[Part of a continuing series on where my fiction is at.]
A quick overview of my works in progress and a little about what I’m reading these days.
HTDIKS—Bam! The big news for this post is that I knocked off a first draft of this story. It’s set in Moscow in the 90s, in the real world with no fantastical or magical elements. Strange, I know. I will send this off to my Beta readers ASAP and do the title reveal soon here on the blog.
The Man with Storms in His Eyes—I’ve collected some Beta reader feedback on this one. I’ve also printed out the 2nd draft and attacked it with my handy red pen. Deleting things here, adding things there, changing the phrasing where it got clunky. All that editing stuff I really don’t like to do.
I plan to take the edited text to the café soon and start laying in these 3rd draft changes. Then, it’s time to save it up and do a final proofreading. After that I will start searching for markets that like longer horror short stories with a bit of satire woven throughout. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the Comments section below.
AFTA—This horror novella is still with editors and I’m waiting to hear back.
Breakpoint—This SciFi story just got a rejection. So, I got right back on the horse and I sent it off to a new magazine. It’s been there for almost a week now…The waiting game begins anew.
A Writer Reads: Pedro Páramo.
Also, just finished up reading Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo. It is a novella set in rural Mexico in the 1950’s—I’m guessing the same time it was written. The jacket blurb said it was one of the precursors to magical realism. I’m no expert on that, but it was definitely an interesting read. I’m still turning around the images, the effects, the words that Rulfo used in my head. I think it merits a longer post at some point in the future. I will try to post that here when I have a little time.
On Finding your Editors
And one last thing, Tim W. Burke, horror writer and author of The Flesh Sutra, has a great post over on his blog about “finding your editors.”
You will find an editor who will respond to what you write and give you advice. Keep sending to that editor. If that editor buys what you write, keep sending to that editor. Do not bother to send to others just to see if you can “get in”.
I thought that was a great insight and I’m going follow his advice and not worry about getting in to all the big speculative fiction magazines. Instead, I’m going to focus on sending to those magazines that publish what I like to read. I’m also going to consider re-submitting to those magazines like Fiction Vortex, that have already accepted my stuff.
OK, Gotta run. Until next time,
Darius
Inside the Writer's Mind 