Poem Sold, and Other Stuff

Writing news: I sold a poem to Star*Line magazine, a publication of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. It's actually a long one: 52 lines. Title: "The Coming Dark."

The new, special issue #100 of Dreams and Nightmares is out with a color cover. I have a poem therein entitled: "One Day."

I don't talk about my rejections here, only acceptances, but believe me, I do get rejected. All the time. I'm stating this because sometimes assumptions can be made that if a writer is rejected it means the piece is not good, or not good enough. On the contrary, while that can be the case sometimes, one person's rejection can be another person's gold. The point is not to quit, not to throw something aside as bad just because of a rejection. Editors are human. They have differing tastes, bad days, unconscious biases. You just never know until you try. And just do the best you can. Be impeccable. You know when you're not. We all do. We all know when we're taking short-cuts. Don't take short-cuts. Do your best. Keep submitting. Harry Potter was rejected 10 times. Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire was rejected 3 times (very cruelly, in fact, she reports.)

Another thing of note: writers can be terrible judges of their own work. The above poem that sold to Star*Line was one I "shelved" awhile back because I judged it very harshly as too narrative. But I got to thinking that that editor tends to like narrative, long story-poems, so I got it out and said, "What the heck?" I sent her four other pieces, but that long narrative one I'd shelved was the one she bought. So you can't always know. Again, you can only do your best and then let go.

New subject: I have had a few people ask me why I don't go the route of traditional publishing for my novels. I am including here a link to a blog post that explains better than I can some of the reasons why. This does not mean I wouldn't take a trad pub contract if it appealed to me. I don't always see it as a black and white issue. And it does not address short story and poetry publication in magazines and anthologies, which I do believe are good ways to be pro published. But it does address a lot of issues in novel publishing I agree with, and why I am, so far, content to indie pub my books on Amazon.

I shall sign off now with a new short poem:

shadows are sacred

do not betray them

just because they are made

of shyness and rumors

Wendy Rathbone

Poem in New Issue of Apex Magazine

I have a poem in the new issue (#68) of Apex Magazine which can be read for free on their website. Before My Father Vanished is a poem I wrote last spring and I sold it to the first place I submitted it to.

Also on the poetry front, Eldritch Press is working with me on the cover for my new poetry collection, Turn Left at November. Things are moving along quickly there and the book should be out soon both as an ebook and paperback. I'll keep everyone updated here and on Facebook.

More new poems will be out in various magazines this year, too.

Reality check: While I like to keep this blog mostly positive, I do get a ton of rejections, too. I don't usually report them, but a writer's life is made up of rejection. A lot of it. Never be fooled it's an easy path. The trick for me is to diversify and that is harder than it seems. I get used to certain markets. I get used to thinking of myself as writing science fiction/fantasy/horror/vampire when a lot of my work defies genre labels. It's easy to stay in comfortable territory and keep submitting to genre markets because they are what I know and often what I prefer.

I have branched out to some haiku sites. That is fun for me. I put up a couple of haiku here at tinywords.com for their current photo prompt. And I submitted poems to their new issue (haven't heard back yet.)

The most important thing to me about being a writer is to never forget to have fun. It's hard work, and there are a lot of business things writers need to be informed about (especially these days) but in the end, for me, it's about daydreaming on paper (or the computer screen.) That is what it's about. Telling a story/poem and using the best words I can find to do that. I write what I love so that I can love what I write. Most of the time, despite rejection, it works. It fulfills me personally. A triumph!

Wendy Rathbone

New Poem, and a Link to Part Two of my Interview

Christina E. Pilz was very kind to interview me on her blog. Here is a link to part two.

Now, for a treat, here is a poem.

Ten Things

 

A green door of rain.

Jars of crystals labeled: stars.

The twenty-thousand-voiced wind.

Swept by an evergreen broom, the unseen path.

On the porch, a swirl of withered leaves I forgot to describe.

A burnt Viking incense boat.

Dangling on a kite string, a marble planet.

Winter’s dripping light.

Tiny letters that spell love with the word: understanding.

Discarded spectacles on a mantle overseeing all.

Thanks for reading.

Wendy  Rathbone

New Novel on Kindle

Finally my new male/male romance novel, The Lostling: Alec's Story, book three in The Foundling trilogy, is out on Amazon Kindle. Within a week of this post, it will also be available in paper. You can click on the title above or the cover in the sidebar of this blog and it will take you to the Amazon page for ordering.

This novel answers a lot of questions left unresolved at the end of book one, The Foundling and book two, None Can Hold the Dark. If you have read these books, you will recall that Alec is found floating in the middle of the Caribbean Ocean on a raft, near death. He suffers from almost total amnesia. Finally, in book three, we learn about Alec's identity, what really happened to him, and why.

My wonderful friend and fellow writer, Christina E. Pilz, is running a two part interview with me on her blog. She asks me questions about writing The Lostling, and also about writing in general. I'm grateful to her for her help in promoting this book. Go here to read the interview.

I would also like to add that my significant other and fellow author, Della Van Hise, has a wonderful new blog entry about writing and promotion here.

On other topics of interest, I am still working on my vampire novel, Lace.

Here is a pretty snow picture of our yard from two days ago. It's exciting for me because we don't often get snow here in the high desert of southern California.

Until next time, good afternoon, good evening and good night.

Wendy Rathbone