Tag: Writing

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”

Writers, Be Heard: Speculative Audio Markets

If you’re like me—and I assume you are since you read my blog—then you probably spend a lot of time submitting fiction to the multidinous array of print and digital publishers out there. But there may be a type of market of which you’re unaware,… Continue Reading “Writers, Be Heard: Speculative Audio Markets”

February 2016 Submission Statement

Another month, another bunch of submissions sent off into the literary wilds. This time, however, a few more managed to escape the lions, tigers, and bears and return unscathed and intact. February 2016 is the first month where my acceptances and short-list letters outnumbered my rejections. Here’s… Continue Reading “February 2016 Submission Statement”

Form Letters: Not Just for Rejections

If you live in the land of rejectomancy like I do, then you’re pretty damn familiar with the form rejection letter. It comes in a variety of different flavors, but they all essentially say the same thing: No. Recently, I have ventured into the… Continue Reading “Form Letters: Not Just for Rejections”

Characters: They Walk Among Us

I live in downtown Seattle, a place populated with all kinds of characters: bearded hipsters, posh business-folk, foreign tourists of all nationalities, goth millennials, and random weirdos, just for starters. As such, I do a lot of people watching to get ideas for characters in… Continue Reading “Characters: They Walk Among Us”

January 2016 Submission Statement

These posts used to be called Rejection Roundup, but seeing that it’s a new year, and, shockingly, I occasionally receive something other than a rejection from publishers, I think a name change is in order. So, let’s try “Submission Statement” (damn, I love me some… Continue Reading “January 2016 Submission Statement”

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”

Proofing Hit List Part One: Definitely Overused

When I finish the first draft of a story or novel, I let it sit for a few days, then I go back through it like a literary hit man, ruthlessly pounding my delete key like the trigger on a suppressed .45. Notice I… Continue Reading “Proofing Hit List Part One: Definitely Overused”