As much as I like this essay, which I read a couple times at a clip— my favorite part is the revelation that there are vintage train schedules online. That is both deeply strange and understandable to me.
Every time I work on a period piece, I'm surprised at what you can dig up out there, all from the comfort of your home! Train enthusiasts are especially precise and dedicated, which you would expect from people obsessed with getting there on time!
I suppose it would be odd if train enthusiasts were sloppy and disorganized. I have a friend who’s got a real thing for trains, and you can hardly take a step in his house without banging into a whiteboard listing ongoing goals and schedules.
85 rejections?! Holy cow, that is persistence. It's a good story, Martine. I assume you didn't send it to them with all of those spaces between words missing, too bad they don't have a better proofreader. Danny's certainty that Morgan is responsible for the murders is the really chilling part - it creeps into the reader as it crept into him too. The fact that it was street people by stabbing is an interesting choice, a female serial killer might be expected to choose a different, less vulnerable method - one wonders if its slight dissonance is what keeps Danny from pursuing his curiosity.
Yes, I hate sloppy publishing... makes me grind my teeth in frustration. At some point, it's not persistence anymore, it turns into cynical mulishness, lol. Part of the problem is that I was new at the submission game - I had just started being serious about sending my work out, so I sent it to people that had no taste for this kind of thing. Then there's the subject, it isn't pure "genre" and it isn't "literary" either (not what's considered lit these days), and it's a young man, worse, a bit of a jock, not an edgy demographic ... so, all in all, a hard sell. Thanks for reading!
I really enjoyed this post, Martine. Misery loves company and the horrible Rs have been piling up on all three of my stories that are trying to find homes. It's baffling to me, as I've revised more times than I want to think about. But like you I don't give up easily. Unlike you, I'm not brave enough to delete a file so I really could relate to your 'digital dust bunnies' line!
Great post, Martine! Wow, 85 rejections? I thought 35 for a story of mine was a lot. Not even close, it seems lol. Thanks for the link to my post, I'll add one for your post in mine too.
And what does it mean that I keep track of that stuff, lol. I need to clean that spreadsheet, it's getting ridiculous... turning into a digital hoarder...
I keep track of all my submissions too, and whether they were acceptances or rejections. Otherwise, I'd never know haha. And I wouldn't want to submit the same story to a publication that's already rejected it!
Good luck Martine. One of the great advantages of modern keyboarding is the ability to keep adding and subtracting, creating new files each time. Nothing's ever lost
De gustibus non est disputandum was one of the many Latin sayings my Polish mother used to use.
I've had pieces multiply rejected and then editors exclaim that *this* is exactly what they want to publish. It's taste, timing, karma, all of that--and mystery.
"Tous les gouts sont dans la nature", en effet :) - I look at the decision process in publishing the same way I consider the movement of the planets, nothing I can do about it.
"The narrative was flatter than a pancake and a lot less tasty."
Now THAT's a great line!
I realize I metaphor heavily in this piece, lol! No apologies, though...
They live in a special folder in my hard drive.
You're more organized than I am. Mine just sit there in the "writing" folder. The "published" ones have a special spot!
As much as I like this essay, which I read a couple times at a clip— my favorite part is the revelation that there are vintage train schedules online. That is both deeply strange and understandable to me.
Every time I work on a period piece, I'm surprised at what you can dig up out there, all from the comfort of your home! Train enthusiasts are especially precise and dedicated, which you would expect from people obsessed with getting there on time!
I suppose it would be odd if train enthusiasts were sloppy and disorganized. I have a friend who’s got a real thing for trains, and you can hardly take a step in his house without banging into a whiteboard listing ongoing goals and schedules.
85 rejections?! Holy cow, that is persistence. It's a good story, Martine. I assume you didn't send it to them with all of those spaces between words missing, too bad they don't have a better proofreader. Danny's certainty that Morgan is responsible for the murders is the really chilling part - it creeps into the reader as it crept into him too. The fact that it was street people by stabbing is an interesting choice, a female serial killer might be expected to choose a different, less vulnerable method - one wonders if its slight dissonance is what keeps Danny from pursuing his curiosity.
Yes, I hate sloppy publishing... makes me grind my teeth in frustration. At some point, it's not persistence anymore, it turns into cynical mulishness, lol. Part of the problem is that I was new at the submission game - I had just started being serious about sending my work out, so I sent it to people that had no taste for this kind of thing. Then there's the subject, it isn't pure "genre" and it isn't "literary" either (not what's considered lit these days), and it's a young man, worse, a bit of a jock, not an edgy demographic ... so, all in all, a hard sell. Thanks for reading!
"Soon it’s version 8 or 9 and that dog still limps."
Haha! Can relate.
In rare cases, the injury gets repaired...
I really enjoyed this post, Martine. Misery loves company and the horrible Rs have been piling up on all three of my stories that are trying to find homes. It's baffling to me, as I've revised more times than I want to think about. But like you I don't give up easily. Unlike you, I'm not brave enough to delete a file so I really could relate to your 'digital dust bunnies' line!
Thanks for reading, Marina. I have a couple of clunkers I should get rid of. My system is not perfect :)
Great post, Martine! Wow, 85 rejections? I thought 35 for a story of mine was a lot. Not even close, it seems lol. Thanks for the link to my post, I'll add one for your post in mine too.
And what does it mean that I keep track of that stuff, lol. I need to clean that spreadsheet, it's getting ridiculous... turning into a digital hoarder...
I keep track of all my submissions too, and whether they were acceptances or rejections. Otherwise, I'd never know haha. And I wouldn't want to submit the same story to a publication that's already rejected it!
I can relate. Ugh. ❤️
Good luck Martine. One of the great advantages of modern keyboarding is the ability to keep adding and subtracting, creating new files each time. Nothing's ever lost
Oh... when I delete, it's gone, baby gone, lol!
De gustibus non est disputandum was one of the many Latin sayings my Polish mother used to use.
I've had pieces multiply rejected and then editors exclaim that *this* is exactly what they want to publish. It's taste, timing, karma, all of that--and mystery.
"Tous les gouts sont dans la nature", en effet :) - I look at the decision process in publishing the same way I consider the movement of the planets, nothing I can do about it.
D'ac!
Chandler said have a man with a gun enter the room.
Yeah... not in this case... but later, lol.