Getting Published

[Morbid Misery]

Ok one thing that really gets under my skin is some twit who after reading your submission knocks it back.

This has happened to me and although I need to be patient I still bugs me.

The last time I sent in a submission I was told its too depressing, disturbing, brooding and violent. So I want to know who are the right sort of publishers I should be approaching of which of these still read un solicitated manuscripts if you do not have an literary agent representing you (I asked this because the only agents in my local area all refused to take me on as a client)

MM

[delph_ambi]

Post some of your writing here. See what we think of it. If we unanimously think it's brilliant, then you've simply subbed to the wrong places, and you need to keep subbing until someone with good taste recognises your brilliance. If, on the other hand, some of us see problems with your writing, then listen to our views, decide whether or not you agree, and consider re-writes to make your output more publishable.

[Morbid Misery]

I would but that submission was lost when my last computer blew up before I had a chance to back up my files. But I do remember the part that seemed to cause the most offense. Now please don't think that I'm some weirdo I just have an over active imagination. But the scene came to me while sitting in a late night cafe in Toowoomba. This girl was having trouble slicing up a roll of meat and when I got home I wrote a scene involving a bipolar sufferer on acid who cuts off her date's genitals and slices them up then makes a salad roll and eats it in front of her victim.

So don't judge too harshly it was my first attempt at a manuscript my writing has evolved and matured since this episode.

MM

[Morbid Misery]

There is something I should mention and I am not particularly confortable writing this even with my alias,

But I am writing horror novels for two reasons A) I enjoy this genre and really want to make a career as an author and B) Which is that I am the victim of two decades of physical, emotional and psychological abuse - made worse by the fact that my tormentor did not commit his acts of terror constantly. The episodes always came out of nowhere and you never knew when they would arrive or what form they would take, all that was certain is that sooner or later and for no reason I would be punished in some sadistic and brutal manner. In fact as the years went on the excuses for his tirades became thinner. I am also divided when it comes to my religion as this creep used it as a weapon. Now I am 26 years old I broke off contact with my abuser 3 years ago but I still have the memories and what is worse things that I managed to suppress are returning to the surface. So writing for me has become an exercise in ridding myself of my inner demons.

I have accepted the fact that I am damaged but I am still a decent man and that is something he will never take from me

MM

[delph_ambi]

Sounds to me like you're dealing with this in a mature and useful way. However, this all takes time. Your writing may well be too raw for some editors to take at the moment. Give it time. If you're only 26, you have plenty of time ahead of you to let your writing develop and grow from being effectively therapy, to something that someone will want to publish. Your background gives you all the material you will ever need. Now you need to hone your writing skills. That takes time. Try not to be impatient.

[Morbid Misery]

Thanks Delph_ambi it is nice to finally spill my guts so to speak and not be labelled as insane, depressed, or as broken or as Damage Goods, I sometimes think of myself as damage goods but I still have a hard time when some twit calls me that. By the way I have found this is a really effective way of loosing girlfriends so far 5 have been told and those same 5 left soon after muttering one of those labels.

MM

[rsmccoy]

An editor should never comment on the writer, but focus on the writing. Your writing isn't you any more than the things that were done to you are you.

In the same vain, if an editor gives some negative feedback on a story, try not to personalize it. I know it's hard and if there was no emotion related to submitting than we probably wouldn't do it, but in the end editors usually select what they like, so it is important to find magazines that you like. Some online are free and some print offer sample editions cheap, but it does take a lot of research to find the right market. Even when I've found a market that publishes similar stories to the ones I write, I have received rejections (many, many rejections). Del is right, it takes time and a lot of effort, but it is worth it.

[Ed]

You can improve your chances of getting published by reading the publication and writing a story to suit their editorial style. Still, even if the story is perfect, you may receive a rejection slip. It could be that you wrote on a subject they recently published a story on, so they don't want to accept another similar story anytime soon. Could be your writing isn't to the editor's taste. Could be they're only taking four stories out of a hundred submissions and yours was #5. Could be a lot of things, so you shouldn't take it personally, but that's sometimes easier said than done, especially if you have a lot of emotional investment in the piece.

[ShadowPeople]

My mom and I have written a zombie horror novel and we were having a lot of trouble getting anyone to even really look at it. So we ended up just doing it ourself. We put it up on Kindle and through this site createspace.com, which they print a hard copy of the book when someone buys it off amazon. The only hard thing about doing it yourself is the marketing.

Good luck though!


http://stephensjackson.com/excerpts.aspx