tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1725555205740289292024-03-13T11:42:03.555-05:00The Friday ChallengeA very relaxed sort of writing contest.~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.comBlogger1356125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-9606200326524502142017-11-02T11:38:00.002-05:002017-11-02T11:38:49.575-05:00Thank you for your interest Thank you for your interest <i><b>The Friday Challenge</b></i>.
This blog was operational from 2009 through 2013. If you're looking for the current incarnation of Bruce Bethke's <i>Friday Challenge</i> writing workshop/contest, you'll find it on the official
website of Rampant Loon Press and <i>Stupefying Stories</i> magazine: <i><a href="http://stupefyingstories.com/"><b>S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TUPEFYING</span>S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TORIES</span>.<span style="font-size: x-small;">COM</span></b></a></i>.<br />
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<a href="http://stupefyingstories.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="http://stupefyingstories.com/" border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="900" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOwE933IbygL6gPEoJvaAIDSQ9jVvX151X1FSZAAgAmqytWlDbyGxOSb6CtsWewHmHhoSbuayUq1dzeEhEFFSLago9klxhC6hlOsmP8ZZeMq1ITxtQP81LJwM-LRiNuFS-0t3RmsO-GmS/s400/webpagebar3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Check it out! </i>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-6829092342318406412013-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:002013-02-01T06:00:11.375-06:00The Slush Pile Survival Guide Has Moved!Pending getting a place of its own, <b>The Slush Pile Survival Guide</b> is now cohabiting with <a href="http://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><i>STUPEFYING STORIES</i></a>. Today's new column is <a href="http://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-slush-pile-survival-guide.html" target="_blank">"About That Secret Handshake,"</a> by multiple Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning writer <b>Bruce Holland Rogers</b>. Check it out!~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-39984919988336536802013-01-08T19:00:00.000-06:002013-01-08T19:21:34.750-06:002012: The Year in Review (Part 1)<span lang="EN">A week into January, life begins to return to normal. The ornaments have
been taken down, carefully wrapped in tissue paper, and packed away again until
next Christmas. The tree (a real one this year) is out on the brush pile,
currently providing temporary shelter for birds and already well on its way to
becoming the dry and brittle centerpiece of next midsummer's bonfire. The last of the pine
needles have been vacuumed out of the carpet; the living room furniture
returned to normal configuration; the holiday cards taken down and
changes-of-addresses noted and filed away; and the NFL playoffs have begun as
they rightly should, with the Packers beating the snot out of the Vikings. It's
time to pause, take a deep breath, and take stock of the situation.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN"><i>(Read the rest at <a href="http://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/2013/01/2012-year-in-review-part-1.html" target="_blank">StupefyingStories.com</a>) </i></span>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-18003940811109627152012-12-01T06:00:00.000-06:002012-12-02T23:04:05.519-06:00STUPEFYING STORIES 1.11 RELEASED<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KnhB9AFKNmUUDqCcQTn3zubO84SVnWuDVVre5qs__RfpxEMC5jPwZYCcfAL0voRHK1jamZaB0jej8eAznB0MNHd1tzLgVxPy2d9cPBftD9lsdBjRr4wFaTd-RJswEmagdmgB1ueD_Mm_/s1600/978-1-938834-12-7-fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KnhB9AFKNmUUDqCcQTn3zubO84SVnWuDVVre5qs__RfpxEMC5jPwZYCcfAL0voRHK1jamZaB0jej8eAznB0MNHd1tzLgVxPy2d9cPBftD9lsdBjRr4wFaTd-RJswEmagdmgB1ueD_Mm_/s640/978-1-938834-12-7-fix.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<br />
Hard
to believe it's December 2012 already. Depending on who you listen to
we only have about three weeks left before the world ends, either from
magnetic pole reversal, crossing the galactic ecliptic, the dawning of
the Age of Aquarius, a collision with Planet X, global warming, global
cooling, the return of Quetzalcoatl, President Obama and Speaker of the
House Boehner joining hands, flooring it, and going full <i>Thelma & Louise</i>
off the edge of the fiscal cliff, or the regrettable and wholly
inexplicable failure of the Ancient Mayans to invent the perpetual
calendar. <br />
<br />
In any case, as we were putting together this book, we thought: what better way to go out with a bang that with a bunch of <i>great </i>stories
