Submitting (by sarah)
I posted off some of my poems again - this time to a top literay magizine - don't worry they where spell checked and edited to a glossy perfection. I know that there may well be a three month wait to find out from them and I doubt that I will be accepted. I submitted to Interzone before and got a very nice rejection letter saying that they had just rejiged things and my story was no longer the type of thing they published but that they would be happy to read anything else I sent them. I felt this was a good regection and the mag I've just sent off to has a policy of actually responding to new submitters so I feel hopeful of getting at least soem advise I can use.
I have also been typing up and polishing all the written material I have. I have discovered I have alot of it. The publisher I work for is a small house press - and it is a tiny company - she has advised me to take my stuff to the big publshing houses fist and then if/when that fails come and talk to her as she likes the stuff she's seen.
I have discovered that I literally have hundreds of poems, these I have been typing up polishing and leaving to ferment. I tend to leave a poem for at three months and then look at it again - ie long enough to forget about it. I've had a few poems published in newpapers and things which is more than can be said for my short stories. This is depressing as the poems are easy to write (something I keep quiet about at the writing group) and the stories take time and lots more effort and none of them have been published of course there is more of an issue there with knowing where to submit short stories. The other depressing thing is that per word and amount of time put in poems have a far higher return than short stories.
I have also been working on some baby board book ideas - I am half way through doing the illistrations and I am actually happy with them. Of course I need to finish the pictures, scan them, tidy them up and then actually start seeing if anyone will publish them. I have a copy of the 2009 Writers and Artist Year Book and have already trawled through the thing extracting those publishers that take unsolicited submissions and publish board books. It took awhile and annoyingly I thing that by the time I actually go to submit half of them will have merged, or changed what they do :/ .
I am of course braking a writing rule here - I am not focused on one style or form or genre or even really consider myself a writer. I have several more childrens stories writen and now typed up! I have a very nice editor who will one hopefully be paid for all the lovely corrections she makes - she keeps saying she enjoys it but I really want to be able to pay her. I want to do the illistrations for these as well - and yes I know your supposed to go to the publishers and sell the idea and change it to what they want and conform to the market and stuff and preferably get an advance. But I just can't do that - I know the shape of the story it has a way it wants to be I cant force it nor do I want to.
A trainy teacher is very keen to try my storys out on his class which I took to be a good sign - he asked me after I read one of the shorter ones out at the writing class. The Beavers also liked the one I read out to them but they generally like anything presented with enthusiasm!
I'm a bit scared and a bit perplexed that I am actually arriving at this submitting stage in the whole writing publishing game - I am also hoping that I will see some money for the effort I have put in but am not holding my breath. I suppose I best go back to trying to build websites and actually earning some money!
Mon 15th Sep 2008 9:33 am 
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By Clare, Mon 29th Sep 2008 @ 12:19 pm
I am the last person you should be worrying about paying, you just get on with what you've got to do and I will always be here. xx