Tag: writing tips

Submission Statement: September 2018

Another month of submissions, rejections, and acceptances in the books. Here’s how September shook out. September 2018 Report Card Submissions Sent: 10 Rejections: 6 Acceptances: 2 Publications: 1 I’m happy with ten submissions for the month, and two acceptances is pretty solid too. Only… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: September 2018”

A Week of Writing: 9/17/18 to 9/23/18

Welcome to my Monday and another week of writing. Words to Write By This week’s quote is from Truman Capote. “Good writing is rewriting.” —Truman Capote I’ve seen similar quotes from a number of writers, but Capote’s is probably the most succinct. Every published… Continue Reading “A Week of Writing: 9/17/18 to 9/23/18”

A Week of Writing: 9/10/18 to 9/16/18

A day late and a dollar short, as they say, but here’s my writing week that was. Words to Write By This week’s quote is from Jack London. “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack… Continue Reading “A Week of Writing: 9/10/18 to 9/16/18”

A Week of Writing: 9/3/18 to 9/9/18

It’s Monday, and I’m back on track with weekly, writerly updates. Words to Write By Today’s quotes comes from one of my favorite fantasy authors, Robin Hobb. The challenge is always to find the good place to end the book. The rule I follow… Continue Reading “A Week of Writing: 9/3/18 to 9/9/18”

Submission Statement: July & August 2018

Well, I missed the submission statement for July, so I’m just gonna lump it in with August. Here’s a couple of months of submissions, rejections, and acceptances. July & August 2018 Report Card Submissions Sent: 13 Rejections: 10 Acceptances: 7 Publications: 3 Other: 3… Continue Reading “Submission Statement: July & August 2018”

Submission Protocol: Summary Execution

In my opinion, one of the toughest things for writers to do is summarize their work into a few sentences. I mean get it down to pitch length, still make it interesting, and avoid giving away the entire plot. Authors aren’t called on to do… Continue Reading “Submission Protocol: Summary Execution”

Accepting the Unacceptance

I’ve had a good year for acceptances, and I’m up to an even dozen so far. But, as they say, in every life a little rain must fall, and one of those acceptances is, well, not an acceptance anymore. Let me explain. Earlier this… Continue Reading “Accepting the Unacceptance”

A Week of Writing: 8/13/18 to 8/19/18

Finally managed to squeak one of these things out on a Monday. Here’s my writing week that was. Words to Write By This week’s quote comes from one of my favorite speculative authors, C. J. Cherryh. It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long… Continue Reading “A Week of Writing: 8/13/18 to 8/19/18”

The Rejection Reversal with Michael Bracken

The accomplished and prolific Michael Bracken reached out to me recently to share a type of publisher response he’d never received before. If Michael Bracken, award-winning author of over 1,200 short stories and several novels, has never seen it, it’s probably pretty unique, right?… Continue Reading “The Rejection Reversal with Michael Bracken”

A Week of Writing: 8/6/18 to 8/12/18

Another week of writing in the books. Here’s how I did. Words to Write By I’ve been reading a fair amount of Elmore Leonard, a writer whose style I really enjoy. Today’s quote is another of his pearls of wisdom. “Never use a verb… Continue Reading “A Week of Writing: 8/6/18 to 8/12/18”