During the holiday season a lot of people spend time reflecting on the year that was but I’m focused on the year to come. I feel like I’ve gotten a number of things squared away in my head and I can move forward with nothing but writing in future months.

2003 was the year I started writing again, and 2004 was the year of Clarion, and much of 2005 was the year of figuring things out. I’m thinking that means 2006 will be the year of sheer, unadulterated writing.

Here’s what I think I’ve figured out:

1. I’ve read a lot of different markets over the past year and figured out which ones I like and why. My favorite stories consistently come from the same markets. There’s a massive difference between saying “I didn’t like it” and “It was a bad story.” I can say that all the stories I’ve read from the pro markets are of a certain quality, content aside. This is the quality I need to be writing at to even be considered for the big markets.
2. Along with #1, I have a general idea of what kinds of stories particular editors favor. Some stories have a strong sf element right up front, others have a very slight sf element. This helps in terms of deciding how to prioritize where to send a story.
3. Along with #2, knowing a market’s inclinations really doesn’t matter all that much. Certain stories press buttons and it’s hard to predict what story may resonate with a certain editor, for good or for ill. The right story pushing the right buttons may run contrary to what I perceive as “typical” for a market.
4. Having two big sales under my belt, I’m confident that I’m passing the bar for professional writing quality. I think having sentence-level stuff pointed out at Clarion helped tremendously. Dissecting stories I really admire helps, too. I can always get better, but this is no longer a major worry for me.
5. The big markets carry big clout. I’d rather have five or six stories published in the big ‘uns than ten or twelve in the next tier down. Of course, having both would be better yet.
6. Don’t get overly excited or upset about long response times or the nature of rejections. If you think a story’s good, send it away and if it really is good, there’s a chance it won’t come back to you. Gushing rejections letters beat form letters but they don’t mean all that much. A rejection is a rejection is a rejection.
7. It’s unlikely that I’ll continue submit things to places I’ve never heard of. You can find hundreds of markets on Ralan’s that will be willing to accept a story but not all are equal. I’ve got a good idea of which non-pro (and non-paying) markets have street cred, and street cred is earned by having a regular publishing history and a reputation for printing good material. It doesn’t do you much good to sell a story to a market that folds after the second issue, or if the rest of the stories aren’t very good. Selling to these markets is a step above self-publishing rather being a step below professional markets. There are quality non-paying markets I’d rather appear in than some newish ones paying pro rates (@ $.05/word) for all of these reasons.
8. I’m not going to try to write stories for certain markets. I write the stories that I want to write and see what happens from there. I’ve got a bunch lined up that may or may not have enough of a speculative element for the genre and I’m going to write them anyway. Stories grow very organically for me and you can’t just “up” the spec fic element in order to make it suit a certain market or it will feel forced. I’m also going to look at “fringe” markets, those that may be open to stories with a spec fic element. This is wholly different than stubbornly writing stories that can never sell, at least in my mind.
9. Without sounding aloof and dismissive, the spec fic genre is a pretty insular group. There are lots of conversations about labeling sci-fi, fantasy and a dozen sub-genres, arguing about the literary value of the spec fic genre, what’s good, what’s bad, what’s new and exciting versus stale and boring. I find most of these conversations rather dull, although I do marvel at the passion people show over the topics. I’m fully ready to admit that my disinterest stems from me not being well-read enough in the genre but I’m fine with that. A lot of folks live and die in the genre and if that means I’m just a tourist by comparison, so be it.
10. The folks I’ve met at WisCon and World Fantasy have been great. The best part about meeting other writers is that I’ve found them all to be highly intelligent people with diverse interests, endowed with keen senses of humor and quick wit. The only other “writers” I’ve ever known have been the black-beret-wearing crowd that’s more interested in playing a part than actually writing. It’s a relief to meet so many people who thoroughly enjoy reading and discussing books and who are actively (and successfully) writing, sans massive ego.

That’s all I can think of for now. It’s funny to scan these “tidbits” and see how many of these I was told at Clarion but I needed a year or so to figure them out for myself.

I’m not setting any goals for selling stories because that’s mostly out of my control. I’m not setting any goals for submissions either because I keep close track of what I’m working on and what I’m sending out, so I just need to be honest with myself when I’m sluffing off.

My general goal is to write more stories I can be proud of, which is of course unquantifiable. The more I’ve learned about the business side of things, the more apparent it is that writing is largely an ego trip. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever become a full-time writer (although not impossible) and it’s even less likely that what I’ve written will be remembered very long after it’s published. So my main goal is to write stories I find interesting and hope that others find them interesting too. I’ve shied away from working on “big” stories–stories that span a long period of time, or have emotional resonance for me, or have a complex structure, etc.–and that has to stop. I’m reasonably satisfied with my level of ability so it’s silly to just write stories I think might sell because what does that get me, really?

The English Premier League hits the half-way point tomorrow. More thoughts on that soon.

I watched “Westway to the World” over the weekend, which is the definitive documentary on the Clash. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it before but, remarkably, never from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

A lot of people say the band-approved documentary just reinforces the Clash mythos and glazes over things like the band “selling out” to CBS. If you look hard enough, you can actually see that these are the same exact people in “No Direction Home” who said Bob Dylan sold out when he stopped singing protest songs in the 60’s. If you look at the history of both Dylan and the Clash, it’s tough to make a case that the so-called “sell out” music was significantly more marketable than what they were doing to get popular in the first place. And if “Highway 61 Revisited” or “London Calling” is selling out, here’s to hoping more bands sell out this way.

“Westway to the World” provides a great look at the personalities in the group, most notably Strummer as the source of social consciousness. There are great quotes from him here, such as him saying that authority isn’t necessarily right or just, it’s simply a means for control; his admission the Clash had plenty to shout about but no real answers for the world’s ills (which isn’t a shortcoming in my book); the fact that he loves “Sandanista,” warts and all; and then the heart-wrenching turn as the conversation turns towards the band’s break up. You can see the pensiveness on Strummer’s face as he says that they should have just taken a year off to cool down and not made such a big deal out of things like Jonesy’s habitual lateness to rehearsal for, as Strummer says, “sometimes talent is worth waiting for.” The hardest part to watch is Strummer’s final words, as he says that the Clash had an unexplainable chemistry that you just don’t mess with. “Do whatever it takes to move it forward but don’t mess with it. That was the lesson, and we learned it…bitterly.” Then he turns from the camera, his face in anguish.

The soul of a poet on display. You can tell it isn’t play-acting for the camera, he really feels what he’s saying. This spirit infused everything the Clash did and elevates them above bands like the Ramones, and most certainly the one-trick pony that was the Sex Pistols.

Current Mood - Tuesday that Feels Like a Monday |
Currently Listening To - The Clash - “Give ‘Em Enough Rope”