Hi, ALL
Welcome to another IWSG post. I almost always forget to post when the first Wednesday of the month is so close to the beginning. I just can't believe it's February already. Winter is certainly surging like mad all over the world. Snow in the Greek Islands? Unheard of, yet it happened!
Sadly, this winter, we also lost one of the most caring and gifted bloggers, Jeremy Hawkins. I didn't know him well, but I knew him for over a decade through his comments on others' blogs and occasionally on mine. I know he will be tremendously missed by our community. Please take a moment and say a prayer in his memory...
As you know, we get to vent on the first Wednesday of the month, thanks to Alex and the IWSG team. If you would like to join our group, please pop over to Alex's site and sign up. Who knows, you may get some great advice or help another stressed-out writer with a problem.
A few unexpected things happened this past month. I was fortunate enough to have a query and chapter request from a YA agent during the IWSG Twitter pitch. I was thrilled, of course, but now the waiting begins... So, I decided to start pitching to magazines to use my time wisely. A first for me. I spent a whole day preparing the pitch and added the proper links to my work for samples. I felt confident because the article I was pitching was for the home section of a woman's magazine. Who better than an interior designer for over twenty-five years, right? Well, it didn't take long to get a response... ANOTHER rejection. In this case, I was honestly surprised it was rejected.
We are not talking about a novel; we are talking about an article. So, fellow authors, it is a tough sell even in this venue. Honestly, I feel like chucking the whole writing thing at times like this. TWELVE years I have been pounding away at it. THANKFULLY, I did have some fantastic news before the holidays that my short story, OLIVER'S GIRL, was chosen for the IWSG Anthology. This news is keeping me going. I know rejections suck big time, but we still need to keep at it. SO don't give up. I don't plan to any time soon. I promised myself to keep plugging away this year with query after query and pitch after pitch. My goal is to have five of my stories accepted this year. It may be unrealistic, but I am aiming for that. With short stories and magazine articles, it may be attainable.
To aid me in my quest, I bought Shannon Lawrence's THE BUSINESS OF SHORT STORIES... (You can read about it in my previous post). It is a concise and helpful guide on writing and marketing your short stories. I have read through half of the book already, and once I finish, I will put her suggestions to work. Thanks, Shannon!
Well, that is all from me this month. I wish you all a warmer winter and an EARLY spring. Take care and stay safe and healthy...
