November 2013 IWSG

Happy Wednesday everyone! And seeing that it’s the first Wednesday of the month, that means it’s time for another IWSG!

 The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here. There's also a brand new website now so be sure to check it out here.

So I’ve got something on my mind I want to ask all of you out there. I am almost finished with a short story that I have been working on for what seems like ages. I’m thinking it’s going to end up being somewhere around 10,000 words and it is a Science Fiction piece that is very close to my heart. Since I am almost done, I’ve been going back and forth on how I want to publish it; traditionally or self-publish. If I go with traditional publishing, I won’t have to worry about paying for a cover or the editing (I don’t think so anyways. Please correct me if I’m wrong). BUT I also don’t have anything else published yet which means that it could be a little bit more difficult to place than I’m anticipating. Since it is such a long piece for a short story, I’m also worried about where I would publish it, because it would be way too long for a magazine. Maybe an anthology, but I don’t know.

My second option which I’m leaning towards the most right now is self-publishing. If I self-publish, I will definitely need to spend the money to pay for a professional cover as well as an editor. I’m liking this option more because I will have more control of my work on this particular avenue, but here is the crux of the matter. I don’t have anything else out there yet so I am currently an unknown and I don’t have a decent work sample I can offer for free yet. Should I let this be my free piece or should I put a price on it? I’ve worked so hard on it and right now I could really use the money, but with paying for a cover and editing, I don’t know how much to expect or if I should expect any returns all. I don’t know.

What do you think? How did you publish your first piece and if, like me, you haven’t been published yet, what avenue are you planning to use?

 Thanks for stopping by and Happy Writing everyone! ^^ :D

Adventures in Short Stories

Yesterday as I was editing and reediting the first chapter of my novel, I started to become a little bogged down and decided to step back and think about some long term goals. A novel, depending on the speed at which you write, can be a long endeavor! You have multiple chapters to fill, plenty of characters to flesh out, and after all that, you have editing. For a beginning writer like myself, it started to look like a rather daunting task! Working through my writing course with the Institute of Children's Literature I mostly wrote short stories. The whole time I kept thinking to myself, I don't like short stories. How can you become invested in a story that's only five pages long? Where's the build up? The plot? The adventure? The romance? I was simply not interested in such short works of fiction.

Now that I've been able to seriously commit to a full length novel, I'm beginning to see the value in short stories. When you've been working at the computer, hammering out all those little details, a short story is like a nice little breather. You can step away from that big daunting project, focus on something a little simpler, and just enjoy a shorter, less complicated piece of fiction. That's why I've decided to revive my first assignment for the Institute and make a true blue effort to get it published! ^^ :)

Strange Medicine, is a short story about two twins who go on a journey in New York to find a cure for their mother's sickness. After countless doctors have tried and failed to help, all seems lost until Tansy hears in her mother's whispering delirium, the name of a single doctor. Doctor Skiff. When Tansy and her brother Brett raid their mother's address book all they find are three words: Skiff Central Park. And so their adventure begins...

I heard somewhere that if you make a goal, you should either write it down somewhere you can see it or tell someone about it so why not do both? :) Getting Strange Medicine published is mine. What's yours? :)