Afterword

[rynling]

I'm going to say that Malice is finished. I'll post the last chapter on Thursday.

So now what. Now what now what now what.

I've gotten to a point where I've started to receive nice personalized rejections from the venues where I submit my stories, which is very cool. So I'll keep doing that.

So far I've only been submitting to magazines and websites that I'm already familiar with and actually read, which is a somewhat shallow pool.

I think it's time to subscribe to Duotrope, which I've been putting off. The $5 a month isn't really an issue; it's more about... Idk, I can't put my finger on it. Some sort of generalized anxiety. Fandom communities tend to be full of "writing positivity," like, "anyone can be a 'writer,' and all types of writing are valid," but the writing market is actually super competitive and scary, and I am a delicate flower.

Maybe it's also time to sign up for a workshop offered by a local writing center, but holy fuck these things are expensive. Like, I understand that it's important for people to get paid, but $170 for a two-day weekend online seminar? An anime convention would be cheaper.

Idk. It took me a long time to remove myself from the cult of academia, and I'm afraid that I'm about to jump right on in to yet another cult. At least fandom will always be there so maybe I'm not as done with Ganondorf's cock as I hoped.

Comments

[runicmagitek]

Jesus fuck, an anime convention would definitely be cheaper what the hell.

Regardless, I can't help but admire your drive for the tradition/original publishing scene. Like damn. Hats off to you. A couple times a year I think about maybe dipping my toes back into original stuff and maybe publish it somehow and then I give myself a panic attack just thinking of The Everything involved and just... go back to writing silly fics.

[rynling]

Your silly fics are very good actually!! I mean, you know that, but still.

I will be honest, some rejections are harsher than others, but even the "easy" ones aren't pleasant. I've been trying to be brave, but this entire process is extremely painful and nasty, and I don't understand why it has to be this way. Or why everything has to be so expensive! Like seriously, as competitive as artists are, they support each other by sharing useful tutorials and concrete advice, while everything in the American publishing world is locked behind a serious paywall.

When I think about how many extremely talented people are locked out traditional venues that come with pay and prestige, and when I think about how hypocritical it is for these venues to go out of their way to perform "social justice," it's just...

...it's all just really depressing.

So what I'm trying to say is - thank you so much for the encouragement!

[lassarina]

....whew, $170 feels really steep to me. Like, I know Viable Paradise/Clarion/etc. cost Large Amounts but those are residential (among other things.)

I feel like receiving personalized rejections is a big step forward, though. It means you at least made it to "someone read the whole thing and cared enough to do more than stamp a postcard."

Traditional publishing is very scary, though.