Why Do My Posts Always Seem to Land on Holidays?

Because the first Monday of the month often is, I suppose...

It's been a busy time for me this month, and part of that was getting Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires ready for bed. The manuscript is currently in production's hands. Can't wait to see the final package!

Putting together an anthology is a labor of love. It is a very fine balance making sure all the stories work together, make the page count, show variety--a thousand other considerations. As both an anthology editor and frequent contributor, I just wanted to remind all our writers out there that an anthology rejection is not always because your story needed more work than we could realistically give it...sometimes, the story is PERFECT--for another anthology. I got so many submissions that were well-written but without a speck of Steampunk. Couldn't use them. They didn't fit the theme of the anthology.

As a writer, it is your job to read the requirements carefully and make sure that your story meets them. The Pac-Man story wasn't even Victorian...I might have been able to stretch a little, but not that far.

As an editor, it is my job to think outside the box if there is a quirky story that fits the requirements but might need a little work to polish it up. It is NOT my job to make your story fit the guidelines.

I love editing anthologies, but I don't see how someone does it all the time. It is exhausting! My hat's off to those who do nothing but anthologies--or even more extraordinary--still manage to make time for their own work as well. I'm a once-a-year anthology editor. At least for the time being. ;)

Hand Beneath the Pump

If you have seen or read "The Miracle Worker," you know that there is a moment when Annie Sullivan is trying to teach Helen Keller that the signs she keeps making in her hands mean something. As they stand beside the pump, and Annie runs water into Helen's hand, wearily signing "water"over and over, suddenly--a lightbulb goes off in Helen's head, and she makes the connection that has been eluding her all along.

Why am I bringing it up? I had one of these "watershed moments" the other day about my writing, and I think it is worth sharing.

My husband refuses to critique anything I write. He says I can't take criticism, and I have spent more than ten years arguing that I can take constructive criticism, that I am getting better at accepting edits all the time...but I have been wrong. If anyone suggests something I don't agree with in their edits, I argue or justify, or ignore it. I can be a terrible editing subject.

As I was in tears over an edit I thought was asking way too much by way of rewrites, my husband said quietly, "You know why the QA department loves me?" (He's a computer programmer.) "Because I know they are trying to make my code the best it can be; that I might have missed something that would make it better; and I listen to what they have to say."

I thought about what he was saying. Really thought about it. And, for the first time, the analogy made sense to me. Editors are a writer's QA department. They see things we might not. They understand things we don't. We need to listen to them. Without whining about it. :) I made the changes they were asking for...and you know what...they were right. It was a stronger story for them.

(Okay, I may be a little self-serving, as I am about to go into editor mode....lol. Don't forget about our new Steampunk anthology, now open for submissions.)