So Close + Story Sale

This week, my Write1Sub1 story “Starlight” was held for consideration by Shimmer, and while I tried not to get my hopes up about this one, I’m afraid I did anyway. I’ve been submitting to Shimmer for over a year now, ever since I started this journey to publication back in 2009. Every rejection letter from editor E. Catherine Tobler and associates has been warm, positive, and constructive; my stories just haven’t been a good fit. “Starlight” on the other hand, was well-liked by the editorial board. In the end, however: “There was a tendency to focus more on the irrelevant than the relevant. Don't tell the reader the boring parts; tell only the interesting parts, and start with a harder punch.”

Was this a request for a rewrite? No. But I’ll keep their suggestions in mind. For now, I’m continuing to shop the story around as-is, and I’m sure that after a few more rejections, I’ll be willing to make some major changes.

In other news, my story “Doppelgänger Mine” has been accepted by Fried Fiction for a serialized run. This one suffered rejection at the hands of four markets before I thought of submitting it as a serial. Fried Fiction bought the first installment (1,000 words), and now that it's been posted, I’ll be able to add subsequent episodes in the weeks to follow. I haven’t decided yet how I plan to divide this 5,000-word story, but I’m thinking five flash-sized chapters in five weeks should work.

> Write1Sub1 Update: 7 stories submitted in 7 weeks, plus some Twitter fiction.
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