exploring the end of the world—and what might come after? From
ecological catastrophes to alien invasions; from tyrannical overreaching
central governments to dangerous unfettered cowboy capitalists: <b>It's the End of the World, As We Know It!</b><br />
<br />
And the stories in this book will make you feel just fine.<br />
<br />
<b><i>STUPEFYING STORIES 1.11</i></b> (a.k.a., "the December edition"), is edited by award-winning writer Bruce Bethke and features:<br />
<br />
"We Talk Like Gods," by Jon David<br />
"Tiny, Tiny Hungers," by Mark Wolf<br />
"Moonbubble," by Eric Cline<br />
"The Relic," by Lou Antonelli<br />
"Mr. Non-Existent," by Paul Malone<br />
"Blue Stripped," by Gerry Huntman<br />
"HoPE," by A. A. Leil<br />
"Avocado Rutabaga Aubergine," by M. Bennardo<br />
"In the Shadows of the Empire of Coal," by Shaun Duke<br />
"Measure of Intelligence," by Torah Cottrill<br />
"The Gods of Sand and Stone," by Joel V. Kela<br />
<br />
Now available for Amazon Kindle and Kindle Reader apps at these links!<br />
<br />
<b>US</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a><br />
<b>UK</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a><br />
<b>DE</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a><br />
<b>FR</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a><br />
<b>IT</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a><br />
<b>ES</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a><br />
<b>JP</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.jp/dp/B00AFYXAX0" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.jp/dp/B00AFYXAX0</a>
<br />
<br />
Now available for Barnes & Noble Nook and Nook Reader apps at these links!<br />
<b>US</b> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-bruce-bethke/1113874477?ean=2940015822335" target="_blank"><i>unnecessarily complex URL</i></a><br />
<b>UK</b> <i>Amazon helpfully supplies all links. B&N makes you hunt. Check back later or let us know what it is, if you find it.</i><br />
<br />
Coming soon to the Apple iTunes iBookstore!~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-57570646301364505852012-11-23T10:32:00.000-06:002012-11-23T10:50:58.468-06:00STUPEFYING STORIES 2.1 (1.10) RELEASED<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJKJFuGCSWgdNeOQCjdbYYqpEpyG0sc2Qy9gXmTsVqeUgjrLjn36D7x_9iTPHM4EFkUSk3qpOGQEqUqdiQ7WZqr3PE2EBAW3570MrKTB5ZWhuWEjz2dt3QVE9u8taGj4ZLfrRUMD1ZrP-/s1600/978-1-938834-11-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJKJFuGCSWgdNeOQCjdbYYqpEpyG0sc2Qy9gXmTsVqeUgjrLjn36D7x_9iTPHM4EFkUSk3qpOGQEqUqdiQ7WZqr3PE2EBAW3570MrKTB5ZWhuWEjz2dt3QVE9u8taGj4ZLfrRUMD1ZrP-/s400/978-1-938834-11-0.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>From the Editor-in-Ch<span style="font-size: small;">ief</span>’s Desk</b></span><br />
<i>By Bruce Bethke </i><br />
<br />
Along with discovering new writing talent, another part of our mission at <i>STUPEFYING STORIES </i>is to find and foster new <i>editorial </i>talent. Therefore for the November edition, we turned the reins over to promising newcomer <b>M. David Blake</b>, who has long been playing several crucial roles behind the scenes here.<br />
<br />
The result is our first <b>double-length</b> book, which includes some of Mr. Blake's latest experiments in e-book design. We wanted to call it <b><i>STUPEFYING STORIES 2.1</i></b>, but our distribution channel had trouble with that, so we ended up having to give it the parenthetical designation of 1.10. And with that preamble out of the way...<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>From the (Guest-)Editor’s Desk</b></span><br />
<i>By M. David Blake</i><br />
<br />
Welcome to Stupefying Stories 2.1<br />
<br />
That's it, really. A dozen syllables tell you all you need to know to enjoy this issue. Those who want to ignore the preface and skip ahead to the stories are entitled to do so.<br />
<br />
Still here? Since I am as well, I'll share a secret. Several months ago, when our chief editor asked if I'd be willing to assemble the November issue on my own, I wasn't going to accept. He lured me in by dangling a budget and a deadline in front of my face, with the promise of complete autonomy.<br />
<br />
He gave it to me, too. No one else has seen all of the pieces, as they were being assembled... and that includes the regular Stupefying staff.<br />
<br />
Autonomy is a nice concept, but it comes with a price. In all likelihood, no other combination of our associate editors would have selected these same stories from the (deep!) slush I processed. My instructions were simply to produce the best issue possible, given the available resources and time. “Best” is a subjective valuation.<br />
<br />
