OK, bad Rocky Horror quote aside the title sums up how I'm feeling at the moment. My first paid piece 'Induction' has gone through the first round of edits and has been sent back. I'm waiting to hear back to see if more edits are required is like a kid waiting for Christmas. I'm either going to have more edits to make or they'll create the artwork and it'll be released. The anticipation is really exciting :)
For the first time I am writing with another author. I have never worked on a collaboration before and am very happy with how it is turning out. My cousin, Rob Moran (and there's a name to look out for in the future!) and I are working on a story currently called 'Malarguardian' which will be submitted to Pill Hill Press. It is an apocalyptic tale about the end of the world and the man responsible. I like how it has worked out. Just the spit and polish stage to go... and! the sun is shining! loving the good weather :) Well this is fun. I've had a story accepted to a paying market, my first, and it is proving to be a wholly different experience. Let me explain: The "Love of the Market" or free model A publisher and/or editor puts out a call for submissions and you write (or have written) something that you feel will be a fit. You send it off and you get a yay or a nay. And in it goes to the book along with other stories - I am submitting to short story anthologies at the moment. The Paid model I wrote part of a story, a novel in fact then a LTM call came that the story would have been good for. I sent it off after some serious editing submitted it but a number of reasons I pulled the submission. I then started to re-write it as a novel. I then spotted an open call for submissions for eBooks. I submitted. I was rejected... but with a lovely email pointing out why they rejected. Rewrite! Submission number two. This time I was accepted, contracts exchanged. Now I am in the 'edits' stage. The story has been read and returned with suggestions for changes. I have made some changes and sent the piece back for (possible) further edits. The process seems to me like more of a collaboration and I am very excited to think of the finished product. One step closer to being a professional but I am still writing for LTM anthologies. I owe that market and Chris Bartholomew of Static Movement in particular a huge debt of gratitude. Onwards and upwards hopefully! In Resevoir Dogs a quip is made - 'Just because you are a character, it doesn't mean you have character.' (I may be paraphrasing). This has been playing on my mind recently. The story I have had accepted by Books To Go Now is due for publication soon and may well be the beginning of a series. I am busy writing part 2 of this series and the main character called Lydia. To be brutally honest I have treated Lydia very badly. In the first 4000 words or so of the story I have written nothing but pain, humiliation and violence upon her. I know that in the latter half of the story things will greatly improve for her but I need to find her character. How does she react from being a down-trodden loser to having the world handed to her on a plate? How does she stop being the most arrogant person after everything goes well? Or is arrogance her character? Whoever says that the author is in control of the story is sadly deluded... I had a short story accepted a couple of weeks ago. This story is the first story that I will be paid for (if it sells!) but as I have never been through this process before I asked about what was going to happen. I received a very helpful email which I am going to quote... "We have several stories in the que ahead of yours so it may about two weeks before we send it to edits. When it comes back from edits with any recommended changes, we'll send it back to you for revision. When the final edits are done a cover will be created and sent to you for your review. After that, it will be immediately published. This may take altogether about 4-6 weeks depending upon the amount of editing/revision required." So not long until I can officially call myself a professional! Also included in the email was a very exciting proposal. This has to stay a secret for now, partly because it is in the very early stages and partly because I don't want to jinx myself but as soon as I can speak about it then I will. Exciting times :D | AuthorM. Leon Smith lives in the North East of England. He writes short stories of natural and supernatural horror as well as a Young Adult Superhero series: Blue Jackets ArchivesMay 2013 Categories |
RSS Feed