Reflections

I was going to do this back in August when I had my one year anniversary of publishing Emerald Tales, but my brain wasn't working well enough, and the post would have ended up an incoherent mess.

This past year and a half from the idea "Hey, wouldn't it be great to start an ezine" to now, the publisher of a journal, poetry collections, short stories, and The Annals of Hypnosia, has been quite a journey. In particular order here are my thoughts about it:

Sending out rejection letters sucks. It really sucks when there isn't anything wrong with a story, but I'm limited by how much I can spend paying authors and poets. (And it is important to me that this be a paying market.) In many cases, it boiled down to how well the story or poem fit the theme.

The worst rejection letters that I had to write were to those who I had published before. It was like telling a best friend, "No, you don't look good in that dress." On the other hand, it would do them more harm than good for me to accept their story just because I had accepted a previous one.

The first line being the theme of the issue makes it really hard to decide which stories to include and which to pass on. If the first line is there, then there is nothing to base a decision on. Which is why the Bright and Sunny Day issue was so damn long... I'm not doing that again.

People who can write a story that is four thousand words are less are much more likely to write a compelling novel or story of longer length. They've figured out how to hook your attention quickly and hold it. I think those people who say, "they can't write a story that is less than 4000 words," should try working on it. It probably will increase their chance of finding an agent and selling their novel.

The British Commonwealth seems to have something going on in the ability to write short stories. Every issue of Emerald Tales has at least one and sometimes two or three or four authors from England, Canada, Australia, etc. They're represented in a higher proportion than one would expect based on population statistics. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Maybe it's an education thing. Maybe it's genetic. They do have a large number of authors in the must read classics department.

There were three or four poets that submitted to every issue and that I accepted their poetry every time for either Emerald Tales or Copper Wire. They are Guy Belleranti, John Hayes, Darrell Lindsey, and Lauren McBride. They are different in the form of poetry that they write, but they all have the same quality that I was looking for in a poem: you don't have to be a literature professor to understand their imagery.

I didn't know it at the time, but I also accepted poetry from two brothers, Josh and Matthew Byers. I wonder if there were any more blood relations.

Drum roll, please.

In alphabetic order the contributors to Scribblers and Ink Spillers:

Emerald Tales
Poetry
Guy Belleranti (5)
J. N. Bower
Matthew Byer
josh byer
Effie Collins
Amanda C. Davis
Lindsey Duncan
Grace Galton
Scott E. Green
Damien Walters Grintalis (2)
John Hayes (5)
D. L. Hegel
Wynne Huddleston (2)
Penn Kemp (2)
Patricia La Barbera
N. L. LeBlanc
Darrell Lindsey (4)
Lauren McBride (3)
Tracie McBride (2)
Michelle Mead
Catherine Moore
George Moore
Patricia Puckett
Roxanne Rhoads
Patty Saturn
Troy Seate
Marge Simon
Hal Sirowitz
Teresa Tunaley
Grady Yandell
Mercedes M. Yardley

Stories
Kevin Anderson
Jennifer Azantian
J. J. Beazley
Ben A. Bell
Guy Belleranti
Chip Bland
Faith Boughan (2)
Darla J. Bowen
Ragna Brent
Thomas Canfield
Arthur Carey
Peter Caunt (2)
Lisa Clark
Marie Croke (2)
Laurie Dalzell (3)
Amanda C. Davis
K. S. Dearsley (2)
Aubrie Dionne (2)
Lindsey Duncan
Jason Flum (4)
Catherine J. Gardner
Alice Godwin
Bruce Golden (3)
Denise Golinowski
Eliza Granville
Heather Gregson
Damien Walters Grintalis
James Hartley
Neil James Hudson (2)
E. Hull (2)
B. M. Kezar
Douglas Kolacki
Raymond Koonce
Kristina Lee (2)
Richard S. Levine
Brandi Mauldin
Lauren McBride
Michael McGlade
Mario Milosevic
Bill Moon
Jenny Morientes
Heather Parker
R. J. Payne
Christine Rains
Cherie Reich (2)
Stephen D. Rogers
Lisa Rusczyk (2)
Laura Jeanne Sanger
Jennifer schwabach
K. C. Shaw
Adam Slade
Abra Staffin-Wiebe
Paula R. Stiles
Lori T Strongin
Julie St. Thomas
G. W. Thomas
Erika Tracy
Justin Whitney
Hugh Wilson