While approaching that task, I had the privilege of working with an incredibly creative group of writers. To the extent that you enjoy the result, all the credit goes to them.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, if you notice any typographical errors, or if you are unable to suspend your disbelief long enough to get through the next sixty-four thousand words, that’s my fault.<br />
<br />
There is no guarantee you will enjoy all of these stories. But here’s another secret: I love each of them. Should you wind up seeing any of the same inscrutably beautiful things I did, I’ll feel pretty good about my selections.<br />
<br />
There is one other thing that makes me feel good about this collection: I think my grandfather would have enjoyed reading it. He introduced me to science fiction, and to fantasy, and he loved this world.<br />
<br />
Today would have been his ninety-third birthday.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>— M. David Blake, 16 November 2012 </i></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><i>STUPEFYING STORIES 2.1</i> FEATURES:</b><br />
<br />
<i>Beauty &<b> </b>Loss (I)</i><br />
<ul>
<li>“Queen of Sheba” by Samuel M. Johnston</li>
<li>“Wednesday’s Child” by Damien Walters Grintalis</li>
<li>“Snatching Baby Delilah” by Travis Daniel Bow</li>
</ul>
<i>Lore & Speculation</i><br />
<ul>
<li>“Nonsense 101” by Gary Cuba</li>
<li>“Lucky” by Bill Ferris</li>
<li>“The Ants Go Marching” by Sarah Pinsker</li>
</ul>
<i>Folk & Superstition</i><br />
<ul>
<li>“Lover’s Knot” by Ada Milenkovic Brown</li>
<li>“Girl Without a Name” by Courtney Valdes</li>
<li>“Toilet Gnomes at War” by Beth Cato</li>
</ul>
<i>Loss & Beauty (II)</i><br />
<ul>
<li>“Moondust” by Elizabeth Berger</li>
<li>“Citizen Astronauts” by Holliann R. Kim</li>
<li>“Heartbreath” by E. Catherine Tobler</li>
</ul>
<i>Angels & Demons</i><br />
<ul>
<li>“Revolver” by Clarence Young</li>
<li>“Office Demons” by Christie Yant</li>
<li>“Number Station” by Alex Shvartsman</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>NOW AVAILABLE AT THESE LINKS:</b><br />
<br />
<i>For Amazon Kindle: </i><br />
US: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
UK: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
DE: <a href="https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
FR: <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
ES: <a href="https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
IT: <a href="https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
JP: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00AAPC1CU" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00AAPC1CU</a><br />
<br />
<i>For Barnes & Noble Nook:</i><br />
Worldwide: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-m-david-blake/1113834598?ean=2940015769166" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-m-david-blake/1113834598?ean=2940015769166</a><br />
<br />
<i>Apple iTunes iBookstore and other links coming soon!</i>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-26604403251715006542012-11-05T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-06T12:53:08.979-06:00STUPEFYING STORIES 1.9 RELEASED<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN85Rw9IqysmBjvQ93cPK1ydkMHmPco_CBnPXF57pq4bSs-jsMVOaeFmKunJ1eP1nF99XebYNog9ZVimSLysCfHoMy5VwR2HI9t5dDkfrE2KbuqDinlLNlhDkD-Nt0JmGFK_08bLc79heg/s1600/978-1-938834-09-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN85Rw9IqysmBjvQ93cPK1ydkMHmPco_CBnPXF57pq4bSs-jsMVOaeFmKunJ1eP1nF99XebYNog9ZVimSLysCfHoMy5VwR2HI9t5dDkfrE2KbuqDinlLNlhDkD-Nt0JmGFK_08bLc79heg/s640/978-1-938834-09-7.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>STUPEFYING STORIES 1.9</i>, originally scheduled for release on
October 15 but delayed for three weeks by Forces Beyond Our Control, is
officially released today. We still don't have live links yet, but when
we do, we'll post them here. With this edition we add India and Japan to
the list of countries where <i>STUPEFYING STORIES</i> is available, so
here's hoping Amazon resolves their technical issues soon and Barnes
& Noble doesn't follow their usual pattern of taking four times
longer than Amazon.<br />
<br />
Featuring the awesome cover story, <b>"The Jade Box," by Stephen G. McDonald</b> (and correspondingly awesome original cover art by <b>Aaron Bradford Starr</b>), as well as new stories by fan favorites <b>Chuck Bordell</b>, <b>Jamie Lackey</b>, and <b>Gary Cuba</b>, <i>STUPEFYING STORIES 1.9 </i>presents
thirteen original tales of ghosties and ghoulies, spirits and specters,
and things that go bump in the night, by an outstanding assemblage of
American, Canadian, Irish, and Swedish authors. Including:<br />
<ul>
<li>"Between Life and Oblivion," by Samuel R. George </li>
<li>"The Florence," by Chuck Bordell</li>
