preparing to publish
To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to -- Kalhil Gibran
today has been a long day, not particularly meaningful in any way that strikes me, and has left me unsure of what to write about.. *smiles* but write i do because i do want to please my Master.
i spent an hour or so today going over a list of publishers i had copied from the Writers Market book from the library. when i wrote them down, i wrote only the ones that i thought would take my work, though now, looking back, i can scarcely remember why i chose each one, because i wrote down few details. i think this christmas the gift i will give myself will be the copy of the new writers market for the year 2000 when it comes out. the one from the library wasn't even a 99, it was a 98 and for all i know some of these editors may have changed, or some of the small publications gone out of business.
i know Master told me to start submitting poems a few weeks ago, but i haven't sent any out yet, mainly because i am trying to get everything together that the Writers market book told me i should have. first i had to write a cover letter and that took me the better part of a week (and it is still in revision). then i had to get the special #10 envelopes to mail the submissions in and the #9 envelopes to use as return SASE envelopes, and i had to get stamps for the postage, and figure out some system of recording what i sent where and on what date, cause i will never remember and it says you should have all that info, cause you can only send each thing to one publisher at a time, and should send a follow up letter if you don't hear back in six to eight weeks. whew. so... i am in the process of getting all that together and i think i should be ready to actually submit a few things by early next week (yay!) if i work on it over the weekend.
of course, that being said, i may not even hear anything from anyone for two months.. *pout pout pout* it is going to be hard to wait. i am thinking of trying to space the submissions out a bit... sending out one or two a week instead of all at once so i don't come home one day and find twenty rejection slips in my mailbox. course, with the vagaries of the mail system, that might happen anyhow!
i'm not sure if i should submit any of my D/s poetry anywhere or just my more mainstream stuff. i want to ask Master what he thinks of that, cause i'm not sure if mainstream presses would be interested in that sort of thing. i did write down addresses of a few more "avant-garde" publications, and maybe they would like them, but even just the idea of submitting them is a little scary... it would be outing myself to friends and family if they ever were published and seen. and i know i wouldn't hide the publishing credit... i'd be using it in my cover letters to other publications saying.. hey, i was published here, cause they always give more weight to someone who was already published, so there is no way my family wouldn't find out, eventually, in some way.
then again, maybe they wouldn't and i am just being paranoid. Master does say i worry too much, so this i will let Him decide, and i will stop worrying about it any further.
writing new poetry has been slow and hard for me lately. this might be because i am so nervous about submitting things, i'm not sure. it just seems like everything i write lately seems stilted or artificial, and not like my usual style at all. i have to set aside an hour or two this weekend to go somewhere lovely with my writers notebook and just write. it has been a little chilly, so the park might get uncomfortable, as shady as it is there, and i can't go to Rubio Woods any more... not after the incidents there.. *shudders*. maybe it is time to find someplace new, someplace fresh... in fact, maybe that is just what i need to jump start my writing again.
i have been thinking a lot about some of my longer works, thinking about getting started on them again. i have two half started novels, and a pretty complete outline for a third. i'm not sure which of the three has the most merit, or which i should be working on. the crime novel is the closest to completion, being around a hundred fifty pages, but needs major revision. there is less done on the novel about the deaf woman, but what is already written has been revised several times and is much more polished. the outline is the story i am really in love with at the moment, but i know it will keep. and it is still just an infant in writing terms.
i have been thinking lately about writing a novel with D/s themes. maybe i could experiment with a short story for starters. i was thinking of a love story, but my friend f. thinks i should try writing some erotica. that makes me soooo nervous... i'm not sure if i could do it... i think i'd be blushing bright red just writing it. it might be fun as an experiment, but i don't think i could ever really submit it anywhere. i would be so scared.
still, the idea of a love story with D/s themes might actually sell well in this day and age, from a commercial perspective. even mainstream people are curious about D/s, what with the popularity of Ann Rice's books and all. it is certainly something i will have to think about.
well, about time to go meet Master, so will close for now. be well and happy til next W/we meet --di.