Arrgh.

Ever since I upgraded to Firefox 3, the LJ web post tool has issues, particularly with embedding links. I thought (and still feel) it might be a Java glitch, but Sun's latest rev, 1.6.0_07, fails to remedy the problem.

Which leaves IE for web posting or downloading an actual client.

I think it's time to check out the clients.

Updated my primary website via some spring--whoops, July eh? Make that summer--housecleaning. General tiding up plus I swapped in a color photo of my mug on the About Me page where I had a B&W one. I don't mind B&W pix for landscape or scenery shots where the contrast can really highlight special points. But when done for people, I always feel like I'm rummaging through my great grandmother's attic treasure collections.

For those mildly curious, I happen to use MS Publisher for web work. Lots of choices exist but I landed on it due to a cut rate purchase of Office some time back. One day I may bone up on my HTML skills, but for now, I'll stick with qualifying as 'just slightly dangerous.'

Following my minor skate calamity about a month ago, I hit up the brick-n-mortar chains for new wheels. My mind was thinking replacement wheels only, but my heart latched onto a desire for new skates, and, given the big sale in progress, urged my mind to do the math. It did, and I walked out with a set of K2 Moto-M blades. This is my 4th set of blades and 3rd set of K2's.

The verdict? It's true love. 10 minutes into my inaugural run, the skates felt like a comfy pair of well-broken-in hikers. For the first time, I had a set of skates where concentration and effort on skating mechanics faded to the background and my mind roamed free. At that point, the muse squealed and said "Cool. I don't have to be banished from these runs anymore. Let's have some real fun."

Thanks, K2.

"To be a better writer means being a better editor."

I have no idea if I should attribute someone for the above pithy-ism, but it's something I've known in my heart for a long, long time. Better yet, I've lived it. In my day job where nonfiction prevails (please no snide remarks about how marketing & sales copy paired with nonfiction is a classic oxymoron). In my slowly growing collection of fictional works. Certainly in the smaller slice of that fiction collection fortunate enough to make print.

It's not the first words you utter, but that last that ring true. Or not, as it were.

On the cusp of truly launching into N2, what will be my second novel manuscript, I'm detouring down a side road to take a revealing, hopefully evolutionary journey into the world of editing. I've teed up N1 as the subject matter. And I can vouch that my learnings are already happening. In the coming days, I hope to share some of the sights and experiences with you right here.

No doubt this will be a fun ride, one way or another.

Spoiled. Totally rotten. I freely confess.

After 8 years of continuous use, our DSL modem rolled over and presented its belly skyward. My wife then had one of those stereotypical engagements with the phone company that we all know and love, which went something like this:

Wife: (calling ahead to the nearest service center) "Do you have replacement units there for pick-up?"
Tech: "Oh yes."
Wife: "I mean, just a DSL modem. You're sure you have them. Please check."
Tech: "In the back. Yep. It says right here."

Wife drives to the center. Horrendous waiting room experience ensues, sucking away 90 minutes of her life and nearly bringing her to blows with another boorish customer who tries cutting in line. Finally, she reaches the counter.

Tech 2: "Nope. We don't have those."
Wife: (blood pressure at celestial levels) "I was told you have them in the back."
Tech 2: "There's nothing back there but dust. Got some on a pallet at the airport though."
Wife: "DSL modems?"
Tech 2: "Yep."
Wife: "Why should I believe you?"
Tech 2: "Says right here ... one pallet of routers."
Wife: "Nooooo... D-S-L modems. Read my lips: m-o-d-e-m."

Cutting to the chase, it took about a week to get a replacement modem during which I came close to securing one myself and then sending the bill to the phone company. Meantime, I trotted out my ancient laptop, which was the only computer that had a ready-to-use dial-up modem installed. And we made do with that.

Barely.

I think I've ground away 1/3 of the enamel on my teeth. My gods, how did (or does) anyone function with dial-up Internet access?

Our reaction was to curb all Internet activity except for cursory handling of e-mails. No blogging, bill-paying, web site updates, browsing, board-surfing, entertainment, gaming. Nada. Absolutely no inclination to do any of that at 56K bps speeds (on a good dial-up connection, if you're lucky to get 1 out of 5 tries).

