign.

So, that means I’ve made it, right? Now I can just write and concentrate on crafting good stories.

…

Yeah. Not so much. Continue reading “Rejections and Submissions”

I forgot.

So the craziest thing happened this week.

One of my stories, “My Seventy-eighth Today,” went live over at AnotheRealm. It’s a story I worked very hard on, and I’m quite proud of it. I keep track of all the places I submit to and where my various stories are. This particular story went to seven publishers before it found its home at AnotheRealm. In other words, I not only worked hard in writing the story, but I also worked hard in selling it.

Now, working hard at both those aspects of being a writer isn’t uncommon at all. Often enough it’s simply a matter of not just writing well, but finding an editor that it clicks with.

Here’s the weird part: I forgot.

Like, I sold this story a few months ago, and I was thrilled it found a home! (And looking at other stories on AnotheRealm, I’m quite pleased to be accepted there!) I was told the expected publication date: April 1. No April Fools; that’s just the day it would be published online.

And then… I forgot about it.

Like, I remembered Friday that it was coming out. I went, “Oh yeah! My story’s supposed to be out!” And I zipped over to the website, and there it was in all its glory!

This is so weird.

Like, for a lot of my stories, I’d be hopping up and down to see them come out. Maybe checking a few times a day on the publication date to see if it was out yet. I mean, a story, published, and there it is!

So… what’s happened?

I’m sure part of it is simply how crazy everything is going with the lockdown. My brain is mush a lot of days as I try to stumble through everything I’m supposed to be doing.

But part of it also is, simply, my growth as a writer. I still love getting those acceptance letters. I enjoy seeing my stuff in print, both digital and physical. My ego shelf is growing, little by little. But I’ve now been published enough that waiting for the actual publication date is no longer the be-all and end-all of my life.

This is good. It frees up emotional real estate to focus on writing and submitting rather than just waiting. It frees up energy to flow toward plotting and characterization and word crafting.

I thought I would feel some sort of loss. Like publication isn’t as special or something. But… it isn’t working that way. Publication is still special; otherwise I don’t think I’d be writing toward publication anymore. Instead, it really is a maturation.

Yay! I’m mature!

That means I get a party, right?

Oh. Wait. Never mind.

Novella Mine

I did it!

I aimed to write 20k over the course of two weeks! It only took three weeks to do it. But, I’ve got a rough draft of a novella now!

But then, I have to ask a question: Why bother writing something that’s roughly 20k words? Can I sell something like that to a publisher? If I self-publish, is there an audience for such works?

I sent a note to my friend Lydia Eberhardt. She wrote a short story for this very blog a little bit ago! I have some of her books in hard copy, and I thought shooting for something their length would work. (BTW, I highly recommend her Esther A.D. and Ruth A.D. Both are excellent!)

And lo and behold… they fall into the novella category!

And actually, what I just finished in rough draft falls into the same general genre as Eberhardt’s work. So I know I’m chasing someone with talent!

But I also know that releasing something like that by itself probably isn’t the wisest choice. I’ve got an entire series in mind based around the same concept, so we’ll see if I can pound out four of them, get a cover artist for all the above, and then… on to putting them up on Amazon as a series!

But it leads me to a question for you: What’s the smallest story you’d pay for? I’ve obviously paid for stories this short, since I’ve bought Eberhardt’s stuff. But I’m told I’m a bit of a weirdo.

For my personal reading, I’ve actually started leaning toward shorter and shorter works. I like the feeling of accomplishment of finishing a bunch of stuff quickly. Right now I’m reading Ceremony by Robert B. Parker, a private eye novel of just over 200 pages. Compared to the monsters I used to read, that’s nothing! I’m expecting to finish it today or tomorrow. Then on to see if I can wrap up another short paperback this weekend yet.

But that still definitely qualifies as a novel, not a novella. I have to admit, I haven’t read many novellas. I’ve read a lot of short stories – more and more lately – but novella is in that murky middle ground. It’s too long for a short story. You could finish it in one sitting, but it would be a fairly long sitting. And it’s not got the “full belly” feel of a novel.

Then again, I was quite content with Eberhardt’s works. Maybe she’s just that good?

Or maybe the word count doesn’t matter to me, personally, as long as the story is engaging and the characters connecting.

Or maybe I’m just overthinking this. If the story is that long, that’s how long it is. Polish it up, send it out, see what comes of it.

And keep writing!