Aphelion Writers Plug Their Work

[Robert_Moriyama]

You forgot step six: when in doubt, do something slightly odd.

Not all of us are brave enough for the whole do-it-yourself strip-o-gram approach, no matter how well it has worked for you... :o

RM

[Robert_Moriyama]

It's not RH's successes I resent -- it's the way he puts the spotlight on our (okay, my) cowardice and / or laziness in not producing more and submitting more. Damn these hard-working talented types -- and just wait until I finish my sure-to-be-bestselling-and-award-winning novel! (Of course, first I have to START my ...)

RM

[Robert_Moriyama]

Robert,

One of the advantages I have is the fact that I am a recently retired home educator. I spent almost a decade home-schooling my daughter, and now I'm still at home working on my writing and art.

As long as my wife is willing to support by creative endeavours, I'll keep churning out the poems, articles, illustrations, and stories.

There are times, however, with all the distractions in life, that I don't feel very productive at all. And I wish I could be making a lot more money than I'm making right now (peanuts, basically).

Ah, but 'recently-retired' probably means that you were writing and submitting at about ten times the rate I have ever managed while you were still, er, educating... I was off work for about 6 months way back in 1990, planned to learn C (the programming language, now pretty much obsolete), work on my writing ... did neither. (See, when I say I put the "pro" in "procrastinate", I'm being honest!)

On the other hand, I've done a fair bit of writing at my desk during slow periods in my paying job. Go figure.

RM

[kailhofer]

It's not RH's successes I resent -- it's the way he puts the spotlight on our (okay, my) cowardice and / or laziness in not producing more and submitting more. Damn these hard-working talented types -- and just wait until I finish my sure-to-be-bestselling-and-award-winning novel! (Of course, first I have to START my ...)

I suspect that I might have submitted less than you. I waited a whole year for one story to get personally rejected by Mike Resnick at Baen without sending anything else, almost as long for the short before that for Eric Flint's rejection. I have terrible difficulty sending out stuff when something is pending, even though I know that's nonsense. That's a hell of a long time to wait for nothing.

I sent out a novel query to a big house today. (I figured I might as well aim high at first, then try smaller houses later.) It's been 4 years since I sent anything out on that piece. I'm sure it will be ignored and summarily rejected (99.95% of everything is these days, especially by a major publisher), but I'm kind of impressed I plucked up the courage to edit & rewrite it, write what might be my first ever good cover letter, and actually send it out. That, and that I managed to finally get it done in between work, life, the challenges, and the occasional critique.

If you never try, you'll never succeed.

(Now, if I can just get myself to believe that with every fiber of my being... especially whenever the rejection gets here...)

Nate

[kailhofer]

I just read Gareth D. Jones's interview of Gareth L. Powell in SFCrowsnest. Congratulations, guys!

Every time I start feeling down, Aphelion writers hand me something to lift my spirits. I'm proud of you - All of you!

Dan

I read the interview. I try to be happy for the guy--he's making it. He's living the dream as we know it.

But every time they talk about the Friday Flash Fiction, GLP sounds like some sort of visionary. Before there was FFF, he was entering flash stories right here in this forum. FFF#1 was used as an entry in the flash challenges a month before he made it his first Friday Flash Fiction entry. http://aphelion-webzine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=801 Plus, he'd written a flash piece, then called "High Point", for the May challenge which later became FFF#4 under the title "The Highest Point".

Yet Aphelion's role is somehow ignored every time. The list of Flash pieces say that they appeared first on his blog unless indicated. Well, I believe Friday Flash Fiction #1, #4, & #26 were all entries here first.

It's irritating.

I mean, good for him that he had the every Friday idea. Good for him that others joined in, and that they're publishing what they wrote. And maybe challenges in the forum don't count as publication... or maybe they do. I'm no lawyer.

But could it hurt to acknowledge that Aphelion may have had some teeny, tiny part in the creation as well? I mean, c'mon. #1 was a story from here. Sounds pretty obvious to me.

[kailhofer]

FYI-In case you're one of those people like me who automatically mark things by RHFay as read so you don't have to see another brag, there are additional messages in this thread. One by Dan. Scroll up.

[Robert_Moriyama]

Then it becomes depressing. RH and Stu are prolific, obviously talented (presumably their poetry and other works are not being selected for publication and REpublication by accident), and brave (although courage becomes less of a factor as acceptance becomes more frequent). By comparison, the rest of us seem slow, lazy, and cowardly.

(Sniffle) It's times like these I wish I wasn't on meds that come with a no-alcohol warning. Fortunately, I just bought a big bag of half-price Hallowe'en treats! (Unfortunately, I have Type 2 diabetes, so I'm not allowed to binge on those either.)

RM

[kailhofer]

Gee, thanks alot kailhofer!

Nothing like making me feel welcome, eh?

And you were complaining that Aphelion didn't get acknowledgment??!! You DO realize that I spread the word about my Aphelion publications too, don't you? And any of my reprints that were first published in Aphelion are acknowledged as such. That includes some pieces coming out in my forthcoming poetry collections.

