18 December 2008 by Published in: in my life 3 comments

I’m published! Again! I know, crazy, who’d think it could happen twice? I’m also a little behind on giving notice here. I updated my facebook when my piece came out on December 4 and it seemed like enough preening at the time. With Christmas season stuff revving up, I’ve not had time to also update here until now. This week in particular has been insanely busy, with extracurricular stuff every single night so far, and more to come.

At any rate, I’m published in a fabulous market: Escape Pod. A dream market, actually, so I can tick off one on my checklist of places where I wish to see my work appear. You may listen to my flash piece, The Way Before absolutely free of charge, distributed on a creative commons license (because we at “Tempered Thoughts” heart creative commons!). If you’re not familiar with Escape Pod and are interested in Science Fiction audio, allow me to recommend some episodes that are among my favorites:

One thing that posting this so late allows me to do is to note how super pleased I am by one of the comments that a poster wrote on the entry for my piece. John posted he had a sudden realization at the end, and his realization is completely right and I now believe what I’ve heard other writers say, which is that whether someone likes what you write or not, when they GET it you feel so gratified. Dude, you got it, and I feel great about that! Mild spoilers in his comment, if a 300 word flash piece can be spoiled, so listen before you read if you intend to listen.

A word of advice to those of you who are personal friends and family of mine. It is ok (no, better than ok, ideal really) to simply say “Congratulations.” You do not have to pretend to like what I write. You do not have to criticize what I’ve published, and be fair or objective about it. The time for fixing the piece’s flaws is long past, so you might forbear pointing them out, since plenty of people are available for that, and they aren’t people I need support from, as you are. You can elect to simply rejoice in victory with me. I encourage that! For the record, if you say you read it, but don’t say you like it, then it’s quite obvious to me how you felt about it. So instead of carefully avoiding praising my work, if you disapprove of it, simply say “Congratulations on getting published”, ok? I promise not to put you in the uncomfortable position of pressing you on your opinion, or even asking if you heard the story. Thanks!

Last but not least, in honored Scalzi tradition, you may use the comment thread of this entry to point out the cool stuff you or your friends are doing all across the web. Links encouraged! Let me start you off by pointing you to my niece performing “Silent Night”. She can seriously sing. Listen to my story, and her passionate singing, and post cool links, as the spirit moves you.

Comments

Sat 20th Dec 2008 at 2:18 am

X-Clan, Tribal Jam.

Also: Congratulations. I haven’t listened yet but I’ve loved everything I’ve heard the few times I gave Escape Pod a listen. Whether I end up liking yours or not, I’m PROUD OF YOU!

Sat 20th Dec 2008 at 2:44 am

*sigh*. I forgot the rules (as you’ll see from pending comments by me on old entries where no one won yet).

Walked the path and my steps remain, back to the den, grab ahold of the mane

If it’s any consolation, I’m finding and then listening to the songs, not just Googling the lyrics. Still cheating, but is that as bad?

How about if I add that I totally bought two songs so far because I actually liked them a lot? Our musical tastes are SO different, but ever since you introduced me to that Poe record all those years ago, I can’t ignore your recommendations!

Tue 27th Jan 2009 at 10:00 am

Thanks, on the congrats, Elaine! You win at supporting the struggling writer. Also, I totally didn’t expect you to be the one to answer the X-Clan quote! I figured it’d be Kurt or Dave. I love this game because I learn people listen to things I didn’t know they listened to (which is why the googling is cheating…but the going to your Itunes and listening to the song is most definitely not!). Also, my new Poe is Amanda Palmer…may not be your thing, but I have a couple of videos linked in the latest post. :)

Comments are closed.

Powered by WordPress