Why your stories don't sell.

Most of us are in the same situation. We write a story or a novel and submit it for publication and then we wait. Most of the time, we receive rejection letters. Now we know our story is great, all my friends and relatives loved it! Why does it keep getting rejected? There are many reasons why a story or novel gets rejected; most of them are very simple.

1. Did you make sure you followed the submission guidelines?

Many publishers will not even consider a manuscript if it is not formatted correctly, no matter how good it may be. Slush piles are HUGE! It also tells them that you really didn't pay attention to what they wanted you to send. Follow the rules; they are there for a reason.

2. Did you make sure your story or novel fits with the publisher?

Sending a graphic horror manuscript to a literary publisher is a waste of postage or the internet. Research the places you want to send your manuscript to. Make sure your idea is a good fit, do your homework! Take 15 minutes to read through the publishers website and see what they are looking for.

3. Is your manuscript properly edited?

Have you run spell check? Great, now read it through completely after you do so. Spell check is great, but it doesn't catch everything (like its, it's and its'). And most spell checkers are horrible on grammer. For those of you that write genre fiction, this is especially true. Your perfectly acceptable alien dialouge can be changed back into standard English without your knowledge! This is your baby. Make sure the buttons are buttoned and the zippers are zipped. Cross your I's and dot your T's. Nobody else will, and it makes for a shoddy manuscript if you don't! It also tells a publisher that you are an amature, and that is NOT good if you want to get published.

4. Who has read your manuscript?

Writing in a vacuum is a bad thing. You need to have people deconstruct your stories and tell you where they can be improved. Your friends and family will encourage you and tell you your writing is great! The are biased toward you and down't want to hurt your feelings. You need to find a writing group that offers to critique your work. There are many sites online and probably in your area. They are normally free; you just have to critique other stories to get your own read. Go on a regular basis, your ability to write and give criticism will improve.

5. What you are writing just may not be what they are looking for.

You have that vampire novel you've been working on for 2 years and you can't seem to get it published. It's a great story right? But right now (and for the past several years) vampire stories have been flooding the market. Check out what's being publsihed now. See where there is a lack of stories and see if your style fits that. Be open to what you write. There is a lot of inertia in the publishing industry. Read the trends.

6. Your writing may just not be good enough right now.

When we decide to write, we often just write out what is in  our heads. The first stuff is almost always bad. Get used to it. The first few times we try anything, we stink at it. Don't get discouraged, write more. The more rejections you get, the more you should write. But make sure you follow rule #4. Have your writing critiqued on a regular basis. Practice makes perfect!!!

Follow me on Twitter: @ddtannenbaum

Zombies come to Austin...

I was honored to be invited to partake in the Zombie Killing Techniques festivities put on by Space Squid, to Celebrate their seventh issue release. Now, Space Squid ain't your daddy's Analog, it's a more refreshingly today-type of magazine. Raed it... you'll enjoy it.

The crew from Space Squid are all top-notch folks (they had good nummys and prizes) and shelled out top-dollar for a quality pig's head for their zombie (I was going to take it hope and smoke it, but the sledge hammer did such a great job of splattering it, I declined!).

And the people from Furgal Media were most excellent. They didn't freak out too much when we started swinging swords, hammers and other object, both sharp and blunt.

Alas, the Ninja sword handed down to me by my father did not prove to be as formidible as I had hoped it would be. Anybody know a good sword repair-person?

Kirinyaga, a remarkable book.

I have just finished reading Mike Resnick's remarkable book, Kirinyaga. It is a series of interlocking stories concerning the establishment of a Utopian colony of African natives from the Kikuyu tribe, told from the point of view of the tribes witch doctor, or mundumugu. They were written specifically as shorts tories, but Resnick has crafted them in such a way that the evolution of the charcaters is seamless. 

Starting from the foundation of the colony, the stories grow more complex and captivating. Koriba, the mundumugu, tries in vain to keep his culture pure from corrupting influences. You watch as his power and wisdom is slowly eroded by the temptations of modern society. In the end, he abandons the colony when he realizes that Utopia is not a destination, but a journey. One he is not willing to abandon.

This style of writing is not often used, and not always to good effect. One of my favorite books that was sucessful in this style was Venus Equilateral, by George O. Smith. This book concerned the doings of a communications relay station at the Venusian LaGrange point. It is a very good example of Golden Age science fiction.

BBQ and Writing...

I invested in a very essential item for living in Texas: a smoker. The one I got is a water smoker; it has a five foot tower to hang meat over a bowl of water that keeps things moist and catches the fat.There is a firebox on the side that produces heat but mostly smoke.  This handy gadget allows me to produce delicious BBQ of all kinds, by burning wood instead of charcol or gas. (Does this make it green?)  BBQ in Texas is different from almost everywhere else. The meat is rubbed down with a mixture of dry spices instead of goopy sauces. (You can always add your own afterwards.)