For me, it pretty much cut-off all the writing-related activity that I use the net for. And why shouldn't it? Once you've developed the taste for Bordeaux, it's an intolerable substitute to quaff Boone's Farm Tickle Pink ever again.

Things are finally back to normal, including my wife's blood pressure. DSL is fixed and humming along. And I will eagerly and contentedly shell out that monthly fee to sustain our deep-rooted habit.

Over 10 years of recreational roller blading, through 3 sets of skates, and I've never experienced a blowout... until this weekend. Good thing 3 wheels work about as well as 4, in a pinch. Not that I really wanted to experience that first hand. It was kinda necessary, though, since I wasn't up for walking a handful of miles back home. Barefoot. Mid-afternoon at over 90 degrees.

Besides the exercise advantages, blading and power walking have the added benefit of recharging and reinvigorating my muse. I've actually had stories swing 180 degree turns from where they were headed just by taking the muse out for a stroll. Pretty amazing what can happen when your butt leaves the chair and computer behind.

Of course, it's not so amazing what happens when your butt is subjected to cruel physics due to an untimely equipment failure.

Colleen Lindsay's blog entry illustrates another great example of what not to do to secure agent representation.

Eeesh.

I can certainly understand abject frustration. I get the fact that venting is catharsis. By all means, do what's necessary to eliminate stress in your life. But do it in a way that doesn't end up ultimately piling on more stress and frustration regarding what you seek.

Boggling.

When it comes to e-mail missives, I've always been a believer in writing them up (with the To: field left safely blank), laboring over every choice word and accusation, pouring your emotions fully into every point, be stinging, mean, and vicious to your heart's content.

Then, walk away from it. Leave it alone for some safety cushion of time: 30 minutes, an hour, an afternoon. 

Return to it when you've recycled your emotional state at least once, preferably more. Read the draft again with a serious judgmental eye. Consider that it will live forever and potentially could circulate to audiences you never intended to see it (called: giving it The Headline Test). Still feel strongly that it must be sent? Then, fill in the To: field, press Send, and enjoy your satisfaction.

Otherwise I recommend the Delete key. If you still have something to say, then compose anew and repeat the process.

Finished another short story and did the prep for a printed send to the first target market (yes, one of those). This tale came in at about 6,000 words, which surprised me. I was thinking it would be about 2,000 words less, but it ended up going in a different direction than I expected (now, where have you heard that line before?).

Interestingly, that ultimate change in direction ended up giving it a much darker shade than the trajectory it was originally following. I was closing in on the finish line with it, took a break one evening for a power walk, heard the muse start rev-ving up, and ka-boom. Totally new ending. Funny how that works. Sometimes I think my muse could complete an entire novel manuscript from scratch if I were to take it on a cross-country hike.

Never fun and nothing to look forward to, I actually did have one tiny thrill with this year's US Federal income tax filing. This was my first ever return with income reported due to my writing. Of course, it amounted to hobby income and was negated by equivalent hobby expenses (which you can't claim more than the income portion), but I still view it as another milestone on the trek.

The luster of the moment evaporated at the point where I took out the checkbook and started filling in the lines to match the bottom line on the 1040 though.

Currently test driving a beta of the 3rd generation submission tracking tool, Sonar.  I really like Simon's product and have traded a couple of e-mails with him on it. He's a cool guy and his tools continue to remain free of charge. No ads either.

My submission count remains at 5 short stories outstanding, 1 of which would be a reprint.  Shortest time out is 0 days (just dispatched to the next battlefront) and longest is 63 days (the reprint, submitted to an anthology). The reprint actually has a longer outstanding submission time on it but I'm to the point where I'm writing off the target market it went to (a PODcast).

One of my favorite outtakes from the last day of our San Diego jaunt.  Nothing like some fresh greenery to satisfy a growing bear.

Where's the writing connection? Well, I just crossed the 50 post minimum over at Absolute Write forums and could now upload a custom avatar. So guess what I picked?

Have to put in a quick plug for one of the most open, friendly, helpful writer and writing forums on the web today. It's Absolute Write and besides the lively, hyperactive forum, there are multitudes of helpful articles and resources available for writers. If you've never checked it out, it's worth grabbing a fresh cold one and giving it a spin while you sip.

