Flown The Nest

I've submitted The Winged Shepherd of Innocence after rewriting the ending. I wasn't going to do it but I started playing with it and it just came out. So it has a somewhat uplifting ending on it now, full of redemption and that type of thing.

Then I started looking around for a market. None of my normal markets fitted. The winged one had changed. I started looking for alternatives. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a good choice of Christian markets. In the end I settled on MindFlights. The Shepherd has been reclassified as speculative fiction although I still think she has a dark heart. We'll see what the editors of MindFlight have to say about it. Apparently they respond in around a month so; at least they're prompt. Payment isn't huge but at this point, I really need a sale so I'm almost willing to take anything.

I've started work a new web page for myself and for you. It's all about markets for dark fiction, including a submissions pathway for a piece of work. The idea is to start at the high end of the market and work your way down, hopefully selling it to a publication somewhere near the top. I started out thinking a path of 20 publications should do it but at this point in time it stands at 17, and I've barely scratched the surface of the semi-pro markets. This could end up being huge.

Obviously not all markets are open to submissions at the same time so that will reduce the number, and I expect you to research the guidelines as you work your way down, which will also make it clear if the market is a good fit or not. So with these things working against us, we need a decent list to begin with. I am also including links to 8 free, searchable market databases. I currently use only two of them but intend on going through all of them. They look impressive in content and the detail provided.

I'm also still working on a suggested reading list for writers of the dark side.

Apart from penning a new ending for the Shepherd and researching a new market for her, I've also gained some comment back on Senses End, a drabble I'm preparing for Necrotic Tissue. looks good. Only a few tweaks needed.

I've done a little bit of the manual background work on Tigers Eye and Voodoo within yWriter4. The program is really very good. Going through Tigers Eye, I'm finding I really wasn't very good at all when I wrote it. It seems I was worse when I tried to do an edit with only a little more knowledge than the first time round. The more I read, the more I think I'm doing the right thing with rewriting it. I'll strip her back to the bare plot points and then fill it in with hopefully much better prose, logic, and overall story telling than is currently in evidence.

I finally received my last two assignments for semester one back. Both only made a C grade. That gives me 5 Bs and 3 Cs for module two equaling another credit. I'd say my first semester in 23 years has been a success with the earning of two passes at the credit level. Excellent.

According to the course schedule, I have until the 23rd of July before I have to begin submitting assignments for the new semester. I've already done the first draft on four of them and outlined my short story requirement. I have two weeks holiday coming up as well. I should be well and truly in front for the remainder of the year.

Still cant work on finishing System Failure in preparation for submission as I still haven't had any comments from my crit group. The participation tracking sheet lists the 7th of this month as due date for critiques. If I get none, then regardless of the shake up of last week, I'm back to where I was, and that's not good.

So currently I have seven pieces in the market place, a number I haven't had since late last year. this time round, they are all much better prepared and much better written. Fingers crossed.

Good luck with your submissions.

BT