Writing Part II—The First Sale

In a previous post I talked about the basics of writing and submitting short stories for sale in magazines, webzines, and anthologies. Instead of moving onto novels I though I would talk about what happens when you get your first sale.

I made my first sale in 2006. I had been writing in my free time since 2000 and had spent most of my time learning how to write novels. But I was still interested in writing and placing some short fiction. Dark Recesses Press, an up and coming .PDF horror magazine, was running a short-story contest with a prize of $500.00 and a $40.00 special edition hardcover copy of Douglas Clegg’s The Priest of Blood. What’s more, they were looking for a vampire story that did something special with the well-worn trope. As it turned out, I had a story ready and waiting for the right market. I figured my story wouldn’t make the cut but it would be good to go through the process.

Before this submission I had been getting what you call “good rejections.” What’s a good rejection? A good rejection is when the editor doesn’t want your story but praises it, tells you what you’re doing right or wrong, and maybe even encourages you to submit another story. I had been getting the “this is close but not quite right for us” type of rejection for years so when I received a response in my e-mail inbox I just figured it was another rejection. 

My wife, who was reading over my shoulder, realized that I had won the contest before I had the chance to process the acceptance. Getting my first acceptance was a very surreal experience and one that validated all the hard work that I had put in over the years.

My latest story sale (The Language of Ice) was to Phoenix Sullivan’s upcoming Extinct Doesn’t Mean Forever anthology.  This time my story is more along the lines of urban fantasy in an anthology that will be mostly science fiction & fantasy stories.

When you are dealing with a professional (like in the two examples above), the editor will send out an acceptance letter and then provide you with a contract. Some editors will require a small bio to go with your story. After you send back the contract the editor will send you a proof that you’ll read through and request any changes before publication.  Then, either on acceptance or after publication, you will receive the payment for the story that you agreed upon in the contract. In the case of anthologies you will sometimes also receive pro-rated royalties for each copy sold.

Well, that’s it for now. Maybe next time we’ll talk about novels. 

The Halfway Point

I’m finding this class very interesting and useful. I always wondered how someone could build a webpage from scratch. The video tutorials have been very useful and have helped me to work through all the HTML coding. The closest thing I’ve done to HTML coding was back in the 1980’s when I worked a little with Basic language programming. Back then I used to buy Run magazine and would try to type in the codes, included in the magazine, into my $50.00 TRS80 Micro computer. The program, when it worked and it rarely did, could only be saved on a cassette tape and that didn’t work very well either.  A few years later I would buy a Commodore 64/128 but I spent more time playing games then I did  working with programming.  But now I’m showing my age.

I’ve been using social media for a good amount of time to network with other writers. But this class has pushed me to move beyond facebook and also join Linkedin and twitter where a lot of writers are also networking. I’ve also been inconsistently writing a blog at Wordpress but I just set up a separate one at Blogger and I think I like it better. I’m hoping to learn more about personalizing my blog. I know a lot of writers use them as substitutes for a Webpage. I’m not sure I’ll learn enough in this class to go beyond creating a basic Webpage, and I’m not sure I’m want to go that far anyway. But the class  has given me a greater appreciation of the process.  

My Website

I decided to work on two different pages since I separated the index page from the “About Me” information. I had already placed a share tag at the top of my index page. I decided to change the background and the colors of the fonts on the index page and then matched them to the “about me” page. I also changed the background color.

On the “about me page” I matched the colors to my index page, and taking a cue from Wayne, I was able to post my picture. I went to Google Images and looked myself up. I was able to find a URL to my facebook photo and use the HTML coding to put it on the page. Then, I darkened the color of the fonts by adding the color code into the HTML coding in the “About Me” section and the “Career” section just to provide a little contrast. I don’t think it turned out too badly for a first try.

Before taking this class I had no idea how to make even a simple Webpage so I’m pretty happy to have learned the beginning of the process. I didn’t find it that difficult as long as I used the previous examples and worked off of them.

If you want to check out my pages here go

here

or

here

Thanks! 

What is a Black Belt?

For this week, since I’m not done with my website tasks for the week, I’m going to post my second blog post first.

In 1992, after five years of hard training, and a four-hour test demonstrating everything I had learned over the years, I earned the coveted rank of 1^st Degree Black Belt (Cho Dan in Korean and Shodan in Japanese) in Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan (A.K.A. Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan). With that, my teacher welcomed me to the beginning of my training.