<li>"Door in the Darkness," by David Steffen</li>
<li>"Streaming," by Sharon Irwin</li>
<li>"The Flint Indenture," by Tim W. Burke</li>
<li>"Not Everything Goes Bump," by Robert W. Hobson</li>
<li>"Ashes to Diamonds," by Jamie Lackey</li>
<li>"Blood and Saltwater," by Cassandra Rose Clarke</li>
<li>"A Homeowner's Dilemma," by Mark Hill</li>
<li>"The Ghost Train," by Fox McGeever</li>
<li>"The Jade Box," by Stephen G. McDonald</li>
<li>"Going Out With a Bang," by Gary Cuba</li>
<li>"The Old-Fashioned Way," by Thomas Pluck </li>
</ul>
From
a haunted hotel room in Seattle to the waiting room of the afterlife;
from a quietly chilling meditation in a country cemetery to an ambitious
plan to revive entire dying cities with industrial-scale necromancy;
from a heart-breaking tale of a love that lives on after death to
a side-splitting story about a funeral gone horribly wrong that, as one early reviewer
said, "puts the <i>black </i>in black humor," you'll find it in this edition of <i>STUPEFYING STORIES</i>.<br />
<br />
Enjoy,<br />
~brb<br />
<br />
Now available for Amazon Kindle and Kindle Reader apps at these links!<br />
<br />
<b>US</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a><br />
<b>UK</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a><br />
<b>DE</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a><br />
<b>FR</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a><br />
<b>IT</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a><br />
<b>ES</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a><br />
<b>JP</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.jp/dp/B00A1WYKEO" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.jp/dp/B00A1WYKEO</a>
<br />
<br />
More links coming soon!<br />
<br />~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-43112521431841389762012-10-13T10:00:00.000-05:002012-10-13T10:06:48.020-05:00Open Mic SaturdayWe haven't done one of these in a long time.<br />
<br />
What's on your mind today?~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-48093317652882486592012-10-04T10:00:00.000-05:002012-10-04T10:44:00.264-05:00At last, we have a Barnes & Noble NOOK link<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-bruce-bethke/1113083822?ean=2940015513899" target="_blank">Stupefying Stories 1.8 for NOOK</a><br />
<br />
I have no idea why it takes Barnes & Noble four times as long to
process a new book upload as it takes Amazon, but it does. Of course, as
soon as I start counting on that delay...~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-14549331966776546252012-10-01T06:00:00.000-05:002012-10-01T07:09:57.204-05:00STUPEFYING STORIES 1.8 RELEASED<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOK8JWRAGnXmZGVonTd4HPZLV0GKYhxn3ZeaDa0eDq1qlyfcU-spEjeAS0pDtulPcKoeIsfaWkcTRzGrmzw_isHyiclZF0PnLcau8k0S279xAa2CmlPxm-ICYNIoFG3ejpufFXS8dT0_j/s1600/978-1-938834-08-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOK8JWRAGnXmZGVonTd4HPZLV0GKYhxn3ZeaDa0eDq1qlyfcU-spEjeAS0pDtulPcKoeIsfaWkcTRzGrmzw_isHyiclZF0PnLcau8k0S279xAa2CmlPxm-ICYNIoFG3ejpufFXS8dT0_j/s400/978-1-938834-08-0.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="noindent-sections" style="color: #365f91; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0em;">
<b>From the Editor’s Desk</b></div>
<div class="noindentbyline-sections" style="color: #728299; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0em;">
By Bruce Bethke</div>
<div class="noindent" style="font-size: small; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0em;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You know, I wrote a very thoughtful, serious, sober, and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>long</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>keynote editorial for this book,
describing in great detail what we intended to accomplish this time
out. But hey, let’s be honest: this is the October edition, and around
here, October really means just one thing:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="sgc-2" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>HALLOWEEN!</b></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="noindent" style="font-size: small; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0em;">
<b><br /></b><span style="font-size: small;">So let’s skip the commercials and cut right to the exciting conclusion. This edition is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>really</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>all about—</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Vampires! Werewolves! Mummies! Living Fossils!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>More</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Vampires!
