Getting Short Stories Published
Today, I got an e-mailed acceptance of another of my short stories, The Rumpelstiltskin Retellings, this time at Les Bonne Fees. I'm particularly delighted, because this one is in an unusual format, and I wasn't sure if it appealed to anyone but me. It's to be published in January. Meanwhile, another of my stories, Spoiling Veena, is up at Expanded Horizons. It's satire, set in New Delhi, dealing with gender and with cross-cultural influences.
I believe I have Clarion to thank for this transition from unpublished to beginning publication. I'm not sure what made the difference. I do think my stories have become stronger. Though these stories were written Before Clarion, they've been edited since. Clarion gave me the confidence to do things that I wouldn't have before, and think differently about my writing.
But that's not all of it. I think I also recognized for the first time that persistence is key to publication. If you don't submit, you can't get published. Rejection is simply part of the process. My Clarion classmates have been very supportive of efforts to keep a good flow of stories going out. That counts.
Finally, I think it also taught me to try better to match stories and magazines. Every story isn't a good fit for every magazine. Though I knew that intellectually, the discussions we had of markets really brought it home to me.
Now if only I could bring a similar comprehension to the process of finding an agent and a publisher!
I believe I have Clarion to thank for this transition from unpublished to beginning publication. I'm not sure what made the difference. I do think my stories have become stronger. Though these stories were written Before Clarion, they've been edited since. Clarion gave me the confidence to do things that I wouldn't have before, and think differently about my writing.
But that's not all of it. I think I also recognized for the first time that persistence is key to publication. If you don't submit, you can't get published. Rejection is simply part of the process. My Clarion classmates have been very supportive of efforts to keep a good flow of stories going out. That counts.
Finally, I think it also taught me to try better to match stories and magazines. Every story isn't a good fit for every magazine. Though I knew that intellectually, the discussions we had of markets really brought it home to me.
Now if only I could bring a similar comprehension to the process of finding an agent and a publisher!