My friend and I have stories that we’re supposed to switch today. It’s not going well. First it wasn’t going at all, and then it started to work, and now I’m completely stalled. Which happens, no big. Then I got a slew of strange rejections, all at once. A request for a rewrite, (“ethereal, but unclear. Is she crazy? Dead? Is he dead? Wait, who’s dead?” And do you know what? They were absolutely right!) a “We almost published it but don’t like the title, among other things”, a “the story runs under the surface” and a polite form rejection. I do appreciate the time that they take to give comments, because that’s kind of above and beyond the call of duty. But still. Criticism is always difficult.
Another editor and I were haranguing over a line in a story (one line!)until…wait, did I actually call him obnoxious and threaten bodily injury?! I did. And he took it surprisingly in stride. I think we found a compromise on that. Only two more words to cut down on that one, and then it’s all butterflies and doves and rainbows. Ever hear the phrase “kill your darlings?” That’s what goes on in editing, I’m learning. They hand you a big, shining axe and tell you to go for it. As for this particular story, “Ray the Vampire” will be out on Flash Fiction Online, as mentioned earlier, and you can also go to their blog to see exactly how it was chopped down. If you’re feeling particularly bloodthirsty, go take a gander after the story comes out. There will also be a forum section where readers can voice their opinion on which phrase they liked best, his or mine. So. Feel free to answer, but remember that my wrath is all consuming. 😛
Ha. I’d be interested in what people have to say. I just might have to read it in bursts while peeking between my fingers. Or have a friend with a particularly calming voice read them to me. That’s what I’ll do. I’m such a pansy.
Pieces out: 39
Goal: 40
0 Comments on “What a lame day!”
I caught this entry on a Google Alert. I’m not stalking you, really. You can go to sleep tonight. Go ahead. Trust me.
Anyway, to be fair, I handed you a big, shining axe because you submitted a story that was almost 10% over the 1,000-word limit. That’s legitimate, and I allow it in my guidelines, but, I mean, the darlings had to die. (Which, if you think about it, is a particularly appropriate phrase to use when discussing a vampire story that we’re going to publish on Halloween.) And we’re only haranguing over that one line because I thought you went too far in editing it out the first time — I reintroduced it, remember?
And your wrath might be all-consuming, but I control the actual HTML code that appears on the site, so nyah nyah nyah. Not to mention that it’s hard to take your all-consuming wrath seriously when you mention that you’re such a pansy in the next paragraph. Seriously, I think you need to work on this character’s persona more; she’s a bit self-contradictory.
See?! Still arguing!