Music to write by: “Dig“ by Incubus

I’m gonna start with a little me in this post (we all love me, right? right?) before I get to the stuff that’s gonna benefit you. Be patient, thronging millions, and we’ll get to wait times presently.

Today I received a rejection from Sword & Sorceress for my story “The Giant of Arimethia” in a stunning 1 day. I really applaud editor Elisabeth Waters for wading through the slush pile so quickly (though in all fairness she probably read the first few paragraphs, realized it was an action story, and rejected it).

The truth is, I knew that my story would be rejected because I’d purchased and read through Sword & Sorceress Vol. 21, and it was woefully short of action stories. Not that this is a bad thing… some (but not all) of the stories were pretty well done. Why did I submit? Because the worst that could happen was that I would get a polite rejection note. No skin off my back. Keep that in mind when you sub your stuff. Rejection doesn’t hurt. But I’m getting sidetracked.

Long wait times do suck. I’ve had a story at Neo-Opsis for nearly a year now, and they don’t allow sim subs which means it’s been off the market that long. How can you avoid waits like this? You can check out the Black Hole.

The Black Hole is a writer-built way of tracking which markets take how long to respond to your sub. When writer receives an accept/reject from a market, they report how long it took to the Black Hole, and the results get tallied up and averaged. Here are some wait times for magazines that you want to get published in:

And so on. Keep in mind, the lower numbers are liable to be the pros. Since the Black Hole is writer-built, it’s important that you submit your info to this site. The more statistics they have, the more accurate they’re liable to be.

Duotrope also keeps stats, but I’ll be blogging about them in a later post.

Until then! TTFN!

Hello everyone,

Music to write by: “Love Like Winter“ by AFI

So I promised to share my first experience with NorWesCon and I’ve held off long enough! First thing’s first: why did I decide to go to a con? Was it just for fun, or was it something more sinister? If you picked B), well, you know me too well.

Cons are an excellent and cheap way to advance your career. Cons are huge events where everyone with the faintest interest in SF/F for miles around congregates (usually dressed in some outlandish outfit). The career building part usually happens upstairs in the “panels”.

A panel consists of industry professionals and an audience that have gathered together to talk about a specific subject. Examples of the panels I attended were “Is The Short Story Dead?”, “Getting that novel finished”, and “Humour in Horror”, but there were some weird ones too like “Alien Sex” and “Goth Style - Affordable Elegance”. Panels are a great way to meet other professionals and ask them pertinent questions. For me, it was also reassuring. Many of the writers on these panels were less far along than I am.

If you really want a career boost, get yourself invited to participate on one of the panels. Don’t think your resume is up to snuff? On one panel I attended, not one panelist had sold a novel! Some had self-published, others had one short story to their credit (and had written unsold novels), but it appears that the main qualification to serve is that you be breathing.

My intention was to go to a Con and “scope it out” so that I’d know what to expect when I had a book under my belt, and maybe to participate on a panel at VCon. On a side note, if it seems like everything I do has the ulterior motive of promoting my writing career, it does. Welcome to my conniving little mind, eh?

Anyways, some of the highlights of attending the Con were, in rapid fire:

-I briefly got to meet author Michael Ehart. He was really friendly and a fun presence to have on the panels. If you have a chance to read him, I’d recommend it. Some top-notch genre horror.

-While strolling through the parking lot at the DoubleTree hotel, I noticed a vanity license plate that said “GENRE”. Clever.

-The costumes were awesome, especially the guy (or gal) that was dressed as a full on Manticore. The costume must have cost a cool grand, but it was worth it… he/she had a full crowd trailing in their wake.

-On the way down to Seatac, I spotted this little gem on the I-5

Yes, it’s the Seafair Pirates’ truck, the Moby Duck! It was a funny coincedence considering I’d just placed a story in Sails & Sorcery and have another one in the slush at Black Sails. I laughed my head off at the “buxom pirates babes” that were toasting all the other cars from the “deck” and took it as a good omen.

All-in-all, it was my first con so I was a little doe-eyed, and I’ll probably be sharing more of my experiences there in a later post, but for now I gotta take off. The g/f is coming back from her vacation and *blush* well… I have to put the finishing touches on a charcoal portrait I put together for her. You know what they say, “Happy wife, happy life” and I do so enjoy making her smile!

Music to write by: “Sweet Jane” by The Cowboy Junkies

Alright. I know I promised to relate my first experience at a Con, but that will have to wait while I unveil… the title of this blog ! ! ! (Yes the applause sign is lighting up!)

