"Hey son, what you doing?"
"Hey mum, I'm just looking at some websites and magazines I can send my stories to."
"Do any of them pay?"
"Er, yes, but most are 'token' payment, and quite a lot don't offer payment at all..."
"You really need to do something that gets you money."
Subtext:
You're wasting your time doing something I previously gave you praise for. Furthermore, you read Stephen King, and he makes a lot of money from writing, so why aren't you now making a lot of money from it? I have no idea what I'm talking about. What's the point of doing *anything* if you don't get paid?
This conversation seems to happen every single week. Every. Single. Week.
And so is this blog.
Showing posts with label not a moan honest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label not a moan honest. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
I DON'T GET IT
Now. Rejections.
It always comes down to subjectivity. It always does. I went to a writer's convention a little while ago where one of the writers said it helps if you can get a mentor to read over your stuff. Someone who knows what they're talking about. It was easy for him to say, though, as he had bloody Ramsey Campbell as his mentor. He also suggested getting a lecturer from an English course to act as one. Again, that's easy to say as he was a teacher.
What about those of us who don't know horror writer legends or teach English? Or studied English at a higher degree and therefore have the ability to ask someone? I am lucky enough to have some fairly litarate friends with sound judgement. However, those same friends are highly unreliable so I can't count on them to help me go over stuff. Which is fair enough since some of them are either busy writing their own magnum opus or, er, on the dole. Hmmm.
Also on my mind: ambiguity in writing. But more on that in another post.
aaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeee
It always comes down to subjectivity. It always does. I went to a writer's convention a little while ago where one of the writers said it helps if you can get a mentor to read over your stuff. Someone who knows what they're talking about. It was easy for him to say, though, as he had bloody Ramsey Campbell as his mentor. He also suggested getting a lecturer from an English course to act as one. Again, that's easy to say as he was a teacher.
What about those of us who don't know horror writer legends or teach English? Or studied English at a higher degree and therefore have the ability to ask someone? I am lucky enough to have some fairly litarate friends with sound judgement. However, those same friends are highly unreliable so I can't count on them to help me go over stuff. Which is fair enough since some of them are either busy writing their own magnum opus or, er, on the dole. Hmmm.
Also on my mind: ambiguity in writing. But more on that in another post.
aaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeee
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