Wednesday, April 4, 2012

IN MY WRITING WORLD

I remember as a kid standing in the library in awe. In that moment I knew what I wanted; to see my novel on those shelves. Now all these years later I'm in. Dream Keeper is on the library shelf. Mission accomplished! :-)

Novel marketing is not one of my favourite things; I'm more an introvert than an extrovert. I took a teaspoon of cement (to harden up) and approached That's Life magazine offering copies of Dream Keeper as prizes. They have kindly accepted my offer which will be happening as an online promotion in the near future.

I'm going well writing articles. The Fellowship of Australian Writers have accepted and published five in a row. The state president of FAW NSW also will be reviewing Dream Keeper in an upcoming issue. I'm hoping this helps with sales.

So far this year I've managed to accomplish another goal and broke into the overseas markets with short story sales in the UK and SA.

As we all know with writing it's not all good news. (We wish.)The rejections, lack of motivation, inspiration and procrastination at times can be very draining. TL mag here in Australia - my favourite mag who have published the bulk of my short stories in the past (my very first short story sale to them in 1994) - haven't bought a story from me in almost a year! This concerns me, big time, as over here it is the only paying short story mag market. Why? Why? Why? I don't know.

I've submitted a huge stack of short stories, both revamped and new to various publishers and now I play the game that none of us like to play - the waiting game.

My other two novel manuscripts sit in a publisher's email box waiting to be reviewed. Apparently if they do not contact me within three months of submission I am to assume that they have decided not to pursue my manuscripts. I have two months to go. Fingers and everything else crossed for me please.

I've read a couple of blogs on the topic of increased postage costs. I can't help but wonder why in this day and age of modern technology there still are mags/publishers who only accept submissions via post. Why is that? Can anyone enlighten me?

So, in my writing world I have concluded I am doing all I can, and while I wait and live in hope, I write.

Keep writing....

22 comments:

  1. It's such a waiting game, isn't it Diane? But congratulations on all you've achieved, and are achieving, this year - not bad going so far!

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    1. It sure is a waiting game Rosemary. Thanks for the congrats. I figure if I can do the best I can, that is all I can really ask of myself. x

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  2. I can only guess that sending submissions by post requires a certain level of commitment. You seem to be doing very well anyway, Diane. Congratulations.

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    1. Thanks 'Dream it, then do it'. I am trying hard. :-)

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  3. The money may not be what you'd like, but otherwise, sounds like you're doing pretty well. I know we always think there's something I could do better or more often and get more done, but you do what you can. Personally, and I think a lot of writers would agree, I'd get off the short-story treadmill and concentrate on novels. Of course, it's your personal interest and goals that drive you, and if short stories are it, then keep on.

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    1. Hi Richard, thanks for your comment. I do enjoy writing novels but I have to say I also enjoy the challenge and variety of genres I can explore by writing short stories. :-)

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  4. You're working really hard Diane and deserve all your success. I gave up my blog as I had almost stopped writing and had lost focus on what I was supposed to be doing. So now I am back to writing and sending stuff off. I still follow all you lovely bloggers though. When I get my first story published, I'll scream it from the rooftops.

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    1. Hi Maggie May. I figure if I put the effort in something good will come out of it - that's the plan anyway. And when you do scream it from the rooftops Maggie May I will be hearing you and I will be cheering for you. You can do it! x

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    2. Thankyou Diane. I appreciate those words of encouragement.

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    3. You are most welcome Maggie May. Don't give up! It will happen. x

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  5. :::knuckles white from the pressure of crossed fingers:::

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  6. Oooh, don't get me started on the subject of post - ours is getting worse by the day and they're now, to make things even worse, they're putting the cost up by a huge percentage.

    You've done incredibly well this year. And I know how difficult I'd find the promotional side of things, so I'm incredibly proud of how proactive you've been. You deserve all your success with Dream Keeper.

    XX

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  7. Well done on approaching TL to offer your books as prizes!

    By the way, I wouldn't give up the short stories to concentrate on novels if I were you. I really enjoy writing short stories between novels. They exercise different writing muscles, and besides, they're fun.

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    1. Thanks Claire. I have to agree totally what you said about short stories. x

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  8. Must be a great feeling to see your book on the library shelves- congratulations.

    Fingers crossed for your short story submissions too, Diane.

    I suspect if magazines opened their submission process to sending by e-mail they would be inundated and just not able to sort the good from the poor to get a magazine out. That's if their system didn't crash from it all...

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    1. Hi Carol - getting on the library shelf is something I have always dreamed about. It means a lot to me. Thanks for keeping those fingers crossed for me. :-) You made a good point about submissions, but can you imagine the piles of paper on their desks and probably floors? lol x

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  9. Congratulations on your publicity successes as well as your book and stories. Yep, waiting is very hard. I had one ms which one publisher said they 'liked', I made it longer as requested, and they held it for 10 months before rejecting. That market that appears to be particularly hard for publishers to profit from in Australia, with its small population, and getting harder. I don't have any hard feelings and am grateful for their interest and will be happy to send more work to them. You have to keep writing what makes your heart sing.

    All best wishes

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    1. Hello Peter, thank you for your comment and kind words. You are write 'keep writing what makes your heart sing' - those are lovely words. :-)

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  10. Keep writing - exactly! That's the only thing that keeps us going!

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    1. So very true. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment Talli. :-)

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