Chantal Boudreau's Blog, page 32

Edit Fest – Weeding

Most of today was spent either editing or gardening, and in a way, the two have quite a lot in common. In both cases you start with a seed – for writing, that’s an idea and for gardening it’s the source of a plant. Planting that seed…writing that first draft…that’s the fun part, but there are no guarantees it will grow and if it does, there are no promises that it will yield fruit.

You can take steps to make it more likely to succeed and weeding is one of them. I was weeding the garden today despite the fact that it is in its initial stages. I normally wouldn’t be doing that, anymore than I would with a first draft of a story, but we planted asparagus that takes three years of growth before it can be harvested and we’re on year two. Unlike our other crops that are just being planted, the asparagus sprouts have already started emerging, purply-green (not what’s in the picture – those are last year’s beets). The weeds were already springing up around this year’s growth, so some weeding had to be done.

Editing, a form of weeding, is just as tedious as the garden variety and you have to be as thorough as possible. It’s a matter of pulling out things that don’t belong and moving other things around for better positioning. If you do it properly, what remains will be healthier for it.

Those are my editing thoughts for the day and I’ve made great progress on “The Trading of Skin”. I hope to be done tomorrow. “Victims of Circumstance” will be next if those galleys I’m expecting soon haven’t made it back to me for final review.

Submission blitz update – I received a rejection for “Relief” today. It goes onto the shelf awaiting a new opportunity. In the meantime they have invited me to submit a second time before the May 31 deadline. If I can come up with a funny story idea before then, I may just take them up on that.

Edit Fest – Things that Surprise Me

I make a point of not editing a novel manuscript until I’ve let it sit for at least three months, so I can approach it with a fresh perspective. I have this bare bones impression of the story that sticks with me, etched into my brain, but the rest fades from my thoughts once written out. When I get back to the story, it never reads like I remember it. This isn’t a bad thing though. Doubt always seeps in during those months away from it – that whole notion that the story can’t be all that great. Returning to the actual words written always surprises me, and usually in at least a somewhat positive way. I can’t imagine how I came up with certain unusual turns of phrases and quirky descriptions that seem original but fitting.

The feeling doesn’t last. I trudge my way through my editing, chastising myself for the little mistakes here and there and enjoying the things that seem to work, but once I’m done everything fades again. I think it’s pretty amazing. I have scenes that stuck with me in vivid detail for the better part of a decade because I didn’t have the opportunity to write them down, but the moment I did, I lost all but their basic essence, and the only way to get them back is by reading what I’ve written.

I’m wondering if this is common to many writers or something specific to me. It’s like I clear out my brain, wiping the slate mostly clean except for that faint chalk shadow. Call me a space cadet (in reference to a writer meme that happens to be floating around right now) but I think I have to do this to empty my head – otherwise things get too cluttered.

Anyway back to editing…

Blitz Bonus #2

My last submission for a long time…I sent off “The Elephant’s Graveyard” to a pro-rate venue and I got my receipt confirmation. Do I have a realistic chance at getting in? Absolutely not. They invited submissions from bigger-named, established writers, leaving only two spots for open submission. They received over 100 submissions their first day open. If they average 100 submissions a day for the full month they are open, that’ll be more than 1,500 submissions per available slot – definitely worse odds than the Harper Voyager lottery (they averaged less than 400 submissions per available slot).

Does that deter me? Of course not. I’d rather say I took a stab at near impossible odds and failed than say I just didn’t bother trying. There’s no real downside here to trying.

I’m actually proud of how many pro-rate venues I submitted to during my blitz, even though I have little hope of success with them. That being said, it’s the way to go to get to the next level in publishing. The first level is just trying to get something published period. That took me a while. Now it’s trying to get the pro-rate venues to embrace you. I’m willing to push for it. As Reeree would say: “No regrets”.

Anyway, I’m definitely going to make the blitz an annual thing – maybe even bi-annual if things start piling up on the shelf again before year’s end.

Now it’s on to my editing fest…

Blitz Bonus #1

“Relief” went out today to a pro-rate venue who stipulates that you can submit a second story if they reject the first before submission deadline. I might try this if the first one comes back a “no” – it has worked for me before.

One last submission to go and then I’ll start edits on Traders of Skin, unless the galley for one of my novels with my publisher comes back for final review. That’ll take priority. They’ve been a tad backlogged for a few reasons, but since they are a family run small press and life happens, I always give them leeway. I would expect similar latitude if I suddenly hit a major roadblock that delayed me. I know that now that their schedules have cleared, they are catching up, so I should see something soon.