Copper Wire
Poetry:
Guy Belleranti
Gary Bloom
Matthew Byer
John Hayes
Darrell Lindsey
Lauren McBride
Misty Posey
Changming Yuan


Short Stories:
Bryant Alexander
Karen Dent
Grace Galton
Bruce Golden
Heather Gregson
Damien Walters Grintalis
Stephanie Hamrick
Neil James Hudson
M. J. Jones
Raymond Koonce (2)
Jack Linus
B. Moon
Lisa Rusczyk
Jude Tulli
L. A. Witt
P. E. Zimmerman

Crystal Codices
Stories:
Sarah Ashwood
Nyki Blatchley
Savyn Carden
Jeremy Essex
Ken Goldman
Kristin Janz
Matthew Leukroth
Marilyn Luttrell

Poetry Collections:
Guy Belleranti
Lisa Rusczyk

And Mette Pesonen the author and illustrator of The Annals of Hypnosia.

Keep an eye out for these authors and poets, they're worth it.

Lots to Read!

I've posted a lot of stuff on the website in the past week. I forgot to let everyone know about it.

Two new poems on Copper Wire, Alphabet Meandering by Matthew Byer and Summerscaping by Changming Yuan. I thought they were rather interesting. :)

A Matter of Credibility, the June installment in The Annals of Hypnosia is also up.

All of the electronic versions of the Crystal Codices are now online and free to read. (I'll have a new one in July sometime.)

And the June issue of Emerald Tales, Midsummer's Eve, is now online!

On Midsummer's Eve, a young woman and her family visit the aunts who raised her, a trip outside the dome turns deadly, the seventh child of the seventh child must repay a debt, a cartoon character comes to life, a young woman faces disappointment, a village is invaded during their midsummer ritual, and a woman's true love is revealed to her.

A Visit with the Tantes - short story - Laurie Dalzell

Midsummer's Triolet - poem - Lauren McBride

Outside - short story - Peter Caunt

Midsummer's Eve Mess-up - poem - Guy Belleranti

The Seventh Child - short story - E. Hull

Midsummer's Night Dream - poem - Grace Galton

I Found Love on Channel 3 - short story - Bruce Golden

Heat - poem - John Hayes

A Midsummer's Baby - short story - K. S. Dearsley

Midsummer's Magic: A Series of Haikus - poem - Patricia Puckett

Firebird's Embrace - short story - Faith Boughan

Starry-eyed Predictions - poem - Wynne Huddleston

Midsummer Rose - short story - Eliza Granville

Midsummer's Eve Reminiscing - poem - Darrell Lindsey

As my dance teacher, Michael, used to say, "That'll keep you busy!" :)

Carnivale

And without further ado, Emerald Tales; Volume Two, Number One, Carnivale, is now for sale!

Saint Jake of the Funhouse - Douglas Kolacki - short story

New Profession - Guy Belleranti - poem

Offbeat - Lauren McBride - short story

me and the fair - josh byer - poem

The Hurdy Gurdy Man - E. Hull - short story

Lagniappe - Catherine Moore - poem

Farewell to Flesh - Lindsey Duncan - short story

Venice - Patricia La Barbera - poem

The Tatooed Woman - Christine Rains - short story

New Orleans; Circa Fat Tuesday - Darrell Lindsey - poem

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down - Damien Walters Grintalis - short story

