Translate

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Fitting In With Purple Socks

To many fiction writers, writing the story they want to tell is all that matters...until it comes time to submit.  Getting published is like accepting the real world after being totally idealistic for a hundred years.  Your work may be good or even great but it does not fit the publisher or agent you're pitching to.  What a terrible feeling after all the work!  Well there is a way around this.  From my success as a short story writer I can tell you that you have to learn to be the kid who fits into the group while wearing purple socks.  You are original and you are different but not so different that you look like a total oddball.  Like say, if you were to walk in naked, that would be drastic.  instead you are yourself and an individual but you can still hang around.  I have had the most success on a website where I read every story in their crime section.  After reading them all, I churned out a story and just knew by whatever way, that it would get published.  And it did.  And the next one did.  And now I have five on there.  The key is that I know what they want and I deliver.  I remain original but still fall within their guidelines well enough to get published over and over.  So take a close look at the website or publisher that you are looking to do business with and conform to what they actually want while remaining original.  Trust me.  This is very doable. 

My short stories can be viewed here.

http://www.short-story.me/crime-stories.html

Best of luck in your writing,

Anthony David Mitchell

No comments:

Post a Comment