Aeryn Rudel's Blog, page 18

Submission Statement: July 2021

July has come and gone, and, uh, good riddance. Not my best month in submission land.

July 2021 Report CardSubmissions Sent: 6Rejections: 2Acceptances: 0Publications: 2Further Consideration: 0

Only 6 submissions in July, bringing my total to 60. Technically, that still puts me on pace for 100 submissions for the year, but I’d hoped to get a few more subs out. One of the reasons I didn’t is, well, I didn’t get many rejections. Only two in July, so I didn’t get a chance to “turn and burn” m...

The Rejectomancer’s Grimoire: Resurrect Manuscript

Once more we delve into the Rejectomancer’s Grimoire in search of dark writerly enchantments. This week, we explore a powerful rejectomancy that can restore life to a long-dead project. But beware! Resurrect manuscript can have dire consequences for weak-willed rejectomancers, who may abandon all other projects for the revivified scribblings of the literary undead.

(If you’re wondering what all this rejectomancer stuff is, start here.)

Resurrect Manuscript

5th-level rejectomancy 

Casting Time: ...

A Week of Writing: 7/19/21 to 7/25/21

Here’s my accounting of another week gone by.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from Ernest Hemingway.

Good dialogue is not real speech–it’s the illusion of real speech.

—Ernest Hemingway

I have said many times that dialogue is my favorite way to tell a story. Many of my pieces are just folks talking to each other, and I feel I can capture drama, horror, love, angst, rage, and all that other good stuff between a couple of quotation marks. That said, I think Hemingway is absolutely correc...

The Rejectomancer’s Grimoire: Resist Response

The next entry in the Rejectomancer’s Grimoire shields the rejectomancer from dangerous temptations. This minor enchantment is called resist response and prevents vulnerable rejectomancers from penning angry responses to rejections and reviews.  (If you’re wondering what all this rejectomancer stuff is, start here.)

Resist Response

1st-level rejectomancy 

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: Self

Components: Somatic, Verbal

Duration: One hour

You strengthen your mental fortitude against deleterious te...

A Week of Writing: 7/12/21 to 7/18/21

Midway through July. Here are all my writing endeavors for the week, warts and all.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from William Zinsser.

“I almost always urge people to write in the first person. … Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.”

—William Zinsser

I unabashedly LOVE writing in first person. I even commit the mortal sin of writing in first person present tense. Do I like this POV because it’s an ego flex, like William Zinsser said? Maybe a little. I think it’s...

The Rejectomancer’s Grimoire: Fiona’s Flawless Formatting

The next entry in the Rejectomancer’s Grimoire is an eminently useful but potential dangerous spell called Fiona’s flawless formatting. Responsible rejectomancers who use this bit of literary legerdemain need never fear a formatting error. Less responsible use of the spell, however, may incur dire editorial wrath. (If you’re wondering what all this rejectomancer stuff is, start here.)

Fiona’s Flawless Formatting

1st-level literary legerdemain

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: Touch or Email

Compone...

Weeks of Writing: 6/28/11 to 7/11/11

Catching up on the last couple of weeks. Here’s how I did.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from Agatha Christie.

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.

– Agatha Christie

I definitely get story ideas when I’m doing housework, but the place where the ideas really get hopping for me is the gym. Well, exercise in general. I don’t know why, but if I’m sweating, I’m coming up with ideas. Ultimately, I think Agatha Christie is hinting at the fact that sitting down...

The Rejectomancer’s Grimoire: Revise Rejection

This is the first in a series of posts that will explore the strange and wondrous powers available to rejectomancers. If you’re unfamiliar with the path of the rejectomancer, just click this link and get acquainted. Like the rejectomancer “class” they’re designed for, the spells in the Rejectomancer’s Grimoire are a) based loosely on a popular roleplaying game and b) just for fun, not at all serious, and especially not designed to be balanced or usable or any of that jazz. So, with that out of t...

Submission Statement: June 2021

Halfway through 2021 and here’s how I’m doing.

June 2021 Report CardSubmissions Sent: 11Rejections: 7Acceptances: 1Publications: 3Further Consideration: 1

Eleven submissions is pretty damn good, and I’m up to 54 for the year. That’s an average of 9 per month, and a pace of 108 for the year. So all that’s looking pretty good. My measly 8% acceptance rate for the year is, uh, not so awesome, but there’s still time to work on that. Seven rejections in June, an acceptance, a trio of publicati...

A Week of Writing: 6/21/21 to 6/27/21

Last week of June, folks. Let’s see how I did.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from novelist Barbara Kingsolver.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”

~ Barbara Kingsolver

I think as authors we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what people want. Be it editors or agents or readers, it’s almost impossible not to ...