Winter Carnival - Patty Saturn - poem

The Wild Hunt - Kristina Lee - short story

Milano, Coming Home - George Moore - poem

Mascaren - Ben A. Bell - shor story

Equestrienne - John Hayes - poem

All the Fun of the Fair - Peter Caunt - short story

A school friend goes to visit Saint Jake; an alien encounters a young woman at Carnivale in Brazil; a child listens to the music of The Hurdy Gurdy Man; A dancer's night of farewell to flesh; there something different about those tattoos; a young couple's encounter with a voodoo man at Mardi Gras; teenagers attend a carnival passing through town; a young woman's encounter with a mask seller; and two young boys go for a carnival ride. With poetry by: Guy Belleranti, josh byer, Catherine Moore, Patricia La Barbera, Darrell Lindsey, Patty Saturn, George Moore, and John Hayes.

http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/emeraldtales.html

If some of those names look familiar, well, yes, they have contributed to previous issues of Emerald Tales. The more issues that I put out, the more repeat submissions I get, and the harder it is to decide which ones to use and which ones to pass on. I've said this before and I'll say it again: If you all would start submitting crap, it would make the decision process so much easier. It's torture to pass on a previous contributor's well-written but just doesn't fit the theme story. On the other hand, it's always a delight to find new-to-me authors and poets to publish.

I'm caught up on acknowledging the Emerald Tales submissions. If you submitted to "It was a bright and sunny day" issue and you didn't get an acknowledgement from me, send it to me again. Today.

I am not caught up on Crystal Codices. I will be wading through those next.

Leprechaun

The next installment in the Faegotten series, Leprechaun, by Jude Tulli is now posted on Copper Wire. This month the wish-fulfilling fairy has been demoted to a Leprechaun and takes us on a journey over the rainbow. (Actually, it's to a rainbow, but that doesn't evoke Judy Garland singing in The Wizard of Oz.) You can read it here: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/copperwire/leprechaun.html

The Carnivale issue of Emerald Tales is a bit more delayed than I had anticipated. I'm having email problems with one of my contributors. Stupid email program had no trouble delivering the files with the contracts, but doesn't want to deliver the files with suggested changes. What is up with that?

The deadline for "It was a bright and sunny day" issue is Monday. You've got two days to scribble down a story for that one. Go! Write now! :)

New Year, New Changes

In five months, I put out six editions of Emerald Tales, seven stories in Crystal Codices, two poetry collections, poetry and short stories in Copper Wire, and brought you The Annals of Hypnosia. It's no wonder that I am mentally exhausted and that I have no creative energy to pursue my own writing and artistic goals.

After giving this a lot of thought, I am no longer going to put out a Special Edition of Emerald Tales. I'm still accepting all genres for Emerald Tales, but genre will no longer be a determining factor in whether I choose a story for inclusion in Emerald Tales. I'm going to choose the eight stories that give me the best mix to show the breadth of human creativity. If they're all fantasy or all romance, then the issue will be all fantasy or romance or westerns or thrillers.

Starting with the June issue of Emerald Tales, the deadline will be six weeks before publication instead of one month. A month is doable for getting contracts, editing, proofreading, and layout done, but it is exhausting. So, I'm spreading that out a little bit more, as well.

I've only received four Groundhog stories. They're a hoot. When the mood strikes, I'll throw out another wacky writing challenge.

Happy New Year!

Emerald Tales - Masks or Appearances Can be Deceiving

Woot!

Emerald Tales Volume One Number Two - Masks or Appearances Can Be Deceiving is done!

And online!

And on time!

Story Contributions:

Ashley by Lisa Rusczyk is about a very interesting blind date.

In Tricked you Good by Guy Belleranti, a thief masquerades as a clown on Halloween and gets a rather nasty surprise.

Promoting a Good Image by Ragna Brent is about two coworkers up for promotion. Which one will get it?

In The Honor System by Paula J. Stiles, a pregnant woman gets a little help from a stranger.

In The Black Swan by Darla J. Bowen, a masquerade ball is the perfect cover for an operative.

In A Steady Life by Jason Flum, two adult grandchildren learn more about the grandfather who raised them.

