If you’re thinking my stories are going up fast because I’m writing non-stop and that it’s simply amazing I can accomplish so much in so little time, then I must confess—though I’m all in favor of your thinking amazing thoughts about me. But here’s the scoop on my published excerpts: I’ve been writing the dang thang for three years.
Ask any short story writer (yourself, he he) how long they/you take before a piece is ready to submit, and I’ll bet three years isn’t their/your answer, or even three months. If fact, it almost sounds sad that someone would take that long, and if they did, they likely wouldn’t admit it.
That said, I have my first chapter up at Dew on the Kudzu. (Yes, the notorious first chapter that has taken up most of those three years and has been re-written 400 times and which my critique group has seen in just as many and which I’ll probably change again before I start querying agents.) The link will take you to the most current story, you might have to search the sidebar or for stories dated 7-16-2010 to find it.
What initially attracted me to the Dew was that one of its regular contributors is Celia Riverbanks, who writes southern humor. I read We’re Just Like You Only Prettier a few years back and became a fan of hers. It’s hard not to fall in love with just her titles alone: Bless Your Heart, Tramp and Mostly Sunny With a Chance of Hissy Fits are to name a few. When I got her book, the first thing I did—besides read it—was write the name of her agent, Jenny Bent. And I’m hoping Ms. Bent has room for one more southern humor book, and I hope it’s mine. And I hope you all read it. And if any of you write southern stories—doesn’t have to be humor—give the Dew a chance.
I applaud your bravery. I’m jealous that chapters from your book can so easily become short stories.
I wish you better luck with Jenny Bent than I had. She rejected me with silence. 😦
Linda~That’s because they all started out as short stories, or episodes, per se. My challenge has been weaving them all into a novel. complete with a beginning, middle, and end.
Eeew. I. Do. Not. Like. The silent treatment. Have you considered nudging her a little? Maybe she never got it.
I can’t believe I’ve been reading your book for two years and didn’t know it started as stories!
Nudge? Maybe if I decide to start my novel with a new first chapter, I’ll do that.
Btw, the majority of the agents I’ve queried have the “no response means no” policy.
Linda~No response seems like it would waste more of their time, because then thye’d have to field all the “did you get my query” e-mails. A form rejection at least provides closure, both for us and them.
Took me almost two years to write the first and 2nd drafts of my novel. Then it took me a year to get over being daunted by the third. So…. That makes me over three years so far. Way over.
This post does nothing to dispel my belief that you are simply amazing. 😉
Judy~I just came in from Sacramento to a rejection. But your sweet comment lifted me up higher than I was before it.
And, are we counting daunting-recovery years? Hmm, I’d better recalculate. 🙂
I move at the pace of a glacier. I’m not a slow writer per se, but I tweak and polish and revise for-ev-er. (Is 400 rewrites too many for a first chapter? I think I’m right there with you.) So three years doesn’t sound that bad! 🙂
Best of luck with your queries.
Jenny~It’s refreshing to meet another tweaker, obsessive manuscript polishing, that is. My first chapter has just as many rewrites and will undergo many more. I just wonder how I will know when I get it right.
Thank you for visiting. I hope you make yourself a regular visitor.
My first short story had about eleven revisions. I am on the fifth revision with my second short story. Revisions make me impatient and frustrated. Sometimes it seems that more I revise, more revisions are needed. But it is a very important process. I just wish I could write flawlessly. Right from the beginning… LOL
Aloysa~That is so true with me too. The more I revise, the more is needed. Worse is when I’ve revised all I think I can do, print it out, read it aloud, then just before submitting revise one more time. The problem with that is that last minute change almost always has a typo that I don’t notice until after I hit submit.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you come around again soon.