Not much for today’s post. Just wanted to let you know I’ll be at RavenCon from April 24-26 this year. I won’t be on any of the panels or anything like that. But if you hang out at the writing workshops or sessions, you can’t fail but run into me. Just ask around for Darius Jones. 
And please say “Hi!”
I went last year and it was great fun and a great learning experience. It was my first Con ever and it was great to connect with other writers at my level and with those above my level (that was particularly useful!)…And to hear a bit from editors from places like Tor on the sort of things they’re looking for in manuscripts these days. (Here’s a hint: make it gripping from the start and don’t let your reader go!)
If you’re a fiction writer who is involved in the speculative ends of things, I can’t say how important it is to attend a Con to get yourself acquainted with what is happening out there in the real world. Which sessions are people drawn to? What are editors thinking about the changes in the publishing industry? What are other writers trying to do?
So, put down the pen for a weekend and come join us!
On the Work Front—Retiring a Work?
So, I’ve decided to give the manuscript of my novella, “AFTA” a bit of a rest. It chocked up relatively few rejections. Only about six. But markets are thin for a comedy-horror novella…So, I’m thinking of giving it a rest and thinking about it. At the end of that process I will either:
1. Resubmit it as is.
2. Tweak the manuscript some more and get it in shape to go through the process again.
3. Put it away for good.
I’m not sure which way to go with it yet.
BUT…I do have three stories done that I’m shopping around right now to publishers. So, I do have stuff out there. And I do have three to four solid short stories I plan to write in the near future. All of them are “speculative” to varying degrees. After that, the horizon opens up a bit and I have to consider which stories I have in the idea stage have the most potential. But all that can wait until after RavenCon. Hope to see you there and…
until next time…
Keep reading, keep writing,
Darius
Inside the Writer's Mind 