The First Submission of the Year

 Yesterday I sent out my first submission of the year. It's the short story inspired by both powdered donuts and Dorothy Parker. It was a general submission and not a contest submission, so I haven't been able to check off any milestones on my professional goals so far. However, I did run into an interesting problem. 

I'm a sucker for the inside story, the path to that leads to final version. I love listening to The Beatles Anthology because I like knowing how it started. I devoured the restored edition of Sylvia Plath's Ariel because you can see the thought process that went into writing and ordering each piece for the collection. In my infinite wisdom, I wanted to someday belong to this type of story-behind-the-story. 

Ever since I first wrote the draft of this short story, I had problems with the ending. The last paragraph, sometimes just the last line, never really fit. Since that first draft, I have rewritten the ending four times. I never wrote it out by hand, so in order to preserve my process for future generations, I kept four different Word files, each with a different ending. As I was trying to submit the story yesterday, I couldn't figure out which ending I had finally settled on. I read and reread all of them, and it just didn't sound right. I knew I had one I finally liked, but I wasn't seeing it. So I tried to write a fifth version of the ending. Once I saved it on one of the files, I reopened it (because I wasn't sure which file I was working on--they all had similar file names), and like magic, appearing right under the ending I had just written, was the last one I had written just before its previous submission. I swear it was not there when I first opened it. 

Thankfully, a quick edit to get rid of the rushed new ending I wrote, I was able to submit it successfully. Does it have a shot? Maybe. I submitted it to a publication that's only on it's second issue, so we will see what happens. 

And now I have to go back and get some more work prepped to be sent out. Is 2021 my year? Probably. 

News and Notes from the Writing Desk: July Edition

I'd love to say that there are tons of things to tell you all about this month, but all of the projects I'm working on are going very slow. I'm persisting with them all, but that doesn't make the frustration of it all go away. I don't know if it is the usual distractions or a lack of inspiration. Either way, I found myself rereading some of my published work--something I rarely do. I think I just needed to remind myself that I am capable of getting these things done, and I can find my way back to productivity.

Pieces

This is officially back on the agenda. New pieces should be available on Patreon next week, and once I get 23 and 24 written and edited, you'll get to see these new pieces on Wattpad.

Latest Project

The still untitled set in the 70s story is slowly chugging along. I've snapped out of the heavy research phase, but I'm still only managing about half a page a day.

Submissions

I sent out two more poetry submissions out this week. I wanted to get back to sending short stories out again, but every time I find a good place to submit, I'm finding reading fees. Unless I'm at least 75% confident that it will take my work AND that it is a paying publication, I won't pay. I will say 75% confidence in my own work standing out from the crowd is rare, but it has happened before. I have better things to do with that money, including writing contests and pro coverage for my pilot script... if I ever get back to that project.

Upcoming Contests and Submission Deadlines

As you know, I've been spending a lot of writing time this month submitting, rather than writing. That being said, there are plenty of publications and contests, but I just don't have the time, the right piece, or the desire to spend a lot on entry fees to submit to everything. That's why I'm giving you a heads up on some that I really want to submit to someday, but can't this time around (excluding the On Dogs and Poetry--I think I have a good piece or two for that one). Maybe another writer out there will have good luck.

North Street Book Prize - Great for self-published authors who want a chance to win $3000 and pro marketing services. Deadline: June 30th. Fee: $60 per book.

UK Kindle Storyteller Award - If you are already thinking about publishing your English-language book with KDP Select between May 1 - August 31, this is a great opportunity for exposure and a chance to win £20,000. Deadline: August 31. Fee: none.

NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge: A great way to get your writing juices flowing and win prizes for your flash fiction. 1-4 challenges throughout the latter half of 2019 (though writers may not be asked to participate in all four). Deadline: July 11. Fee: $48 (early registration)/$58 registration.

Sundress Publications: Lots of deadlines for this publication. Scroll down on the submit page to see guidelines for The Familiar Wild: On Dogs and Poetry (deadline: July 1st, no fee) and an open call for full-lenght poetry manuscripts (deadline: August 15, reading fee: $13 or qualifying purchase from their catalog). 

That's what I have for today. If you plan to enter any of these contests, let me know in the comments.