The nice thing about editing is I don’t stick to a strict schedule because it’s one of those things that can easily be overdone. If I spend too much time on it, my efforts get less effective, so when I need a break, I take a break. Maybe I’ll sneak some work in on Sifting the Ashes.

No word back on any other submissions, but no news could be good news. We’ll see.

Submission Blitz – Day 30

I made it – my 30 day goal! I finished up “A Shovel and a Bag of Lime too” and submitted it to a pro-pay venue. I will have my two day “Blitz Bonus” and then it will be on to other things, primarily editing for the next month, but hopefully some work on reconstructing my website now that my old server has closed down (boo). Once I figure out sticky pages and a few other things, I’ll have all my old content set up on wordpress (yay!) This also means getting new business cards. I’m also hoping to finish the two books I’m currently reading and maybe get some more work done on Sifting the Ashes (when I’m all edited out for a spell.) I’ve had enough of a break from it to be keen on getting back to the story. It was just too gloomy for me to handle with all the unfortunate things I was having to deal with at the time.

On a lighter note, I received two things that reminded me of some of the reasons I go through all the trouble of trying to get published in the first place. One was a cheque from a story sale and the other was my contributor copy of Midnight Movie Creature Feature 2 . Let me say, I’m more than a little impressed. The cover is beeeeeautiful and the illustrations inside are super snazzy. That’s next on my reading list, as soon as I’m done the two I’m reading now.

On to May, and my last two submissions for a while…

Submission Blitz – Day 29

A great day, because in addition to the fact that I now have finished submitting the three novels I had planned on sending out – getting that unpleasantness out of the way – I also received some pleasing correspondence regarding two of the stories I submitted during the blitz. I was a little disappointed that the venue I had in mind for today’s novel had closed to submissions indefinitely. It means the next time I do another blitz I’ll likely have to send out paper submissions for the novels, unless the bigger publishers change their policies about electronic submissions/queries. That or I’ll have to submit to larger small presses – what I consider mid-sized presses. Not exactly what I had in mind for the blitz, which is more of a “go big or go home” situation.

As for the good news, I received e-mails saying both “Sanae’s Garden” and “A Shovel and a Bag of Lime” have made it to the next round of review (in the latter’s case, the final round.) That’s not an acceptance for either yet, but far better than a rejection. I was especially surprised with the one I received for “A Shovel” because I was honestly expecting a rejection in that case. If it is accepted, it will be the best rate per word I’ve earned to date. I’m tickled pink. This may just be a truly beneficial experiment.

And while I had originally planned on running this for 30 days, I’ll now be extending it two days into May. Two of the venues I have stories for don’t open for submissions until May 1, so I had to hang on to them and wait for May.

It may have been a challenging month, but I think this blitz will prove to be worthwhile, no matter what the end results. More to come…

Submission Blitz – Day 28

Elements of Genocide was sent off today. I swear submitting novels to the bigger publishers feels like getting punched in the stomach. It shouldn’t – it’s hardly any different from submitting short stories – but it does. I almost enjoy submitting short stories, even on a day like today where I got a basic form letter rejection from one of the pro-rate venues I submitted to (no surprise there.)

I guess with the novels it seems like a futile effort, submitting something that will be hanging in limbo for as much as 8-12 months (or even more)just to elicit the inevitable “no”. I don’t have the same sense of hope I have when submitting short stories – there’s some there even when I’m taking a stab at a pro-rate venue. I figure there’s always a slim chance I just might break through that short story pro-rate glass ceiling someday, but I don’t believe there’s any chance for my novel manuscripts at all. I write squares when they are looking for circles. I’m pretty sure the only chance I have of ever being picked up by one of the bigger players is if I somehow make a name for myself first and they buy into that. That’s not likely to happen either. While I like what I write, I know my mind works differently from that of Joe Average. I’m not sure I’ll ever have anything more than niche appeal.

The only reason I do send the novels out to them is because I know Barb always wanted me to. She was a voracious reader and she always told me my work was better than many big six books she had read. She had hope for me, and I don’t want to let that down. But I’m not convinced myself.

Part of the problem is that I’m a rebel. I won’t write to a theme because it’s currently trendy and marketable and while I do polish my story, I won’t sand off my edges to work my way into a restrictive hole. I’m also a storyteller, not a wordsmith, which is a death-knell for a writer trying to break into the fantasy genre. What do I mean by that? For me it’s all about the story and the characters involved. It’s not about the flowery vocabulary, the frilly decor or unnecessary world-building (just the creations that count.) The only thing I try to put into a story is what is vital to the story. In an industry where “show, don’t tell” is a mantra, being a story”tell”er is just asking for nasty name-calling and finger-pointing. But I’ve never lived my life caving to peer pressure. I’m not about to start now.

