Another contract

Yesterday I received a contract for one of the two stories accepted last week.

Postal workers are my friends

Today's mail include a contributor copy of a magazine containing two of my short stories and a check for two short stories published in May.

Contract

Received, signed, and returned a contract this morning for one of the stories accepted earlier this week.

Happy holidays!

It's the dead of summer and time to contemplate the upcoming holiday season. Periodicals work many months in advance, so the deadlines for November and December issues are rapidly approaching. If I hope to place any holiday-themed short stories this year, I need to get to work.

Earlier this week I wrote the opening lines or opening scenes for seven Thanksgiving stories and seven Christmas stories. (Why seven each? Coincidence.) I have a rapidly shrinking window of opportunity for submitting any Thanksgiving stories I write, a window only open until early to mid August, and a slightly larger window for submitting Christmas stories.

I placed four Christmas stories last year, but no Thanksgiving stories. Perhaps I'll do better this year now that I have a stockpile of ideas. So, to get myself in the mood, perhaps I should prepare a Turkey, don my foam antlers, and put on some Christmas music...

Bumped, or bumped off?

I was going through my files a few minutes ago and found three short stories that had been accepted (contracts signed and returned) and tentatively scheduled for publication in 2005. Stories get bumped to subsequent issues for all kinds of reasons, but I can't recall ever having any stories bumped more than a few months. So, were they bumped, or bumped off?

I just e-mailed the editor to find out...

29

I received my 29th acceptance of the year a few minutes ago, this for a short confession. The acceptance came via e-mail and a contract will follow soon.

A P.O. Box in New Jersey

"Where do you get your ideas?"

Every writer hears this question, and it's easy to respond with something cute, such as, "I order a dozen at a time from a P. O. Box in New Jersey."

Many times a snappy answer is sufficent. Sometimes, though, if the person asking the question is sincere, a simple explanation may be appropriate: "I ask myself 'what if?' What if my neighbor isn't digging a new flower bed, but is digging a place to bury his wife? What if a woman suddenly started hearing other people's thoughts? What if a man caught his wife cheating with another woman? What if a ghost suddenly appeared in a woman's bedroom? The story is how I answer that question."

But what if the person asking the question, the person who wants to know where you get your ideas, isn't interested in cocktail chatter, but is a potential companion--friend, lover, spouse, etc.--and is sincerely interested in how your mind works? How much do you reveal? (How much do you even understand about yourself?)

I have no answers, only questions.

28

I received my 28th acceptance of the year earlier this evening. The acceptance came via e-mail. A contract will follow soon.

Finally!

I finished a new short story earlier this evening, a love story set at Halloween. It'll go in the mail tomorrow morning and my fingers will be crossed that I haven't missed the deadline for the October issue of the magazine I'm sending it to.

Published 2X

My stories "Woman on Top" and "Bad Boy to the Rescue" appear in the August True Confessions, which just hit the newsstands in central Texas.

Film treatment

I read my first film treatment today, a dark work that sent a chill up my spine when I finished reading it that was co-written by the editor who turned me into a crime fiction writer. It read much like a novel outline so, if I ever figure out how to outline a novel, I can easily adapt that skill to writing a film treatment.

Published

I just learned that my story "Sketches" was published in the March issue of Futures. Alas, I've not yet seen it.

Maybe later

I've been floating anthology proposals around to various publishers and today received word about one of them. The publisher likes the concept, can't take it on right now, but want me to touch base at the end of the year.

Reviews: "Professionals"

I have not yet seen Out of the Gutter #2, but I have seen reviews of the issue, which include comments about my story "Professionals."

Rob Lott at Bookgasm writes, "[...] followed by the even-better 'Professionals,' in which Michael Bracken spins a story of a male prostitute who gets into big trouble with one of his johns."

And Bill Crider writes on his blog, "Michael Bracken's 'Professionals,' [...] reveals that Bracken is himself a real pro when it comes to crime shorts."

27

Today's mail included a contract for a short story. This is my 27th acceptance of the year.

Writing rant of the day

"Over" and "more than" are not interchangeable terms. Sadly, too few writers seem to know this.