I finally found a name for my little slice of cyberspace:
“How to Succeed as a Writer (without even trying)”. Now I’m sure that some of you noticed that my passel of published stories is more of a parcel instead of a shipment if you know what I mean. I have had a story professionally published but I’ve yet to break into the pro-magazines. So…

Why would I name my blog “How to Succeed as a Writer”? Well I intend for this blog to chronicle my doing exactly that. Hopefully, I can take a few of you along for the ride. And… it’s a catchy name, ain’t it? Did it get to you read this far? Obviously the answer is yes or you wouldn’t be reading this. Or this. Or this. Hahaha I kill me….

Enough with the cheap gags. It’s my intention that this blog be a resource for all writers, but especially new writers. I do a lot of research and I like to think I keep in touch with the blogosphere. So subscribe the this blog, add me to your blogroll, and hopefully we’ll all learn how to break out together!

Until tomorrow’s post…. adios

hello again guys,

 Music to write by: “Bleed Together” by Soundgarden

Alright, so I’m having a lot of difficulty with a story I’m putting together for Mike Turner’s A New Century of Swords & Sorcery Anthology by Flying Pen Press. I have to admit, in terms of short fiction, sci-fi comes much easier to me than fantasy. Nevertheless I was invited to submit and I very much respect Mike, so I decided to give it a shot.

After much thinking, an idea started to gel and I began to write. At one point I was even patting myself on the back about how clever I was. Then… whammo! Blocked. Full-on colon-wrecking writing constipation. What did I do to uh… get the story out?  Well, a couple of things:

 1) remind myself that I’m a professional and I have a deadline. In your real-life job (mine’s writing accounting software), you can’t just tell your boss you didn’t finish your project on time. That’s a good way to get your walking papers. No, you buckle down and finish the damn job on time. That’s right, I said it.  Force yourself. Forget all that BS about your “muse” and just spew stuff out.

2) Write a shitty first draft (darn, this blog is up to a PG rating now, I really gotta mind the language). Just spew out the story and don’t worry about what works and what doesn’t. Having trouble moving your hero from one encounter to the next? Skip the troubling bits. Come back to them. But keep writing. Crappy writing is better than no writing, at least if you’re on the first draft.

3) Brainstorm. Talk out your problems with your writing group. I’m part of the Spec 24 writing group (yes, we named it. We’re geekers), and it really helps to bounce ideas off them.

4) Don’t get distracted. Unplug the TV, keep internet explorer closed, send the kids next door… whatever. Stare at that damn screen until something appears on it. Believe me. If you stare long enough, you’ll write something, even if it’s just to relieve your own boredom.

5) Finally, I’ll share some advice given to me by Joe Cooke at Norwescon. Joe believes we all have a “well of creativity” that we draw from for inspiration. In order to refill his well, Joe goes for long walks in the park. I hear Stephen King does this as well.  Me? Well, I suppose a little fresh air couldn’t hurt, but I live in Vancouver, so odds are it’s pouring out, and my apartment is sooooo comfortable….

 Anyways, that’s it for now. Hopefully I’ve been helpful. Next time, I’ll report on my experiences at NorWesCon. It was my first con, and boy was it an experience.  Until then…. chowder!

Hello again guys,

 Music to write by: “Rain Wizard” by Black Stone Cherry

Today, I thought I’d focus on some of the blogs of writers who are doing well and who I think you should read.

Robert J. Sawyer is a Canadian writer who’s got tons of accolades. Last year he made his way over to the Surrey International Writers’ Conference which, unfortunately, I missed. This guy has written tons of great articles on writing that are frank and open. Most of them are listed on his site where you can read them for free. If you’ve read the latest Writers of the Future anthology (and if you haven’t DO) you’ll already be familiar with one of his articles. Mr. Sawyer writes near-future Sci-fi (which puts us in direct competition…yeeeahhh). His novel Rollback has recently been released. One word of warning… his blog is a little pluggy. Actually, it’s very pluggy, but the guy’s a legend so his blog’s still recommended.

John Scalzi is perhaps most famous for his blog “Whatever” where he’s been posting daily since 1998 (and which recently got nominated for a Hugo under the category “Best Fan Writer”. Most on thatin another post). Why should you read his blog? Scalzi’s got a big microphone. Half (or more) of the writing community reads it, so you should too! As for the writing, well he won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2005 so the guy’s at the top of his game.

Jeff VanderMeer is a writer of the New Weird which is a style of writing that brings together elements of fantasy, sci fi, and horror. He won a World Fantasy Award in 2000, so you know this guy knows what he’s talking about. As a plus, his wife, Ann VanderMeer, is the editor over at Weird Tales. If you’re not reading this blog, you should be.

Well, I brought you three must read blogs, but there are way, way more. On the horizon, profiles on some newer authors that I feel are on the verge of breaking out, and spotlights on the blogs of editors at magazines you want to be published in. Until then, chowder!