Fun with Fiverr, Part Three
Aug. 15th, 2024 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingI picked up a few new-to-me editions of Lovecraft in Europe earlier this summer, and I've been spending the past two months slowly reading through them. The only way I know how to explain this is to say that Lovecraft's Gothic-inspired prose has grown on me, and I enjoy reading each different set of annotations and endnotes.
Out of curiosity, I decided to reread "The Annotated Kitab al-Azif," the dark academia Lovecraftian queer romance story I wrote last summer. To my surprise, it's good. It's very good. I kind of can't believe that something this good was written by me. My writing style has changed during the past year, but every word of this story is perfect. The characters and central mystery are interesting and compelling from the very first page, and there's not a single paragraph out of place.
Still, the story was rejected by three separate magazines, as well as a micropublisher that contacted me to request an original short story to publish as a chapbook. I understand that "three magazines" isn't a lot of magazines, but the micropublisher rejection really hurt. I decided that the story was worthless; but, on reading it again after going through a great deal of "influenced by Lovecraft" short fiction during the past year, I'm starting to think that it might be something special. Also, given that there's a huge audience for "soft but weird gay horror" podcasts like Welcome to Night Vale and The Magnus Archives, there has to be a readership and a market for my story. I just have to find it.
So I hired an editor on Fivver to provide developmental feedback and help me pinpoint a few additional submission venues. Again, I know it's cringe to pay for this sort of service instead of, idk, organically finding a mentor and a supportive writing community, but I will take any help I can get. I hope I make it. No matter how each of us gets there, I hope we all make it.
Out of curiosity, I decided to reread "The Annotated Kitab al-Azif," the dark academia Lovecraftian queer romance story I wrote last summer. To my surprise, it's good. It's very good. I kind of can't believe that something this good was written by me. My writing style has changed during the past year, but every word of this story is perfect. The characters and central mystery are interesting and compelling from the very first page, and there's not a single paragraph out of place.
Still, the story was rejected by three separate magazines, as well as a micropublisher that contacted me to request an original short story to publish as a chapbook. I understand that "three magazines" isn't a lot of magazines, but the micropublisher rejection really hurt. I decided that the story was worthless; but, on reading it again after going through a great deal of "influenced by Lovecraft" short fiction during the past year, I'm starting to think that it might be something special. Also, given that there's a huge audience for "soft but weird gay horror" podcasts like Welcome to Night Vale and The Magnus Archives, there has to be a readership and a market for my story. I just have to find it.
So I hired an editor on Fivver to provide developmental feedback and help me pinpoint a few additional submission venues. Again, I know it's cringe to pay for this sort of service instead of, idk, organically finding a mentor and a supportive writing community, but I will take any help I can get. I hope I make it. No matter how each of us gets there, I hope we all make it.