Yes, when I reached 1^st degree black belt I was considered a beginner, a true beginner. Perhaps I was an “advanced” beginner, but I was really just beginning my training. All the training and the colored belts that came before were considered to be pre-beginning material, things that needed to be learned before the real training could begin. In the West we tend to think of a black belt as an expert, but a new black belt is anything but an expert. In contrast to a new student who ties on a white belt, the black belt is very knowledgeable but she or he still has a long way to go in their learning and understanding of the art and martial arts in general.

It’s also important to understand that every independent school and every organization sets their own standards for awarding martial arts rank. My school required a minimum of four years of study and very specific techniques and principles that had to be demonstrated to be eligible to earn a black belt rank. I have also trained at a school that required a minimum of ten years of training. Then there are schools that only require two years to reach the black belt rank. On average three to four years seems the minimum time for most schools in the West but they do vary widely.

To me a black belt is someone who has learned the basics of the art they are studying and has internalized what she or he has learned. This means they can perform the basics without needing to think about them. But understand that every school or organization sets their own standards. They also set their own standards for earning higher-level black belt rank. Some require learning and demonstrating specific kata and techniques, others only require a specific amount of time in grade, some will award higher rank based only on what the teacher has done for the art (publishing book, appearing in national magazines, or otherwise being an ambassador for the art), some base ranking of quality of students produced, and some award higher rank based on how often the candidate travels to the arts home country.

In the end, it’s not the rank that matters but the skill and ability that the martial artist gains over the years. Since ability can vary widely, rank should not be a sole determinate when looking for a martial arts instructor. You want to make sure you like the instructor and like their teaching style. How you feel about the instructor , their teaching ability, and how well you work with them are better indicators than any paper rank they can display on their school walls.

Earning a black belt is certainly a worthy endeavor that has the potential of making you into a better person, helping you to achieve your life goals, and making you more secure and confident. But we should never forget that the skills learned are vastly more important than a black piece of cloth worn around ones waist. And, as the oft used and very true cliché states: it’s the journey and not the destination.

The imaged I used is from: http://www.marketingmergenetwork.com/black-belt-recruiting-dillard/

How to be a Freelance Writer

Recently I had a student ask me how to get into the business of freelance writing. I tried to give him some basic information, and I figured I would use my second blog post this week to expand on the answer. I’m going to focus on fiction writing since I don’t have any experience selling commercial writing or ad copy.

I usually make the joke that being a freelance fiction writer is a euphemism for being unemployed. The same thing can be said for most people who call themselves actors. Writers spend most of their time writing and submitting their work, hoping that an editor will buy it, while actors spend most of their time auditioning and looking for work.

If you want to be a writer make sure you enjoy spending long periods of time alone, that you actually like the process or writing and editing, and that you can take a great deal of rejection. If you decide you want to make writing your primary job, you’re going to have to deal with a lot of economic uncertainly, unless that is, you have a spouse with a good job or you’re independently wealthy.

You’re going to have to make a choice whether you want to primarily write short fiction or novels. If you want to write for a living then you’re probably better off focusing on novels. Novels take longer to write but they usually pay much better than short fiction. Still, writing short fiction is a great way to start. You’ll create a complete story in a shorter period of time, and then you can send it out and hope for an acceptance or at least some feedback. Just remember it’s not the editor’s job to give you feedback.

Let’s say that you wanted to start out by writing some short fiction. I suggest you start out by searching for fiction markets (print magazines and e-zines) in the genre of your choice. Some good places to start your search would be the Websites Duotrope and Ralan. The tried and true advice is to send your stories to the highest paying markets that take the style of fiction that your write, first. Then, if you get rejected, you would work your way down to the next highest paying, and so on.  Preferably, you would read some of the markets and write stories specifically for them. You would then want to edit your stories and put them in standard manuscript format. Follow the markets submission directions carefully as they may have specific formatting guidelines. And then submit your manuscript to them per their instructions. You’ll want to make a list of markets you submitted to so that you don’t accidently send them the same story twice.

After you have submitted your story, begin on a new story for another market. Take any rejections you get in stride. Rejection is part of the business. Learn from the rejections you can and ignore the rest. If you keep submitting and learning from your mistakes you’ll eventually be published.