I like mesquite wood best for smoking. I start with a bunch of regular wood logs, like the kind you buy at Home Depot for your fireplace. Once I have a really nice bed of coals, I start putting chunks of mesquite wood on the coals. You have to do this about every fifteen minutes in order to keep the smoker going. I've smoked pork ribs, country ribs, brisket, pork loin, corn on the cob and even managed to make a good smoked salmon. (Great for breakfast with onions in eggs.)

I have some other things in mind a want to try, like smoking a lasagne or stuffed eggplant. My doctor keeps yelling at me about my cholestorol and stuff like that, but I can't help it! Texas Monthly has a great article on the Best Barbecue Joints in Texas. I was drooling after the first page!

How does this relate to writing? When you smoke, be prepared to spend six to eight hours just tending the smoker. This allows you to relax in the backyard and think, read or write. It a very relaxing way to spend the day, not to mention all the food you get to eat when you're done!

On Dialogue...

As I prepare for the Writer's League of Texas' annual Agents and Editors Conference I have been going over the novel I am going to shop there. After doing more critiques and attending a convention recently, it came to me that I write dialouge the same way I speak. For most people that may not be a problem. For me it is. I tend to use lots of objectifiers and modifiers; my use of adverbs and adjectives is not quite peerless but it gets up there. I do a lot of public speaking due to the fact that I teach a lot. (See? That last sentance can be trimmed considerably or even cut without losing any impact!) This means I have to keep the audiences' attention. Sometimes it's easier to throw out the patter so my mouth can catch up to what my mind wants it to say.

In writing, this can be a story-killer. While reviewing a critque I recieved during a contest I eneter last year, there was one very curt piece of advice: Eliminate "just" and "well" from the manuscript. It saved me almost a thousand wordds and made the story a better read. Huh? Well, it just did! Try it yourself. Reread one of your stories and see if dropping those two little words do anything for it.

Also remember,  you have the story in your head. There is much that doesn't get on paper; have someone read the story cold and tell you what confused them. I'll bet lots of stuff like character descriptions and scenery descriptions never make it out of your neurons and onto the paper...

I am NOT David Weber (although I could probably play him on TV)...

I had one very interesting moment at the Con. I was at a hospitality suite talking to someone when this guy comes from out of nowhere and starts talking to me like we've spent the day together. Then he asks me "What are you requirements to be a Guest at our local convention?" Now, my Plank Time reflexes kicked in. All movement in the room slowed down and took on a reddish hue; convesations dropped to such a deep rumble, I couldn't understand anything. In this altered state my mind raced; "How does this guy know me? How did he know my first short story will be published in a brand new magazine that will come out in June?" I figured something wasn't quite right, but who was I to spit in Murphy's eye? I dropped back into normal mode; Everyone sped up and lost their reddish hue, and I could understand the conversations again. I look this guy dead in the eye (which was kind of painful, because he was well over six feet tall, while I barely top out at five foot and ten inches) and said "Well, my requirements are... (drumroll please!) JUST ASK ME!" He smiled and glanced down at my name tag. I watched a look of embarrased horror crawl across his face. He took a step back and said "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! You're not..." 

I sighed and said, "No, I'm not David Weber, but I guess I do look a bit like him." So much for my picosecond of glory! After having met David Weber I decided there was more than just a passing resemblance. We both are big guys with shaved heads. We both wear glasses and we both sport small goatee's and perenially have a Blue Tooth Headset welded to our ears. The most obvious difference between us is that he is a New York Times best-selling author of over forty novels. with over five million books in print. And I am none of these things (YET!!!!) I guess it's time to update my picture so this will make more sense...

ConDFW 2009 was great!

Had a great weekend in Dallas attending the ConDFW 2009. It was an excellent conference; there were tons of panels on a wide variety of subjects. They ranged from Space Warfare 101 (with David Weber) to Comedy Trends in Science Fiction (with the Four Redheads of the Appocolypse). Of special interest was the panel called "Whodunit?", about adding the mystery element in your writing. Bill Crider and Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files) did a masterful job with lots of advice. 

All the panels I attended were informative and lots of fun. Especially the ones that had Selina Rosen, owner of Yarddog Press on them. Yard Dog Press is a small publishing company out of Arkansas that does a great job of publishing talented authors that haven't been noticed by the big houses yet. She always has a funny anecdote or comment, and lots of much-needed advice to spread around. If you ever attend a Con, see if Yard Dog Press is there and say hello.

I really recommend these types of conventions; they are excellent sources of information and encouragement.