Barbecue by James Hartley, vegan aliens attend a neighborhood barbecue.

Operation: Totally Ducked Up by Lori T. Strongin, two very unlikely babysitters of a sweet little toddler. What could possibly happen?

Poetry Contributions:

A Versatile Visage by Lindsey Duncan

A Deck of Cards Tells All by Hal Sirowitz

This Mask I Wear by N. L. LeBlanc

Heart and Soul by Teresa Tunaley

Here's the link to the webpage: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/emeraldtales.html

Coming later today or tomorrow: Copper Wire, an online selection of free sample stories and poetry associated with Emerald Tales.

Serial Short Stories

One of the things that I am looking for is a serial of short stories. Either the same characters in different situations each installment or a story arc over the series. I've gotten several submissions for the serial and I have come to the realization that I am not properly explaining what I am looking for.

A story that is told in sections with section breaks does not necessarily make a good serialization. Each installment needs to stand on it's own. A small story inside a big story. The best way to illustrate this is two very popular movies Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. (If you haven't seen one, you've probably seen the other.)

When George Lucas made the original Star Wars movie, he didn't know if he would ever be able to tell the whole story, so he pulled out Episode Four "A New Hope" and made that as the original Star Wars. ... Episode Four ... Not Episode One ... And it stands on it's own. Each of the six movies that he made in the series stands on it's own. A person can watch just one of those movies and walk away feeling like a story had been told. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. He had to do it that way because there was three years between the release of each episode in the two sets of trilogies. The story wasn't finished until the last movie was made, but there was a defineable break at the end of each movie. And each movie stands on it's own. Episode One is about freeing the planet of Naboo from the Trade Federation blockade, Episode Two is about the start of The Clone Wars, Episode Three how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and so on.

Lord of the Rings, the movie not the book, is also a good example of how to do a story with episodes or installments. Each movie can stand on it's own. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you get the Special Extended Version DVD set, the story is broken into six parts which you can watch on six successive nights. You're not stopping in the middle of the story, you're stopping at the end of each small story which make up the bigger story. Each part can stand on it's own. In the case of the movies, each part had to stand on it's own for a year until the next part of the trilogy came out.

I'm still interested in a serialized short story to include in Emerald Tales, but a story with section breaks isn't necessarily a good story to serialize. Each part or installment needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. It has to be able to stand on it's own because the reader may not get a chance to read the other parts of it.

Attrition in the Short Story Market and Publicity

Last week on K. C. Shaw's blog, The Knotted Thicket, she made this blog post. Jim Baen's Universe is closing. I assume because it's not making enough money to stay in business. This happens routinely. The probability that my company Scribblers and Ink Spillers, LLC will turn a profit is slim and nill. The success rate for a new publishing company is abysmal. There is a saying "If you want to make a little money in publishing, start with a lot of money." It's a losing proposition.

I knew that when I started Scribblers and Ink Spillers. But, I have seen so many great short stories over the past few years and I wanted to give them a paying market for their work, especially since it is drying up. I've figured out how much I can afford to spend each month out of my pocket in order to do that.

I have ideas for genre-specific journals and novellas that I want to launch. But, in order to do that I need money coming in. Someone suggested advertising to bring in revenue. But, what person in their right mind would purchase advertising in a journal that has no track record or a small volume of sales? What I need is more sales.

Which brings me to the second blog post relevant to this subject: Nathan Bransford - Literary agent posted this about the reality of an author needing to help with the publicity for their own work. Well, it's just as important, maybe even more so, for a just starting out writer trying to get writing credits to do a bit of publicity for the magazine or journal their work appeared in, as it is for a big time author to get out and do book signings. Because, the small publishers such as myself have very tight budgets. And many authors/writers do blog, they tweet, they facebook, they get their friends to buy the publication. (*tongue in cheek* I think maybe I'll add a paragraph to the contract that the author must get X number of friends to buy the publication ... Just kidding)

The thing is whether it is fledgling micro-publisher like myself or a big publishing house, not doing what an author can to promote the book, magazine, journal, publication, doesn't make sense. Big publishing house gives an author a six-figure advance, author does nothing to help promote the book, Big Publisher loses money = less money for advances. The more books, magazines, journals, publications a publisher sells the more money they take in and have to PAY AUTHORS.

