I’d like to welcome everyone to my new series, which explores the ins and outs of the dreaded submission process. In each episode, we follow J.D. McNutterhouse, a new writer whose rare combination of thick-headedness, ignorance, and naivete cause him to take misstep after misstep on the road to publication. So sit back, relax, and

Just a quick form rejection from A Field Guide to Surreal Botany. Not too much of a disappointment considering I wrote the short submission within an hour of sending it out. In hind sight, I probably should have edited it a little better.

Every Saturday, starting in the spring and running through the fall, the local farmer’s market sets up along Main Street. Fresh vegetables, breads, cheeses, and honey line the street under large tents where the different farms set up. Each week a new assortment of local creations are piled high on flimsy tables and stands: the

Months of waiting and two query letters later, I have received a response concerning my submission to Simulacrum Magazine. It’s not a rejection. But it’s not an acceptance either. Simulacrum Magazineis closing. I can’t say I am happy with this news, seeing as how my piece has been with them for months yet, they were

A few days ago I posted four new links to my market listings. Since then, I have taken a closer look at these web sites, and decided to spotlight one of my favorites, Duotrope. To call this simply a “market listing” is insulting (and I apologize). Duotrope manages to combine what a writer would normally

It’s interesting the way writing gets chopped up and separated into categories. It’s important for readers to be able to find writing they enjoy, and that’s based on the genre; it’s important for publishers to be able to market your masterpiece and therefore need a genre to stick you in. I say the hell with

Yup yup. I have added four links to my Market Pages. These are pretty sweet market lists, two of which actually have internal search engines so you can narrow down what you’re looking for. You can enter the word count, pay scale, genre, etc… I glanced through these, and yes, most of the markets are

Ah, the forth of July. That sacred day when we celebrate the birth of the god of fireworks and the resurrection of the god of barbecue. Wait. That doesn’t sound right. Have I made some horrible mistake? Let me think a minute. Independence day…Independence. Right, okay. The god of freedom has something to do with

Yes, it would seem only 300 new words have been added to my novel. The truth is, I cut over a thousand words from it (finding a whole chapter that needed to be discarded), and so I only have a gain of 300 words. It’s kind of depressing when you think about it. I slaughtered

As I mentioned yesterday, I am taking off my “short story” hat and donning my “novelist” hat, but before I could officially do that, I had to finish editing my last short, “State of the Union,” which I have now done. I sent this piece to an anthology called City Shadows, being published by Cohort