"Over" refers to a physical relationship (that is, "my hand is OVER the desk") while "more than" refers to a numerical relationship (that is, "I have 18 cookies MORE THAN you have").

Have a back-up plan

Among the presentations at Seton Hill University's "In Your Write Mind" conference this past weekend was Carmine Coco De Young's "Stage Time! Techniques for a Successful Author Visit." While her presentation concentrated on school visits, much of the information was applicable to any live author presentation (techniques for radio and television appearances were not included).

Two important take-away tid-bits: 1) Know your audience. 2) Have a back-up plan. Or two.

I learned both lessons the hard way a few years ago. I had been doing readings at science fiction conventions of short stories written and intended for mature audiences and the convention organizers had been promoting the readings as late-night, adults-only events.

Then I went to a convention that didn't bother to put the appropriate disclaimer in the promotional material or in the convention's schedule of events.

I found myself facing an audience ill-prepared for what I was about to read. And I had no other material with me. I tried to edit on-the-fly, cutting scenes and changing words as I read. Part of my audience let me know their displeasure by walking out. I learned what flopsweat feels like. It doesn't feel good.

Since then I've stopped doing readings that require disclaimers and I've always taken back-up material in case the horror audience I was expecting turns out to be a science fiction audience, or the romance audience I was expecting turns out to be a mystery audience.

I had the lesson repeated, though not so obviously, at the Texas Library Association convention earlier this year. I was one of a dozen or so mystery writers participating in a "speed dating" event where we spent 15 minutes at a table talking about our books before we moved to the next table.

I found myself surrounded by children's librarians at most of the tables. My mystery novels and short story collections are generally not appropriate for children. I shifted gears on the fly and talked about my young adult romance novel, Just in Time for Love.

And I had the lesson reinforced at Seton Hill University this weekend. I had prepared my talk expecting a typical writers conference mix in the audience. What I faced was an audience dominated by graduates of Seton Hill's master's program. In talking to other writers the day before and the morning of my presentation, I realized what I planned to say wasn't quite appropriate. I kept my introduction (which I posted here yesterday) and then winged it for the rest of the hour-and-a-half presentation. Lucky for me I've been around a long time so I had lots of stories to tell, examples to give, and names to drop.

So, props to Ms. De Young. Her presentation was timely and quite appropriate.

At least, it was for this member of her audience.

(To learn more about Ms. De Young, check out her Web site at http://www.ccocodeyoung.com.)

Seton Hill presentation introduction

Here's how I opened my talk at Seton Hill University's "In Your Write Mind" conference this past weekend:

Publishing is in a state of flux. Rapid changes in technology have resulted in an explosion of vanity publishers, self-publishers, and small press publishers. Nearly anyone with access to a computer can produce an electronic periodical. The once clear line between professional and amateur has blurred to the point where the difference between “us” and “them” is only obvious at the extreme ends of the spectrum.

Differences in attitude between art forms confuse us: A musician self-records a CD to sell at his gigs and he’s hailed for taking his career into his own hands; a novelist releases a book through iUniverse and other writers think he’s -- at best -- ill-informed or -- at worst -- a complete moron. Professional writers’ organizations struggle with the definition of “professional” and succeed only in defining qualifications for membership in their particular organizations.

Rip-off artists scam unsuspecting new writers. The “agents” that charge up-front fees, the “publishers” that charge writers to be published, the “editors” that charge for negligible editing services, the “contests” that exist solely to make money for the contest sponsors, all make their money because new writers spend more time dreaming than they spend working.

So how can any new writer successfully traverse a minefield filled with rapidly advancing technology, scam artists seeking to pick their pockets, and a plethora of writers’ organizations that can’t agree on the definition of “professional”?

The secret to success for most writers is the same today as it was when I started more than 30 years ago: It’s inspiration, determination, and perspiration.

26

I returned home from speaking at Seton Hill University's "In Your Write Mind " conference to find my 26th acceptance of the year, a contract for a confession.

49 consecutive months

I have now had one or more pieces of short fiction published each month for 49 consecutive months. I have contracts in hand that should stretch that another few months. But if I don't start writing and submitting more fiction I might break the streak.