You should be a bit nicer to me, ya know!

I think I may owe you an apology. I had thought that just about all your messages were here in the plug thread, but by my count, it's only 95 of them.

You have considerable credits, so it is, of course, only right that you should promote them. Plugs for Aphelion in other locations are appreciated.

You've also posted in 46 other threads, and that's admirable.

[kailhofer]

My story “Just a Mangy Dog” was recently accepted by The Scruffy Dog Review (to appear in their Winter Issue, January 2009.

My stories “A Slap in the Face” and “A Loud Hum” were recently accepted by Smokebox (to appear in their January or March 2009 issue).

My story “For Bread and Milk” is online in the Winter 2008 issue of The Square Table (www.thesquaretable.com).

My poem “The Rubicon” recently won Second Place ($150 award) in the Oliver Browning Poetry Contest sponsored by Indian Bay Press (publisher of the Poesia poetry journal).

My story “Independentista” will be in the Istanbul Literary Review (www.ilrmagazine.net), January 2009, Issue 12.

Early this year, I won the Cervena Barva Press (Somerville, MA) Online Fiction Chapbook Prize ($50 award). This collection of four stories entitled Near Love Stories (key word being “Near”) will be an e-book (hopefully soon) at www.cervenabarvapress.com.

J. B.

Good for you, JB!

[Robert_Moriyama]

Like Mr. Fay and Stu, you are demonstrating that the key to success (compared to the rest of us barely-published types) is to SUBMIT STUFF*, and to submit stuff to any market that seems to fit the material. I haven't sent anything much to any market except Aphelion in years (for some reason, the Aphelion editor likes my stuff -- coincidence, I'm sure )...

How, exactly, you decided on The Istanbul Literary Review as a possible market, I'll never know. (Along with how the elephant got into Captain Spaulding's pyjamas, and other great mysteries.)

RM

* It goes without saying that it helps a lot if it is GOOD stuff...

[Robert_Moriyama]

Congratulations (grumble snarf)! You're setting a fine example of what talent, hard work and persistence can accomplish. (Which means I must be untalented, lazy, or a quitter (sob)).

But seriously -- have you racked up any SFWA-worthy credits yet? (I have none myself...) You should probably be aiming for pro-paying markets soon, if you haven't been already.

Robert (green-eyed Muenster*) M.

(*There's a reason why the cheese stands alone...)

[Robert_Moriyama]

...
I would also like to thank everyone for their constructive and often positive comments about my work in Aphelion and elsewhere. I do appreciate it.

Thanks,

JB

(Sniffle) He still remembers the little people who knew him when...

[Robert_Moriyama]

Robert,

I was afraid that line was going to be taken wrong!! I was shooting for thank you and came off arrogant and condescending. Could I have missed the target any further? Not bad for someone pretending to be a writer.

JB

I wuz only teezing. Anyways, youse pretends to be a writer better than I does. (Them artisian types are so sensitive.)

RM

[doc]

Seanan McGuire, a regular contributor to Aphelion's features section, will have her novel "Rosemary and Rue" released by DAW in September.

There's a review of the book (including a link to an excerpt), here.

[Robert_Moriyama]

My essay "The Good and the Bad of Critiques", which arose from a discussion right here on Aphelion, is now on-line at Creator and the Catalyst:
http://www.creatorandthecatalyst.com/au ... tiques.htm

OH, NO! We are sliding toward literary incest, where Aphelionites who have their own publications of one form or another accept the works of other Aphelionites!

(Ah, if only we could afford to pay each other, THEN we'd have something... we could take one $5 bill (in electronic form) and circulate it back and forth forever! Well, until the transaction fees eroded the $5 out of existence, anyway.)

Cool beans, as Speed Racer's girlfriend would say.

[doc]

Seanan McGuire, a regular contributor to Aphelion's features section, will have her novel "Rosemary and Rue" released by DAW in September.

There's a review of the book (including a link to an excerpt), here.

Just to note: Seanan's book is now available in a bookstore near you

[Robert_Moriyama]

Hello, Everyone,

I have three items for you today.

Number 1 – I received this e-mail yesterday from Shirley Allard of the journal Word Catalyst:

Hi JB,

This letter is to inform you that I have nominated your story “Kerosene Heat” for the 2010 Pushcart Prize. Congratulations!

Shirley

Shirley Allard, publisher/managing editor
Word Catalyst Magazine
editor@wordcatalystmagazine.com

“Kerosene Heat” can be read at:

http://www.wordcatalystmagazine.com/pag ... ss911.html

Number 2 – I recently passed a personal writing milestone of 100 publications (58 short stories and 44 poems now, to be exact). It will take a few months for all of these to come online or go into print but they will eventually get there.

Number 3 – My poem “It’s Not About Me” will be the featured poem tomorrow, Saturday, November 7 in Every Day Poets (www.everydaypoets.com).

Thanks,

J. B.

Congratulations! Will your total have enough "pro" sales to go for SFWA membership? If not yet, I'd bet you'll qualify in the near future.

[Lester Curtis]

"Sky People" is sweet. Beautiful story, thanks.

