Revise and try again

Trying again after revising the story. One rejection response had made a comment on how to improve the story. A week ago I revised the story according to my best understanding of the comment. After letting it alone for several days, the revision did seem to me to improve it. So am sending a second group of simultaneous submissions with the revised version to a totally new group of magazines. This group is smaller, just five. The story fit is also not as good with this group as it had been with the first wave of submissions.

The stories are all ready to be mailed. January 2, 2013 is the target mailing date.

Also starting research on a non-fiction article. The idea came to mind while playing with some of the new gadgets in the stores. Might not be interest in the topic nor a likely home for the article. I will have to research that but think I will write the article anyway because I found the topic so much fun. So many writers like Bradbury have advised writers to write from their interests and passion.

Gettysburg Review

Another rejection yesterday. This one from the Gettysburg review was on a printed form with the name of the story hand written at the bottom. It reads: Thank you for letting us consider your manuscript. We regret that it does not suit our present needs.

This story was sent to them on September 19, 2012 with a post card to acknowledge the manuscript was received by them and a self addressed stamped envelope for acceptance or rejection. Thoughtfully they enclosed the unused but stamped postcard in the envelope so I could use it again.

Snow

It has been a long time since the grass was white with snow. I had forgotten how bright the sun can get when reflected from the snow.

In paintings light is so important to give focus, mood, and color. Like painters, writers use the light and shadows of both to set the physical and emotional scene.

How does light affect our moods? Is it similar for all of us? Is bright light happy? Subdued light, contemplative?

Some people are yellow-blue, green-blue, or red-green color blind. Are their emotions affected differently by light?

I love looking at light shining through stained glass windows. My favorite colored glass is a dark blue with the sun shinning full through it.

Firelight and candle light have their own powers to warm the soul. Why is that?

It is bright and cold out today; challenging me to be alive and leave the house.

Enjoy the holidays!

Memories

Holidays often trigger memories. For some the memories just flow smooth and easy. For others a few tricks can help. Listen to the music of the holiday for the time period you want to recollect. Recreate the smells -- Christmas trees, baking cookies, clear crisp air, holiday foods cooking. Feel anew the cold on your cheek, the snow on your skin, the warmth of a holiday cup of chocolate, the fur of your coat, or the warmth of a fireplace. See the bright stars in the sky, the flicker of candles, the glow of light displays. Hear the quiet of snow covered ground at night. Enjoy the laughter of friends. For a writer a memory isn't enough until words distill it to its purist.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. My wishes for a safe, happy, and healthy New Year.

Another rejection

In today's mail another rejection arrived. This one is from The Sun. It is a form letter essentially meaning to me that it wasn't a rejection, just a non-acceptance.

Always read the submit page

Another rejection today. This one comes from Inkwell which is not considering submissions because it is in  'a period of hiatus'. Always read the web site submission page. I read theirs and even printed it out. For Spring and Fall of 2012, their reading period was Aug. to November 2011. As it was September 2012 I just thought they had not updated the year on their website. The rejection says check the website in the spring.

Inkwell is from Manhattanville College which offers a graduate program in creative writing and an MFA.

Where is Manhattanville College?  Purchase, NY 10577

WordPad

Just found WordPad on my computer. It has all the word power I need. It is simple and easy to use; has the fonts I like; and has the other needs like spell check. Perfect for me.

But there is a problem. Now I have no more excuses for not getting those submissions out. I have a long way to go to meet my five hundred goal.

Another Rejection

Today another rejection arrived. This is a very special rejection. It is a hand printed note and signed. It has some nice comments and a suggestion for improvement. These are very rare and I am encouraged and thankful to The Fiddlehead in Canada.

In Today's Mail

It feels good to get something even if it is a rejection. One came today from AQR, Alaska Quarterly Review. Their form, on a little piece of paper maybe four by five and a half inches, reads: We thank you for the opportunity to read your manuscript. Unfortunately, your work does not meet our needs at this time. Because we know how much effort went into this submission, we regret the use of this form. But the volume of manuscripts we receive makes a personal reply impossible.
The Editors.

In hand printing they added the name of my short story and wrote in "many thanks". I think it nice that someone took the time to personalize their note like that.

That note has put my day on an upbeat. So any editors out there who are feeling bad about sending rejections, know that there are rejections that lift the spirits of us wannabes. Thank you for your efforts and time.

Still Nothing

Still no more rejections or even the post cards that indicate that it was received. Nothing is required but to put the card in the mail yet most of the places to which the manuscript was sent haven't even done that!

I should be making more submissions but haven't. My excuse is really just an excuse. Word 2010 is driving me nuts going from Word in Windows XP. For me it is new. I never went to Vista or Word 2007 so the change seems radical. I don't want to 'personalize' my set up. I just want to write like I did with my old system with simple easy choices that are readily available without a lot of searching and reading of manuals, help screens, or books.

I am seriously thinking of buying another word processor because the threshold seems too great to get to the basic level of use in Word 2010. Blog word processors are all I need for short stories so maybe I should just open a private blog and then copy those pages for electronic submissions.

Spent last weekend with a couple of books about Facebook. I have decided from the feed back from friends who had a difficult time while on Facebook and had a difficult time getting off of Facebook that Facebook is not for me.

My first computer was in 1979. An Apple II with 64k memory was just about the hottest personal computer going. The ipads and iphones now are wonderful. The laptops have better screens and do so much more. The World Wide Web is great. I guess I need to do some work catching up to all of that.