To Submit...

Well, that's done it.

I've finally submitted a couple of stories, one to Strange Horizons and another to Dean's anthology. After studying the field, thinking of what stories to write and dreaming about it so long, I have joined the battle.

Ironically (and appropriately) enough, I fumbled things a bit. I suppose it was the enthusiasm, the pressure to get things right, and the fear that I may not have written a good piece. I remember several years ago going through the internet and copying a whole lot of documents on how, what, and where on the submissions process despite not having a single story written in my name. Heh. That took a number of weeks, I can tell you.

So it was with some trepidation that I submitted my first work, "The Word-Eater Falls in Love," to Strange Horizons a few weeks ago. Hey, Dean did it. And besides, the e-zine allows email submissions, which is faster and easier than snail mail. (Can you imagine the turnaround time, plus the time it would take for the submission to travel from here to the US? Ay caramba!)

Of course, later on, I realized I made a big mistake, i.e. I forgot to include my submission letter with my submission. It was nothing big, really. A one-liner to the effect: "I would like to submit..." yadda-yadda. Still, I started banging my head against the PC monitor and haven't stopped since. Talk about shooting myself in the foot.

And then Dean's deadline was coming up. Uh-oh. In a frenzy, I finished one story and re-did another for his pleasure. I know, I know-- he did say SUBMIT ONE. But foolish, insecure me: I thought that I'd hedge my bets a bit. And maybe get a free opinion on the story that doesn't make it. (Ironically, the 1st story had the required 5K word minimum but the 2nd story missed by 1K. Oy.) I'm still banging my head on that one.

Of course, I also went through the usual rigmarole that all writers go through: writing, thinking that my writing sucks, hoping that rigorous editing will save the work, writing again, thinking deep thoughts like "What the hell were you thinking in trying to be a writer?", taking a cigarette break, writing again, etc., etc. Heh. No wonder most writers (or all?) are neurotic.

But I can breathe a sigh of relief now: that's done and over. Until I find a place to submit again, of course.

---o0o---

Edited to add: See new post!