When I started writing for real I followed the old school recommendations of publishing a few short stories before trying to publish a novel. I submitted to Writers for The Future every quarter and made the rounds of Asimov's, Science Fiction and Fantasy and a few online magazines. It was hard work. I don't like short stories, they're too short. I made a few Honorable Mentions and a Quarter Finalist at Writer's for the Future, which felt pretty good. Every Day Fiction took 2 of my flash stories. (see links)
Then I had to admit that I really should be spending more time on the tome. That was. . .yikes. . .years sgo. I have rewritten the tome twice and turned 2 screenplays into novels and rewritten them several times.
Novel writing is so time consuming!
Don't get me wrong, I love it. But with short stories you can finish them, polish them and send them out pretty quickly. This last rewrite on my mystery novel took me a year to finish, polish and get through my critique group.
Not sure why, but the submitting bug has hit me again. I went back into Duotrope (best database ever!) and printed out some magazines to research. It's been awhile since I looked at some of those rejected stories. Maybe my new skills will help with additional polishing.
Wish me luck!
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