Mad Scientists! Fiendish Laboratory Creations! Flying Saucers!
Treacherous Aliens! Strange Little Towns Where No One And Nothing Is At
It Seems! Even MORE Vampires! Zombies! Giant Prehistoric Reptiles
Stomping The Daylights Out Of Tokyo! And Even MORE Aliens, Plotting To
Conquer The World!</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Featuring:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"Father Pace" by Samuel Marzioli</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"A Wolf Like Leroy" by Gef Fox</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"King of the Giant Monsters" by Michael D. Turner</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"Darcy and the Gill-man" by David C. Pinnt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"Dark Illusions" by Evan Dicken</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"Legacy of an Unwanted Titan" by Ryan Creel</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"The Wrong Side of the Rainbow" by Bill Bibo Jr.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"On Main Street, After Closing Time" by S. R. Algernon</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"Night Shift of the Living Dead" by Tyler Tork</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">"Our New Benevolent Overlords" by Andrew Kozma.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now get yourself a big bowl of popcorn, settle back into your favorite chair, and give your sense of disbelief the night off.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>STUPEFYING STORIES 1.8</i>...</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b class="sgc-1" style="font-style: italic;">IT'S ALIVE!</b></span></div>
<div class="noindent" style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Bwa-ha-haaaaa!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Bruce Bethke</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Editor,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Stupefying Stories</i></span><br />
</div>
<hr width="25%" />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><i>Now available* for Amazon Kindle and Kindle Reader apps at these links:</i> </span><br />
US <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009JWHG2U" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009JWHG2U</a><br />
UK <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009JWHG2U" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009JWHG2U</a><br />
DE <a href="https://www.amazon.de/dp/B009JWHG2U" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.de/dp/B009JWHG2U</a><br />
FR <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B009JWHG2U" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B009JWHG2U</a><br />
IT <a href="https://www.amazon.it/dp/B009JWHG2U" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.it/dp/B009JWHG2U</a><br />
ES <a href="https://www.amazon.es/dp/B009JWHG2U" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.es/dp/B009JWHG2U</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Or so Amazon claims. At the moment, while the web pages are there, they don't seem to be fully functional.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><i>More links to be posted as they go live.</i></span>
~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-41892953729700582042012-09-01T17:00:00.000-05:002012-09-02T08:30:19.118-05:00STUPEFYING STORIES 1.7 RELEASED!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygFM5H2knk7DOsSHBeo2AcHiprud1iaf5N9X9iyYA9IXOwWCCXBmi5h6w2fIA6RmdLy_P0MCZTHv3cTvUDNABA4OYfLmas0BKtDY_-cD3UAl6U7rNRwaOHOxfIEll8wwtiJAdWo-zY_P5/s1600/978-1-938834-07-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygFM5H2knk7DOsSHBeo2AcHiprud1iaf5N9X9iyYA9IXOwWCCXBmi5h6w2fIA6RmdLy_P0MCZTHv3cTvUDNABA4OYfLmas0BKtDY_-cD3UAl6U7rNRwaOHOxfIEll8wwtiJAdWo-zY_P5/s640/978-1-938834-07-3.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
What, a new edition already? <i>Yes!</i><br />
<br />
Edited
by award-winning writer Bruce Bethke and featuring stories by nine
outstanding Canadian, Australian, and American authors, the <i>STUPEFYING STORIES</i>
"Pirates & Dragons" edition is chock-full of all-new tales of
dastardly pirates, lonely dragons, quarrelsome petty gods, meddlesome
slimy aliens, and profoundly philosophical chickens. Featuring: <br />
<ul>
<li>"Riddle Me" by Richard Zwicker</li>
<li>"Corsairs of the Concrete Sea" by Thoraiya Dyer </li>
<li>"The Thundering Dragon of Heaven" by Michael Matheson </li>
<li>"God Mic" by B. Sanford </li>
<li>"The Thirty-Ninth President and the Fourteenth Tentacle" by Theodore Carter</li>
