Story Subbed

I submitted “Extended Family” to Ruthie’s yesterday. You might remember this as a story I mentioned that I didn’t know if it was finished or not. I sent it to the fishtank for their opinion and (as I knew I would) got conflicting views. Roughly half the people said it was fine to stop where I had, the other half thought there was more to come. Much more. So I still didn’t know what to do.

Anyways. In the end, I decided to let the publishers have their say. Naturally, I made a few changes based on the comments from the fishies, but I didn’t extend the story. I’ve sent it off in its “Am I finished or Not” state. If Ruthie’s decide to accept it (which, as I always say, is by no means guaranteed) then all’s well. If it comes back to me, then I guess I’ll have to write more.

But that’s not the end of it. If it’s accepted by Ruthie’s, they ask for a six-month exclusivity period. What I’m thinking is that in those six months, I could extend the story. I know there is more that these characters have to say, but right now I don’t have the energy or time to sit and listen to them. But in six months I might. Is this a cop out? I don’t think it is. I think this is a better solution than having the story sit on my hard drive for an extended period. It will allow the story to be read, and give me chance to work out what the rest of the story is.

I’ve also completed a first draft of a new Ladz ‘Local Lovelies’ story. I’m hoping I can review that in the next few days and get that submitted too.

I’ve got a proof of “Charlotte’s Secret” back from Phaze. I need to sit and go through this at some point and look for glaring errors. I’m not looking forward to that but it has to be done. The sooner it is, the sooner an Advance Readers Copy will be produced and then the story can be sent off to reviews. I tremble with anticipation.

To coincide with the release of Charlotte’s Secret, I’ve set myself a goal of updating all the two print books and numerous downloadable stories that I have at Lulu. New covers, updated blurbs etc. I don’t know if I’ll make it. But I’ll try.

"But… If you were… Why didn't you? You must have known…"
'Charlotte's Secret' will be revealed - 21 April 2008