Submission!

I came home today and did (most) of my homework...hey! it's still early after all. Then I cracked open my Writer's Market Guide and started looking for magazines that might, possibly, consider LOOKING at my stories. Ugh. I think I'd rather have my nails ripped off my fingers one-by-one (not really). If you've never looked at one of these books, imagine a phonebook-type book that lists different kinds of places you can send in your writing. All kinds of writing. Many of the entries are pretty vague..."We want science fiction and horror...but no swords and dragons...or gore...oh, and we want stories that deal with life on Earth." Huh-uh. Then there is my favorite "We seek literary fiction, for the college educated set." I see. Most encourage you to buy their magazine. This makes sense (after all, how can you know if you fiction's going to "fit in" unless you can see what makes it to print) but I'm too poor to buy these magazines. This reminds me of a scam me and my cousin Spencer once thought about doing. Make ONE issue of a magazine, but leave the date and issue number off. Then place ads online and various writer-ly locales and charge dupes "reading fees" (which by the way, I refuse to pay...again because I'm too poor). Needless to say, we never tried this scam, but I imagine there's a few who have/do.

I think I hate the term "literary" most of all. What the hell is that supposed to be? I've read all sorts of stuff in my literature classes over the years. For the most part, the only thing literary about this fiction is that it's being read in a literature class! I guess they want "serious" non-genre fiction. And there is my main problem...I don't really write in a specific genre. I get ideas, all across the board. I guess to be business savvy, one has to pick a genre. The idea sort of sickens me. I don't really read one type of genre, either. I stay away from Science Fiction and Horror (mostly), but some of my all time favorite books fall into these categories.

Anyway, I found a dozen or so I feel might give me the time of day. I'm going to revise the crap out of "Death For Breakfast" and "Sea Change" and send them off into the world. "Sea Change" is unprintable, I think, because of a device I used where the first few pages are...pedestrian? The idea being much like the transition from black and white into color like Wizard of Oz. Good idea, shitty way to get published (the mantra in fiction writing being "grab the reader by the balls from the first sentence). Speaking of which, David if you're reading this, get your brother to take that marked-up copy of "Sea Change" to school with him so I can get it.

I don't really fear rejection, or having people tell me I'm "no good." I can handle that, hell...I'd rather them say that about my writing than ME (which I've heard for a while now). I guess I feel like my stuff doesn't really fit in. Which is probably just the same as me thinking it isn't very good...so maybe I do fear the rejection. Who knows? I do know that this semester I got my first rejection slip and I felt great (oddly enough). Like I joined a brotherhood or something. I know that by the 1,000th rejection slip I won't feel the same way, but it felt good to finally be getting "out there." Spencer has been playing this game for years now, and I feel somewhat behind. By the way, he got published on a website recently, as soon as I find the URL again I'll post a link. That guy is my inspiration in a lot of ways. He takes a licking and keeps on plugging away at it.

I have a friend in a similar situation who I'm thinking about pushing into submitting. I'm the kind of person that likes to share my misery, so we might have a get together on Wednesday. A "postal party" if you will.