NERVES

Hallo there all.  I just wanted to take a moment to talk about submissions.  Of the writing kind.

Today I submitted a story to Writer's of the Future.  Now, when I was deciding I wanted to put my writing out in the great big world, the query-go-round was the first huge obstacle.  It didn't take me very long to decide that wasn't the type of career I wanted to have.  I wanted something that would seriously reward me as an author, not just my pride in being "in print".

Then along came these fancy e-reader things, and I knew I wanted one the day they were announced.  I lived in Japan and I begged and begged and begged my parents, "If you get me anything for Christmas - just get me this, and I will be THRILLED."  And, that's all I got that Christmas, and I was THRILLED.  (See how that works?)  The best part was that I could get English-language books to read while in Japan.  I have to say, there is a shortage of English texts in the land of the rising sun ;)

But somehow it didn't occur to me that I could get MY works on that fancy digital book.  And then, one day, like magic, it did.  I was busy working on another story that sits forlornly in the "Whoops, I abandoned you!" pile and I came across KDP.  Incidentally, I came across it on the internet because sometimes while writing, I go on brief research spurts to make sure I'm not talking out of my hat, and that I actually know what I am saying is true.

So anyway, then I started doing lots of investigating into KDP.  But the problem was - I hadn't written a novel.  I had come close a couple of times, lengthy, sometimes rambling manuscripts, but never anything concrete.

I moved home.  Stuff happened, and then I wrote a novel.  A complete one, my first one, "Shackled".  And let me tell you, by the end of it, I was thinking, "Why would anyone ever want to write one of these?"  Because I was brutal on myself and I forced my arse into the computer chair to write and write and write the freaking story until I was done.  It took me about three months total and looking back more effort was spent getting over myself than actually writing.  That's not to say it's not good - I think it's an awesome story - but I was quite melodramatic about it, to myself.

I got it all ready, and I put it up on Kindle and crossed my fingers and toes and eyes and... well, not much happened.  I sold a few copies and I got a couple 5 star reviews.  Luckily, that's more than some (so I've heard.)

Well now I've turned this into kind of a rambly backstory, sorry.  But the short of it is, I don't have a lot of experience with submissions.  I haven't received a hobojillion rejections like Konrath or others.  I actually haven't even received one.

Mostly because I haven't submitted anything :P

But I mean to be serious about this writing thing.  Remember the whole 52 Shades of Short Stories I want to participate in?  Well, I seem to do short stories well, and if I'm not writing novels, then they need to be submitted somewhere.  Today started my submissions journey - a 1,250 word short entitled "Moebied" and cast to the great dark waters of Writer's of the Future.  May they treat it gently.

And again, sorry for the rambly but... NERVES.