• The Story Behind the Book

    Just Another Week in Suburbia: The Publishing Journey ~ Part 2

     Note: None of what follows is intended as a criticism of publishers. These are just my experiences, as well as my views as a result of those experiences. I’ve never wanted to tee off at a publisher or journal because of a rejection – even when rejections were the end of the world for me. I understand and appreciate that’s the business. This is just an account of how things happened and what I felt.   I once got a rejection from a major publisher that opened, “Dear Leo”. Leo. The rest of the rejection was form – a generic knockback to which they simply add your name. It’s simple,…

  • Life of the Mind

    The Next Work: Part II

    After I’ve finished a manuscript, I’ll usually reread it several times, fleshing it out while the story’s still fresh. When I no longer think I’m getting anything meaningful out of it, I print it out and give it to my alpha readers. I’ll then incorporate their feedback and go over and over it again until I’m back at the stage I think I can do no more. Then I’ll sit on it. I’ve sat on ‘Prudence’ for almost five years. That length of time is unusual. Other things have taken up my time. Pride, Just Another Week in Suburbia, and August Falling were all published in the interim, and each…