I just got word that one of my stories was just accepted for publication in an upcoming anthology. That same story had been rejected many times but I finally found the right market, and an editor who liked it enough to give me money for it and publish it.

Well, that’s it for now. This should be enough to get you started. In the future I may write a Part II to this blog post with information on how to begin the novel writing process. Until then, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I don’t consider myself an expert but I may be able to point you in the right direction.

The image above was borrowed from stuffjournalistslike.wordpress.com using Google Image. 

The Internet and Communications

My experience with the Internet in regards to communicating with friends, family, and colleagues has been a good one. Let’s start with email. When I was working as a security manager in the mid to late 1990’s I found that email really helped to create quick efficient communication. The communication wasn’t always polite, but in my experience, communication improved, as long as the other employees were willing to use the technology. This was especially important when it came to communicating with employees who were stationed in different locations. Then, when I worked as a recruiter from the early to mid 2000’s, I found it much easier to reach my clientele. 

Social networking has been a godsend to me. First, I get to stay in contact with a lot of my family on facebook. Then, I’ve been able to find old friends and past work colleagues that I had lost contact with for years. I can keep up with a lot of my martial art friends at the schools where I have trained. And I’ve been friends with classmates at UMASS and communicate with them over facebook. 

Before the Internet it was more difficult to network with other writers. In the early 2000’s I found some message boards where professional fiction writers hung out. After meeting these people online, I went to book signings and conventions to meet them in person. And now that most everyone has migrated to facebook , I’m able to stay in contact with them all the time. 

I think young people might have difficulty with live social interactions if they’re constantly communicating though social networking and texting. But for adults I think it can be a valuable addition to a friendship, especially when life gets busy. I don’t think social networking cheapens friendship since, even if I make friends with people I barely know (and I do this sometimes when I’m networking with writers) I still usually only keep in touch regularly with friends. 

In my opinion, Social networking does contribute to political unrest. But that’s a good thing. Large groups of people can come together, communicate, and then take action. Can it be a double-edged sword? Sure, especially if you are on the other side. But the Internet can be a great vehicle for free speech. 

Goal Setting and Achievement

I found a blog called Advanced Life Skills: Strategies for Positive Change and read the post 3 Keys to Realizing your Dreams and Goals. I used the search term “personal development to find this blog.

The author gives the three keys he feels necessary for goal accomplishment. He begins by talking about going from a state of wishful thinking to absolute certainty and clarity.  When you have a goal you must be clear about exactly what you want. This is difficult but you really have to put the time in to define your outcome. The author doesn’t go into the reason why but from my experience it’s because of the Reticular Activating System (RES). The RES is a filter in the brain that filters out stimuli from your conscious mind that isn’t important. When you are clear about what you want and make it important you program the RES to allow you to see things in your environment that would help you with your goals that you normally wouldn’t notice.

The second and most important step is take action. And while taking action, notice what is working and what isn’t and change your approach when necessary.

His third step deals with traversing the gap between where you are and where you want to be. A practical way to do this would be to write down where you are now and your outcome on a piece of paper. Leave a gap between them and then in that gap write down the steps you will take to get to your goal.

The original post can be found here

Embedding Images in Blogs

Here is one of my favorite planets

Embedding Movies in Blogs

Here's a first look at The Daily for the iPad:

Books in the Internet Age

Until recently the age old wisdom for writers was not to self-publish, especially fiction writers. One of the major hurdles for a self-published writer (they’re now calling them indie writers) was distribution. And distribution was the exclusive domain of the publishing house. If you wanted to get your book into a store you had to go through traditional means and usually suffer an apprenticeship filled with disappointment and rejection. But once you got a book contract you could focus on the writing and some promotion and let the publishing house do the rest (cover art, editing, distribution).

Within the last couple of years everything has changed.  Now with the advent of desirable e-readers like the Amazon Kindle the would be author has the ability to publish their own work, have a cover image created and uploaded, pay for a professional editing service, and reach readers all over the country and even the world with the almost unlimited potential of the Internet.

One downside of digitizing written media is the potential for piracy through file sharing. This is still very widespread with music files despite the ability to buy songs cheaply. Google Books may be stretching the concept of fair use by digitizing and uploading millions of books. But they claim that most of the books they’ve uploaded are already in public domain or long out of print. They have also partnered with some authors, allowing them to turn their book samples into an advertisement where the reader is only a click away from purchasing the book if they like what they’ve read.