And if one is thinking, "Well I got paid. What do I care if they don't more money for future payments?" If that is the last thing you ever have published by that publisher, then that selfish attitude won't hurt you. But, if you want to go back and feed at that trough again, then perhaps doing something to help keep it filled would be a good idea.

The last thing is: Isn't the point of becoming published for people to read what the author/writer wrote? So, how can you as an author/writer help make that happen?

Many thanks to the contributors to Emerald Tales who have blogged, facebooked, tweeted, and/or got their friends to buy the journal. Yes, I know who most of you are. ;)

And Here I Go Again

I've finally got all but two little things done for the first issue of Emerald Tales and now I am working on the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror Special edition which will go on sale next Saturday. It should go a lot quicker than the first issue as I have already set-up most of the stuff for the first issue and I know what needs to be done for this special edition.

Computer woes struck again on Wednesday. One of the sites on my shared webhost services got hacked. While the new webhost dealt with it quickly and efficiently, there was still wonkiness affecting my site from the fixes until early Friday morning. With all the trouble I've had with webhosting and other things, I'm beginning to wonder if the Universe really wants me to do this. Then again, I have learned who my friends are in the past few weeks. I'm rather surprised at the results.

I gave my mother a copy of the first issue of Emerald Tales. Now, normally whatever someone's mom has to say about something is suspect due to maternal bias. However, my mom isn't like that. She is a short story writer and has been a short story writer all of my life. This is what she had to say: "I read all of the stories. It's really good and entertaining. It's much better than "Really Famous Person's Literary Magazine" that I recently read. Half the stories in that were boring to read. But, none of the stories in Emerald Tales were boring." So, I achieved what I set out to achieve a magazine of compelling fiction from all genres. WooHoo!

FInally

Finally, I'm up and running. There are still a few tweaks that I need to make, but Emerald Tales can now be ordered both online and through the mail.

The website has been revamped. You can go here to look: www.scribblersandinkspillers.com

I've finally come out of the closet on what I plan to do with the novellas. It will be a new line called Crystal Codices. Two categories under that: Medieval Tales and Modern Tales. They will be printed on recycled parchment-like paper and handbound. They will also be available in electronic version.

And now, I am going to go catch up on everything that had to be set aside while I changed webhosts.

Happy Dance

*does Happy Dance*

I'm up and running on the new server. *boogies*

It may take the rest of the day for everyone to see the pages, but they are there and we're good to go. *boogies*

Well almost good to go. I still have to set up the shopping cart program, but there is an order form for mail orders for Emerald Tales.

My biggest concern was moving the forum over to the new webhost, but except for a typo and me forgetting a few image files (the smilies ... How could I forget the smilies?!?), it went off without a hitch.

Bottomline: Emerald Tales, Volume One Number One "Follow the Butterflies" is now on sale through mailorder. It will available online as soon as I get the shopping cart set up. And I am barely one day late. *boogity boogity*

I would like to thank everyone who submitted a poem or story without your submissions, I couldn't do this.

The contributers to the first issue are:

Guy Belleranti - poem - "Butterflies"

Arthur Carey - short story - "Wedding Present"

Laurie Dalzell - short story - "Beware the Butterflies"

Catherine J. Gardner - short story - "Empty Box Motel"

Damien Walters Grintalis - poem - "Monarch"

Darrell Lindsey - poem - "Meadows"

Brandi Mauldin - short story - "Girls in White Dresses"

R. J. Payne - short story - "Other People's Homes"

Roxanne Rhoads - poem - "In the Clearing"

K. C. Shaw - short story - "Cult of the Butterfly"

Adam Slade - short story - "New Friends"

Erika Tracy - short story - "A Search Dog's Tryptych"