After a pleasant Spring Break Family Vacation to San Diego (Zoo + Wild Animal Park + Legoland), I returned to deal with a small crop of rejection notices in the Inbox. Since all writers blog about this perfectly normal aspect of the craft, I'll offer up some obligatory reflections.

Firstly, here are recent write-ups from jaylake (Jay's thoughts) and kenscholes (Ken's thoughts) on this particular subject, which I find myself in total agreement with. Rejections in the writing business are not that different from a baseball player stepping up to the plate and scoring a K. It comes with the territory and motivates the ballplayer to spend more time in the batting cage with a coach. With enough time and patience and looks at different pitches, the odds go up that the player will smack a hit. (I'm not too wild about sports metaphors but this one fit nicely to the point. No doubt there are many other competitive-caliber professions where a similar analogy exists.)

Yes, I do attempt to glean any insight or recommendations from rejections that transcend the rote form letter, and I'm deeply grateful to any editor that supplies any such feedback, especially these days. More often than not though, like Ken mentions, a rejection note is merely a signal that it's time to dust-off and pat smooth one of your little darlings before urging them back out the door to the next evaluator on the list. Blow them a kiss and wave while you're at it, right before you purge the mindspace to swap back in those various WIPs who require your undivided attention.

I submitted Game Over, a short YA, sci-fi story I sold back in Jan07, to AnthologyBuilder and Nancy Fulda was kind enough to accept it. See it here.

Now we'll see if anyone is tempted enough to actually select it for an anthology they assemble and purchase.

Nancy has a seriously cool idea with AnthologyBuilder and I sure hope it proves successful for her.  I've seen postings for several other author names I know already out there. If you've not considered it for any of your works, especially previously sold stories where the rights have reverted back, you should check it out.

Edit Mar 29: a shout out goes to Simon Owens who has an excellent perspective and further information on AnthologyBuilder over in his blog.  Thanks, Simon!

Dumbfounded. Speechless. Embarrassed. Crestfallen. I could go on and on.

My rant

And my excuse was I avoided staying in touch with news and fan boards for fear of hearing the carnival ride would go on longer than I would have liked.

Something... somehow... today prompted me to finally check status.

Never, ever in my wildest possible thought would I imagine this could happen.

There aren't words to describe just how low I feel about this. And while I should, and eventually will, banish my rant, I'm going to leave it up for a while as a penance for my failure of humility. I need that painful reminder, at least for the time being.

Sigh. You might think the taste of shoe leather would be a considerable deterrent from having a repeat experience.

One of my favorite, highly versatile quotes:
"Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo da Vinci

Change the word "Art" to "The revising process" and it pretty much sums up how editing works for most writers. If you have the ability to edit your work to total perfection and walk away utterly satisfied, please take a well deserved bow. Meanwhile, a great many of us will toil on in response to our Editor's lash (note: could be internal or external sourced) until we cry "Uncle!"

I always find it fascinating to hear from writers how they undergo the editing process, their quirks, habits, rituals, etc. Seems to me it's like fingerprints, individually unique, where what works for someone could be nothing short of death by slow poison for another.

If you didn't catch ysabetwordsmith's tip on http://community.livejournal.com/sfwriters/, she gave a pointer to a post from sleigh where he dissects and shows line-level editing he performed on his novel, A Magic of Twilight. Worth a look.

 
My son (here in this photo learning how Danes just make terrible lap dogs) approached me today with a story idea he's been pondering. It involved a family affected by terrorism while the dad was away on work travels, which I certainly do at times. The chief arc wasn't the family experiencing unfortunate, random violence from a terrorist act, say, drawn straight from the newspaper headlines. No. It was more sinister. Orwellian even. In my son's tale, the dad returned from a trip to find house and family gone. Vanished. With "the government" implicated due to some alleged family connection to terrorism. The dad then gets to spend the rest of the story figuring out what happened, finding and reuniting with his loved ones.

Wow.

Mind you, this is a young man not quite 12 years old. He does read portions of the newspaper, the comics mainly. We don't let him watch CNN, MSNBC, FOX News or even the local news. We still tend to flip the channel on the car radio when the news comes on. But he, like his brother and so many of their peers, are incredibly bright and aware and worldly now. They know of the global economy and global affairs because they understand that they're directly affected. They don't grasp the how and perhaps not the why parts at length, but they do get it.

