Tag: authors

Dispensing Dubious Writerly Wisdom: An Interview

Fellow Seattleite, blogger, and aspiring writer Dawn Claflin recently interviewed me about writerly things for her blog. In the interview I give highly dubious advice about writing and rejection as well as recount a bit of my meandering path to fame and fortune (Hah!).… Continue Reading “Dispensing Dubious Writerly Wisdom: An Interview”

Submission Protocol: Short Author Bio

As often as not, short fiction publishers may ask you to include a brief author bio along with your cover letter. It can be a tricky thing to get right, and there are a lot of opinions on what should be included. In this post, I’ll… Continue Reading “Submission Protocol: Short Author Bio”

The Unacceptance Letter by Michael Bracken

Hey, folks, we’ve got a very special guest author today, the talented and prolific Michael Bracken. Michael has graciously agreed to write a post about one of the more unusual types of rejection letters – the Unacceptance. Though it is always disappointing to receive… Continue Reading “The Unacceptance Letter by Michael Bracken”

My Latest Publication – “Scare Tactics”

Hey, folks, The Devilfish Review has just published my short story “Scare Tactics.” It’s a quaint little story about a girl, her pet demon, and a budding parapsychology career. I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I hope you have as much fun… Continue Reading “My Latest Publication – “Scare Tactics””

Rejectomancer Resources: The Emotion Thesaurus

You’d think, being a human being, I would be passing familiar with human being body language. Yeah, not so much. When I’m writing and trying to convey emotion through character body language, I end up in this endless nod, head shake, smile, frown loop. Often… Continue Reading “Rejectomancer Resources: The Emotion Thesaurus”

Iron Kingdoms Freebie: On a Black Tide

I wrote a novelette or a short novella a while back called “On a Black Tide” set in Privateer Press’ Iron Kingdoms universe. Privateer released the story as a special free preview to the collection Rites of Passage. The story is a pretty solid… Continue Reading “Iron Kingdoms Freebie: On a Black Tide”

Ranks of the Rejected: Michael Bracken

When someone asks me what I do for a living these days, I tell them I’m a writer. I even believe it sometimes. I mean, it is my sole source of income, and I do it everyday, so, with some trepidation, I put forth… Continue Reading “Ranks of the Rejected: Michael Bracken”

Submission Protocol: Simultaneous Submissions

Let’s talk about one of my favorite writerly topics: simultaneous submissions. A simultaneous submission (sim-sub, for short) is when you send one story to multiple markets to increase the chance you’ll put the story in front of an editor who will publish it. As with all the subjects… Continue Reading “Submission Protocol: Simultaneous Submissions”

The 7 Stages of Literary Rejection

A writer goes through a lot of emotions when that rejection letter shows up in his or her inbox, and it occurred to me these emotions are similar to those involved with grieving or loss (more or less). I’m sure you’ve all heard of the seven… Continue Reading “The 7 Stages of Literary Rejection”

Rejection Letter Rundown: The Apologetic Personal Rejection (with Rob Mammone)

As I have said many, many times on this blog, (most) editors are not heartless monsters out to grind your hopes and dreams into a fine spreadable paste. Nope, they’re just regular and often passionate folks who happen to be in a position to judge… Continue Reading “Rejection Letter Rundown: The Apologetic Personal Rejection (with Rob Mammone)”