Heather’s Comments (group member since Jan 21, 2009)

Heather’s comments from the Aspiring Authors: Writing Group group.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'change my position'?

-H.

I was fooling around on there today and I noticed a lot of people make you use 4 connects now in order to bid on one job. Which I think is crazy and unfair because you get only 3 connects with a free membership so they are clearly doing it on purpose. Boooo!!!


-H.

Oh and how I got into this project was I sent a completed manuscript to the publisher haha, and he liked it. I used to be eternally annoyed by the "read the magazine before submitting" idea (really, who has money to buy a sample copy of all the lit mags out there?) But have realized that you MUST "know your work" very well before gauging where you should send it for publication. Sam Pink, a favorite author of mine (he's crazy and innovative in my opinion) was also published in this press, so I figured they were cool with some "off the wall" stuff. I have accepted that my writing isn't "common" or whatever you want to call it, so I now know enough to send the "less odd" things to the larger, more mainstream, magazines.

-H.

I try to write one to two short stories or poems per day. I wish I could get into writing a "real" novel, but I never like my characters enough haha!! You end up feeling quite intimate with them ... and I never can get a firm enough hold on who these people are (or maybe I have my own personal issues I need to work through?) I have a lot of resolutions for the new year, but none having to do with writing, actually. I just try to keep up with writing what I would consider a "good piece" that I am okay enough with to send out to magazines (i.e. I usually send out about 6 short stories/poems to each magazine at a time, so I can do it about once a week. It is a little tiring, but has paid off with the constant writing and revising so that now I can get semi-pro to professional payment for my writing, which I had never considered I would be able to do as I spent years only getting rejection slips).

-H.

Miss Kate!!
You know I think you are talented, lady. It is going to be my new endeavor to find some publishers that I think would be interested in your work.
-H.

Just so everyone knows around here:

http://duotrope.com/ is SUCH a wonderful font of information for writers. You can find locations for all your writing to be published, or you can pick up a copy of the Writer's Market, to find some publishers who may be interested in your work.

If you are interested in making money with CREATIVE writing, you can also put in (on the website) what kind of payment you are looking for (from no payment up to professional payment). Be sure to realize what you are submitting to, however. And that you aren't going to ever get THAT much money from a literary magazine (semi-pro payment is 25 bucks for a poem from the magazine Barnwood, for example).

I also suggest entering some literary contests. Though most of the bigger ones have reading fees (just because literary magazines are generally run by poor writers like us all haha), I do suggest it because a lot of them will give you a free one year subscription to their magazine (I enter the Crazyhorse prize every year and I lost every year, but I love their magazine, so it's OK!).

-H.

I am currently semi-working on my full length book, because I have to have 200 pages by "whenever he eventually tells me." Haha. I write a short story or narrative poem almost every day, so I am not entirely worried, but you know how it is.

It is not necessarily a "must do" because no one is going to kill me if I do not, but it is a "must do" for my heart, definitely. Holding your work in a book form is definitely a thrill and it makes you want to cry, I have learned.

To keep pushing forward I just keep reading. I think this is the most important thing, honestly - reading. Read other authors. Read people you love their writing or people you hate their writing. Attempt other people's styles (even if you are a novel writer, this is beneficial, as many novels have abnormal styles like Cormac McCarthy's or James Frey's.)

-H.

I'm Heather Bell, hello!!

I have been published in numerous literary magazines for poetry and short stories (most notably Barnwood, recently and a forthcoming publication in the Columbia Review - the oldest and most prestigious literary magazine in the United States! Eee! - http://www.columbia.edu/cu/review/abo... )

I have two books of poetry currently done, which can be purchased here: http://wordsdance.com/nothingunrequit... (Verve Bath Press makes the most BEAUTIFUL handmade books) and here: http://anhingamagazine.blogspot.com/ (a darker collection).

By the end of this month or next month I will have out my third book, flash fiction, done by Paper Hero Press/Achilles Chapbooks. You can get a sneak peek of it here: http://achilleschapbook.blogspot.com/... . I am also doing a full length short story/flash fiction book with them by the end of 2009 (around 200 or so pages).

If anyone needs any help with the literary magazine part of publishing, let me know (not sure what genre everyone is about here...).

Love!,
H.

Woo. You know I'm on Elance (schimelhr). I just downgraded to the freebie membership yesterday because it wasn't working out too well for me, though I did get a couple jobs. Which ends up being OK because it gave me more time to work on my personal writing and I ended up having a lot more stuff get off the ground.

-H.