Which tears at you, right down the middle. Just when is it not bothersome to witness childhood innocence be displaced by the barbed thorns of truth and reality--hard-knock comprehension and gut-wrenching understanding that no one should be deluded about? Yes, they need to know, but now? If not now, when???

He thought I might write the story. After discussing it a bit, the gears shifted and he felt like he might take a crack at it himself.

My worldly son, the aspiring writer. And the incredible, triumphant, sobering, scary thought is, I can easily picture him being wildly successful. My swollen pride and admiration tempered by imagining what further worldly seasoning he might yet undergo in order to get there.

It really tears at you.

(Photo details:  Heimdall is a bull-headed, brutish, lovable, sweetie-pie, rescue Dane who failed to meet standards of the breed. Fortunately, some very good friends of ours didn't give a hoot about breed standards and saw in Heimer a wonderful addition to their family, which he absolutely is. Except he still thinks he's a lap dog. And he won't let you forget it.)

Agents are buried under an relentless query avalanche.  I offer up for you just one more proof point.

After a careful research and selection process, I sent a few waves of queries out in 2007 for my N1. The small stream of SASEs returned with a variety of form letters, the occasional personalized reply, and one request for a partial. After completing the pass through my filtered list, I took a breather.

Just the past week, another SASE arrived with another form rejection. I estimate the turnaround at somewhere between 7 and 8 months. Yee-oww. I really have to hand it to an agency that chugs through the tidal wave, no matter how long it takes, to get a reply back to the submitter and grant them closure. Though prospective clients and, I expect, the agency itself would much prefer faster response cycles, in this day and age you have to applaud diligence, fortitude, and conscientiousness in the face of near-impossible odds--I'm talking about aspiring writers AND beleaguered agents.

Mettle most impressive.

Got an e-mail from Simon Haynes, a.k.a. SpaceJock, that he has a beta of Sonar3 up for trial runs.  I've been using its predecessor, Sonar2, for tracking my short story submissions, and it's a nifty little tool.  So, time now to give the new edition a whirl.  Oh, did I mention that the price of just about all of Simon's tools is an amazing zero (0) in whatever your preferred currency happens to be?  Thanks, SpaceJock!

While on this topic, I'll rattle off a couple of stats I'm seeing in Sonar2...
# of trunked stories: 1 (you fought the good fight, lad, but you've just not got it in you anymore)
# of sales: 2 (net payout = $35)
# stories currently out: 5
longest submission outstanding: 105 days

I suppose I could bump up the trunked stories count by adding ones that never saw the light of day, but why?  I'd rather work harder on the other stats.

Interested in sampling a couple of stories from InterGalactic Medicine Show? Here's your chance. Four tales are set to be unlocked for free access during this month, and the first two are already up. Thanks to maryrobinette for passing along the following notice.

When you have something great, you want everyone to know. So you tell people about it. You share it. You pass it along to friends everywhere. Well, that’s what we’re doing with InterGalactic Medicine Show. We want to make sure everyone has had a chance to check out what we’re doing, so we’re offering up a sampling of our stories – for free.

During the month of February we are going to make one story from each of our first four issues available at no charge. Two stories will be set free on February 1st, and two more on February 15th. Just visit www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com and explore the table of contents; the free stories will be clearly marked.

Issue one’s free story will be “Trill and The Beanstalk” by Edmund R. Schubert, issue two’s will be “Yazoo Queen” by Orson Scott Card (from his Alvin Maker series), issue three’s “Xoco’s Fire” by Oliver Dale, and issue four’s “Tabloid Reporter To The Stars” by Eric James Stone. Each story is fully illustrated by artists who were commissioned to create artwork to accompany that tale — as is every story published in IGMS.

“Tabloid Reporter To The Stars” will also be featured in the upcoming InterGalactic Medicine Show anthology from Tor, which will be out this August (we wanted you to get a sneak peek of the anthology, too). However, the other three stories aren’t available anywhere except the online version of IGMS.

It’s really quite simple. Great stories. Custom illustrations. Free. We’re pleased with and proud of the magazine we’re publishing; now we’re passing it along to our friends and telling them about it. We hope you’ll enjoy it and do the same.

Edmund R. Schubert
Editor, Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show
www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com

All this free lunch really costs you is your time, so savor, smile, and spread the word.