Only one more novel to send out, which is good because this part always generates extra frustration. ‘Til that’s over with, I grit my teeth and wait for Tuesday.

Submission Blitz – Day 27

I found courage in a glass of wine and sent out my submission query to a bigger publisher for “Sleep Escapes Us”, which included a 10 page partial, per the publisher’s specs. I really hope I find a good home for it someday. I described the story in brief as “an alternate history, zombie dark fantasy tale with a foundation in ancient Thracian mythology. The story is one of courage, self-sacrifice and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds.” And for a lead in to my brief synopsis: “When a simple hunter, Zelmis, is chosen by lottery to be a sacrifice to Zalmoxis, the Thracian god of death, he chooses to instead slay the living god with the help of Cerzula, a witch of Hecate. The horrific results, the dead turning and rising as undead, dooms their realm to many years under the tyrannical rule of necromantic generals, a situation that only Zelmis’s daughter, Alina, can rectify.” I then went on to outline the four sections of the book, also in brief.

I certainly enjoyed doing the detailed research for the novel into the mythology, the history, customs and cultural aspects of ancient Thrace and things like flora, fauna and herbalism. It has an epic feel to it but it is a very basic story as far as the heart of the tale is concerned. It definitely isn’t your typical zombie story, to say the least.

I’m expecting a “no”. I’m a no-name writer with no agent and my work doesn’t fit into the cookie-cutter world of big publishing. I’m lucky to have (and to have had) a few people in my life who have a lot of faith in my work. That’s honestly what keeps me trying. Maybe I’ll find someone out there with the ability to bring me some significant exposure who feels the same way.

Only time will tell.

Submission Blitz – Day 26

As I figured, I had “A Shovel and a Bag of Lime” finished this morning so I sent it out to my fourth podcast for the month. This was another venue I had sort of given up on, not because the rejection letter I had gotten from them was rude – it was actually quite polite – it was just super weird and that put me off (it was a major “hunh?” moment.) I don’t think they’ll take this flash fiction story. I don’t believe it’s outlandish enough for them. But I’m still going to give it a shot.

It is a strange little story, but I like how it turned out. Like most of my flash fiction, it focuses on a particular moment in time, with minimal description, back-story and explanation of events. This one was different from my others in that it was implied horror. There was a suggestion of something horrible in the works, the story seeded with hints at something malevolent beneath the surface, but there are no violent or gory events in the body of the story. If it works the way I meant for it to work, the clues will spur the reader’s imagination enough that what they anticipate will be happening will be worse than if I had described it.

The title was an idea from my husband, but I came up with the story. He formulated an idea for a story with that title as well, after I had one in mind, so I’m going to write his version this weekend (he shared – he likes me writing stories from his ideas.) I’m going to call this one “A Shovel and a Bag of Lime too”.

Tomorrow I start my novel submissions- wish me luck!

Submission Blitz – Day 25

I did it – I worked up the nerve to send “The Lure” off to the podcast I had in mind. We’ll see if I get a scathing rejection letter questioning my intelligence this time. I’m hoping it was just a one-time thing, where I ran into the wrong person on the wrong day and it isn’t an ordinary occurrence. Only time will tell. If I do get back a second letter of that sort, I’m going to start to wonder what folks actually mean when they call themselves “professional”. I didn’t think “rude” was part of the definition. Then again, I’ve also run into some elitist people who said “professionalism can’t be learned,” as if there were more highly evolved and sophisticated people out there who were just born professional. Sorry, your DNA only qualifies you for “low-grade amateur schmuck” status … what kind of garbage is that? It’s like some people who have been earmarked as “professionals” think that this suddenly means they are better than everyone else – sheesh! My union officially categorizes me as a “professional” but I don’t agree with that kind of high-falootin’ attitude. I take people at face value and not based on their title (or their salary.) I couldn’t care less what echelon you are; what I care about is if you are a decent human being.

I received another receipt confirmation and I also worked on my flash fiction piece “A Shovel and a Bag of Lime,” today. I should be done by morning for tomorrow’s submission and this weekend (which includes Monday for me) will be reserved for the novels. That just leaves day 30, and I’m sure I can come up with one last story by then.

Eyes forward and headed for the end. I guess it wasn’t that difficult an objective after all.