Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

Three quick things:

1. Manuscript Change

I was overwhelmed by readers’ enthusiasm regarding my poem “Miriam, Quarantined”—so much so that I’ve returned it to my full-length poetry manuscript, swapping out an as-yet unpublished poem. And I’ve just submitted this latest version to another publisher.

Which means that the submission stats currently stand as follows:

  • 7 contest losses/publisher rejections (with one encouragement to revise and resubmit)
  • 1 publisher who has never responded (and whom I suspect never will)
  • 5 publishers/contests currently considering the manuscript
  • And there are a few more possibilities for me to try over the next couple of weeks.

    2. Thank You

    I’m grateful to everyone who purchased a copy of my short-story collection Quiet Americans during the final quarter of 2018. Thanks to you, I’ve been able to offer another quarterly donation to The Blue Card based on book sales. Let’s keep this going, shall we?

    3. “Just Checking In”


    As a publicist, I’m as guilty of this transgression as the next person. And even wearing other writerly/professional hats, I’m still guilty.

    Two comments:

    First, following up this way actually did net me (or, more properly, one of my publicity clients) quite a responsive response just a few days ago.

    And second, if it’s the phrase itself that’s so irksome, perhaps the alternatives that Laura Belgray outlines in this piece (which I happened to catch this week, too), may be helpful.

    Reactions?