[Lester Curtis]

No, I don't have any offsite publications to plug, but--

-- for those of you who do, here's another outlet where some new viewers/readers might find it:

http://www.authorsden.com/

Good luck!

[Lester Curtis]

Cool, Dan! Hope it all goes well!

[Megawatts]

Good luck Dan. I'm with you. Hope the best.

[Lester Curtis]

Sad news: "Tales of the Mare Inebrium" got a very polite rejection slip this morning. Hopefully, the next publisher will find it more suitable.

Dan

Sorry to hear that, Dan, but keep at it. Despite what DB says, a lot of people still like real books, and a lot of good ones get rejected plenty before someone picks them up. 'Mare' is a delightful collection of work; I'm sure someone will want to put it out there.

[Lester Curtis]

BD, I don't think that just because a couple of national book chains are closing, it means books are dead. Corporations are much like individuals in that they make illogical choices and stupid decisions quite regularly. Given what I've seen of the major book-chains, they all got into the habit of running on a large overhead: big stores with lots of staff, espresso bars with overstuffed chairs (encouraging loafers more than buyers) -- you get the idea. Plus, I've been frustrated by the selection at some of these places, although, if you can name a title, they'd order it for you.

Which brings up another likely reason why they're shutting down their brick-and-mortar businesses: people sitting at home and ordering PRINTED books online instead of going to the fancy store and not being sure they'll have what they want. They still sell the same merchandise, just without warehouses, coffee bars, underused real estate, utility bills, or staff.

I do not believe that e-readers have gotten THAT popular yet, and they still have problems: initial expense (think cost to replace if lost or stolen), physical delicacy, and (I think) exclusivity of available content and possible format incompatibility -- not to mention that some earlier models were text-only, black-and-white, and/or could not be read in sunlight.

I don't have one either, and have no plans on getting one anytime soon. I'd buy a tablet computer first; it will do a whole lot more, and still deliver e-books.

As to electronic publication -- yes, indeed, use it! Just be careful about who you choose to publish with, as much as you would a print publisher.

[Lester Curtis]

"Rites of war..." online on Digital Dragon Magazine:

Another Sci- Fi short story written by me in American/English, title "Rites of war..." , has been put online in February on Digital Dragon Magazine...

And many thanks, of course, to very kind Michele Bottomdweller who edited the story!!!

Here is the link, for anyone interested in having a look at...eh,eh

http://www.digitaldragonmagazine.net/

http://www.digitaldragonmagazine.net/pa ... sofwar.php

Not bad, but I noticed they misspelled your name. Better get on 'em about that.

[Lester Curtis]

Yeah, very appealing covers. Hope it sells well.

[Lester Curtis]

(it's really good, you should go read it)

, he wrote.

It got a little chaotic near the end, but I must say, it's like nothing I've ever read before.

I kind of liked the story you came up with (a 'by the bootstraps' thing), but the messages seemed somehow inconsistent with the action.

Oh, and I finally found out what the "I" stands for . . .

[Lester Curtis]

"Now we see all..." online on AnotheRealm Magazine:

Another Sci- Fi (funny...in a way) short story written by me in American/English, title "Now we see all..." , about "The Gift" theme, has been put online in December on AnotheRealm Magazine... dealing with a future U.S.A., in a way...eh,eh

And thanks to very kind Michele "bottomdweller" DUTCHER who edited it and to Mr. Webbie who put it online very fast, of course!!!

Here is the link, for anyone interested in having a look at...eh,eh

http://anotherealm.org/modules/AMS/arti ... toryid=241

Cute!

Five mouths . . . do they eat all day, or just talk an awful lot?

[Lester Curtis]

Please note that this is ahn Anthology of strictly lesbian and bisexual female stories, so little to no male contact is required…so far, viewer’s (reader’s…) discretion is advised…

And you actually got BD to edit that for you?! I wonder how much extra Budweiser that involved . . .

[Lester Curtis]

"A crazy urge..." online on AnotheRealm Magazine:

Another Sci- Fi (funny...again) short story written by me in American/English, title "A crazy urge..." , about "Virus and the microbial world" theme, has been put online in February on AnotheRealm Magazine... dealing with a lonely moon somewhere in space in a way...

Actually the title comes from an old Italian movie about an old man falling in love with a very young woman, but apart this the story has nothing to do with that, as I only considered the title itself very appropriate for the very strange things that happen in this Sci-Fi story...

Here is the link, for anyone interested in having a look at...eh,eh

http://anotherealm.org/modules/AMS/arti ... toryid=248

Very clever!

[Lester Curtis]

"Into the Wild Lands..." online on AnotheRealm Magazine:

Another Sci- Fi (very) short story written by me in American/English, title "Into the Wild Lands..." , about "Outdoors adventures" theme, has been put online in April on AnotheRealm Magazine... dealing with a very strange weekend trip somewhere in space, somewhere in time, in a way...

Here is the link, for anyone interested in having a look at...eh,eh


http://anotherealm.org/modules/AMS/arti ... toryid=252

Not bad. Your plots are always interesting.