Maybe it'll be like setting a bone, painful at first but necessary to heal.

Nice essay, Erin. I only made a couple of notes, but I really liked the metaphor.

Thanks, Gud! I've tweaked it,and written the query letter (my first query to a magazine! WOO!) and will be sending it out today.

Good Luck!

One of these days I need to revise my short story 'Adventures of Lloyd' and submit it someplace. It's a parody of fantasy stories so I'd need to find a welcome market for that sort of thing. Meanwhile, I made it through chapter 2 and I'm working on revising chapter 3.

I sent the query and submission out this evening!

Gud, I'll keep an eye out for possible markets for your story.

Thanks for your feedback!

Personal whine, whine, whine. My old editor resigned. My new editor wants changes. On the bright side he is willing to tell me what he wants changed rather than editing a representative sample and saying "edit the rest that way".

If you were through with revisions, why is he asking for more? Weren't you at or close to the copyediting stage?

I did the revisions the old editor wanted. He wants more. I'm pushing back a bit - explaining that some of what he dislikes about the structure was a selling point for the book in the original proposal. The problem is that it is not his proposal, and he did not buy into the vision. Tuesday there will be a discussion to find out exactly what he wants. But he already agreed that if we come to a meeting of minds on changes, he will then detail exactly what paragraphs he wants changed. And if the changes end up at the paragraph level I can live with that. But what I can't live with is structural changes. He took over another editor's project at a very late stage. He needs to live with what the previous editor and the author agreed to as a general strategy and vision.

I know some provisions I will definitely negotiate for in future contracts. An agent could helped there, but apparently it is harder to get an agent than to get published.

I had another novel idea smack me in the head. I'm starting to get a stack big enough that I might have to start giving up on some of them.

I might have to start giving up on some of them.

Now you understand writing. So many idea, so many terrific characters, so few opportunities to have an independent fortune that leads to a life of leisure fall into your lap.

Or, Gud, you could write down the ideas and file them away in case inspiration fails.

Me, I've come to hate the writing I do for my job. It's a major slog to get through it. Kind of like the proverbial writer's block with a topping of "don't wanna".