Short Stories

Now that I've pulled my posts about writing DG from Facebook onto this blog where they can all be in one place, I can continue talking about the selling process, which is a lot stranger to me than the writing or revision processes were. Revisions, of course, continue, but I think I'm done with the major ones.

I've sent 31 query letters, each one adapted a little as I learn more about how to get an agent. It's kind of gross because you have to take something that feels real and true and original, package it into something artificial and gimmicky, and try to fit it into a bunch of categories that suck the freshness right out of it. 

The whole thing feels kind of backwards to me, trying to find someone who is looking for exactly what you have to sell and hoping they'll take a tiny peek at it to see if it fits their interests. I do get that they need to be excited about it in order to sell it, but I feel like the way the product and pusher connect is askew. My husband says it's just like finding an agent to sell your house, but it's not. You don't research all the real estate agents to figure out who's looking for two-stories or only wants to sell houses with Jacuzzis, etc. 

I'll keep researching and querying agents, but I've been thinking about the back door, which was suggested by a lovely couple who let me describe them and their work in the book with their real names. They suggested pitching parts of the book - which does have a number of adventure stories that can be read independently from the novel - to magazines, where maybe someone would see my short story and want to read a whole book.

I like the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Sun. I decided to research what kind of fiction they publish. I started with this short story The Missing Limousine by Sanjena Sathian, and it was so good, I was completely demoralized and embarrassed at my effrontery in thinking of myself as a writer.

However, there are different kinds of writing, and I do think my book has value and might be publishable. Six people have read the whole thing and are very supportive, but they're family and the most loyal of friends, some people have read parts and claim to love what they read, but there were bunches of other people who were excited to read it and asked for access to the whole thing. Then, after sharing it, I never heard a peep from them, which, you know, isn't good. So I'm aware it may not be grabbing the majority of people who have a look. On the other hand, everyone has their own tastes, and you can't please everyone. It's just impossible to know if you have something really good or if you've written a lemon and are too close to see it. So you go on faith and instinct and hope you're not deluded.

I did use some fancy writer tricks in the book, like symbolism and repetition and foreshadowing and all that fun stuff, but it's mostly simple, straightforward writing, so maybe the literary magazines won't be the right fit for the small adventure stories inside Desolation Ghosts.

Which means I have a pile of short story collections to study, more magazine short stories to consume, and possibly more writing to pursue if I want to try publishing DG via getting noticed in a magazine. I liked writing short stories in the past, but it's been a long time and I've only written one I'm actually proud of. Maybe I'll try again.