Form rejection today, for a nonfiction piece sent a place that says it doesn't respond to submissions unless interested. Ah, I missed the sweet, sweet chaos of the submissions process. 🙃
(And I'm itchy to write new work, but I have three other writing tasks to finish first tonight. So it goes sometimes! #AmWriting)
@MLClark good luck! I'm caught up in the AI mess with my fiction, so just collecting rejects right now. At this point I'm reconsidering. Eleven short stories in circulation. Maybe I should just make covers and put them up individually as short stories for sale in ebook.
I already do this with reprints. Three of the eleven are tie-ins to my Martiniere series. Some could easily become reader magnets.
What to do, what to do....
@joycereynoldsward Really tough questions with no easy answers, Joyce! 🤗 I hope you're not being hard on yourself for not knowing exactly what to do while our whole field is undergoing major upheaval. Strange times right now for everyone!
Do you have specific industry goals, or are you keen to share your worlds in general, and have them read wherever possible?
@MLClark but they aren't the majority of award folks. I don't fit in the nice neat little genre boxes and that ends up getting me nowhere with award judges.
Considering that awards are a subjective measure and not necessarily reflective of the quality of the work (though they can be), I've come to the conclusion that early assessments when I was seeking traditional publishing were correct.
I *do* have a nice writing voice. I *do* tell a good story.
They're just niche, and not commercial.
@MLClark are we talking realistic goals or fantasy goals?
Realistically, I'd like to have more readers and more sales than I do now. Since I'm not eager to get into the ad buying game, that means organic growth. Which means talking to people, flipping up promotional pix, that sort of thing as well as blogging about my world.
Fantasy goals? I'd like to win a few awards. Alas, my experience has shown me that this isn't going to happen, either. The people who love my work LOVE it.