A New Tactic

*Written October 19th, 2011*

Well, I was going to work on my story today during my break, but I got halfway to work and realized that I had left my journal and printed pages at home. I couldn't go back if I still wanted to stop for coffee (which I desperately needed) before I headed in, so my break time plan went out the window. It'll just have to be put off until tomorrow, I guess. Hopefully the weather will clear up a little tomorrow so that I can be in the mood to walk to the Barnes and Noble Cafe to write instead of the chilly back room at work. When I get home tonight, I'll have to make sure to put the story and journal back in my purse so that I don't have another repeat of today. Not only that, but I left the books that I was going to return to the library today at home too. I guess the cold just made me scatter brained today. I mean, last night I slept with three blankets and a (Harry Potter) snuggie. That's just not right.

So, instead I've spent my break working on this blog entry. It might not be the story that I still don't have a completed draft for, but still a productive use of my time. Tomorrow I decided I'm going to take a new approach to this story. Instead of just trying to fill on the missing scenes, I'm just going to start from the beginning and write it through long hand there are some changes that I want to make to the story that's already done, so I'll be making those changes when needed or just copying the lines that are staying. This way, I won't let myself jump around to different scenes, and I can fill in all the holes. Maybe I'll even be able to turn out a draft by the end of the week. That would just be peachy.

In other news, I'm still waiting to hear back about the story I sent out. I plan on doing more market research just in case. But I'm staying hopeful.

Shimmer Magazine

I sent "Enchanted Land" out again today. It was to one of the magazines I found during my Google search on the train yesterday, Shimmer Magazine. They're another one that will pay for the stories they accept, so a lot of my hope went out in the email along with my story.

When I looked at the submission guidelines, they said that they required the submission to be sent as an email attachment. However, they said nothing about whether they wanted a cover letter or not. I didn't feel right sending the story attached to a blank email document though, so I just jotted down some of the generic lines I've put in other letters. I stated the name of the story, that I was a recent CCC graduate out of the fiction department, and thanked them for their consideration. It was short enough that they can take it in at a glance or skip, but it was also enough to make me feel alright about attaching "Enchanted Land" to it.

Now all that is left is to wait around for a few weeks to hear back from them. Shimmer Magazine doesn't accept simultaneous submissions, so there's not much else I can do with "Enchanted Land". While I'm waiting, I'm working on my other story's draft, and I've also sent out another story's first draft to a few friends to make some edits and suggestions.

Hopefully everything will work out as it should.

Possibilities

I'm on a train bound for Chicago and just did some Google research on new markets for my story. I actually stumbled upon some great sites that list magazines willing to pay for the submissions they accept. I wrote down some of the possibilities, but will have to go through all of their guidelines more when I'm home tomorrow. It seems like a lot of them won't take simultaneous submissions, so I'll have to weigh my options about which to send it to first. A few even have set reading periods that are almost up, so that further complacates the decision.

Tomorrow and Wednesday I'm off from work, so I'll use that chunk of time to be productive. Once I've researched the markets on my list, I can send the story to my choice. Then I'm free to try to finish the draft of the story I'm currently working on, "Drawings on the Wall".

Let's Try This Again

I heard from Clarkesworld Magazine this morning. It wasn't good news. However, the rejection letter was polite. It mentioned how they get a lot of submissions throughout the year and although they may like quite a few of them, they can only publish so many. Hey, at least they spelled my name right in the letter though, unlike when Reflection's Edge got back to me.

So the time has come to start researching other markets that are currently open to submissions and send it off somewhere else. This just must not have been the right place for it.

Time to start researching again.

Break Time

Nothing makes me feel cooler than sitting in the Barnes & Noble Cafe listening to The Beatles and drinking a dirty chai. All while writing in my Wonder Woman journal with the pen that may have been swiped from the Olive Garden.

It's the perfect break.

Productivity Strikes

I've tried to start this month off on a productive note. Today I did some market research in order to find a home for a fantasy story that I had finished awhile ago. I had some magazines in mind that I wanted to submit the piece to, but as luck would have it- the submission deadline for all of those places were over and the reading period had closed. So I spent a few hours with my laptop and Google and found a few other promising publications that might be good homes for my story, "Enchanted Land".

I settled on Clarke's World Magazine, and submitted my story. This is the first time that the story's been sent out since it was rejected from Reflection's Edge. So now it's time to keep sending it out until someone gives it a permanent home.

After my fairy story was sent off into cyberspace, I decided it was time to do something else productive. Ever since my last semester, I've been wanting to make business cards that I can give out for people to contact me, and today I finally ordered them. It took me a few hours to decide on the correct design that would go with my brand image that's in effect with my website, but after some work I made cards that I'd be proud to hand out to any new contacts I meet.

Now all I have to do is wait around to hear back about my submission and wait around for my cards to be mailed to me. The business cards should be here in about two weeks, and according to Clarke's World's website, I should hear back with their decision within a few days. They don't take simultaneous submissions, so I have to hear back from them before I shop it around some more.

In the mean time, I'm going to put this productive mood towards working on another story that's been in the works.

Fingers crossed for "Enchanted Land"!