<li>"Thief of Hearts" by Auston Habershaw </li>
<li>"In the Castle of the Assassins" by Melissa Embry </li>
<li>"The Lord of Flocks" by Alison Pentecost</li>
<li>"The Little Thief" by Phil Temples </li>
</ul>
From
a road in the middle of nowhere to the day after tomorrow, from a
shattering tale of First Contact to the long-suppressed story that
finally makes it possible to make <i>sense </i>of the events of the past thirty-five years, you'll find it this time out in <i>STUPEFYING STORIES!</i><br />
<br />
<i>Now available for Amazon Kindle and Kindle Reader apps at these links:</i><br />
US <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0094WYB9G" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0094WYB9G</a><br />
UK <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0094WYB9G" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0094WYB9G</a><br />
DE <a href="https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0094WYB9G" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0094WYB9G</a><br />
FR <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0094WYB9G" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0094WYB9G</a><br />
IT <a href="https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0094WYB9G" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0094WYB9G</a><br />
ES <a href="https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0094WYB9G" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0094WYB9G</a> <br />
<span style="background-color: yellow;">Coming soon to Amazon India!</span><br />
<br />
<i>Now available for the Barnes & Noble <b>Nook</b> at this link:</i><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-bruce-bethke/1112747535?ean=2940015136074" target="_blank">Nook - all markets</a>
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="background-color: yellow;">More links to be posted as they go live.</span> </i>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-35760095999796976262012-08-31T13:00:00.000-05:002012-09-02T07:36:47.466-05:00Labor of Love Weekend Promo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This weekend only, and for the Kindle only (sorry, Nook and iPad fans) we’re practically giving away <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank"><i>STUPEFYING STORIES 1.6</i></a> at the low, low price of just <b>$0.99</b>! It’s all part of the <i>LABOR OF LOVE</i> promotion cooked up by Elle Lothlorien, with assistance by <b>Michele Winkler</b>, author of “Family Magic” (which not coincidentally, you’ll find in SS 1.6), and a cast of.... many!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tell your friends! Tell your mom! Tell <i>everybody</i>!
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg64PrVnY7kmXu6APnfcLwJObPJCMwhOmIhqXKDu8fmD9LxVDqndOzDnnXn_GF3Iohb_dsbUD6h1diW8A5OJvC9d7x5R0hlo9zZ9fdJx8z15FFqHsXdDogj5o0sO9_uJzB_qX4el029Zdu/s1600/539194_10151051407622684_1584055165_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg64PrVnY7kmXu6APnfcLwJObPJCMwhOmIhqXKDu8fmD9LxVDqndOzDnnXn_GF3Iohb_dsbUD6h1diW8A5OJvC9d7x5R0hlo9zZ9fdJx8z15FFqHsXdDogj5o0sO9_uJzB_qX4el029Zdu/s640/539194_10151051407622684_1584055165_n.jpg" width="472" /></a></div>
<br />~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-31011205725555210352012-08-24T08:00:00.000-05:002012-08-24T08:10:25.830-05:00Plugs!Just posted! The breathtaking latest chapter of...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><a href="http://cliffhangertwofifty.blogspot.com/">CLIFFHANGER 250!</a></b></i></span></div>
<br />
<br />~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-91594603466143046512012-08-17T08:00:00.000-05:002012-09-02T07:37:18.209-05:00STUPEFYING STORIES 1.6 ESCAPES!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0ymBZKNx9wrqIJ4yuhzdhyKw8IvM2dFj3I9i32n09-gSBoh6zt6Hx1JIA7QpxbnWA0NiuHnw25wHuOd5PE5jtbKNTNl3GjA0r2RCOfaawHBgf6-m0ZGDMBleNKH70fa-Z57Ap36u-2OZ/s1600/978-1-938834-06-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0ymBZKNx9wrqIJ4yuhzdhyKw8IvM2dFj3I9i32n09-gSBoh6zt6Hx1JIA7QpxbnWA0NiuHnw25wHuOd5PE5jtbKNTNl3GjA0r2RCOfaawHBgf6-m0ZGDMBleNKH70fa-Z57Ap36u-2OZ/s320/978-1-938834-06-6.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
Edited by award-winning writer Bruce Bethke and featuring stories by
twelve outstanding American, British, and Irish authors, the <i>STUPEFYING STORIES</i>
"Weirder Homes & Gardens" edition is filled to overflowing with
all-new tales of the fantastic, funny, and frightening things that can
happen in that most mundane of places: the home, with attached garden.
Includes: <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"No Onions" by M. Bennardo </li>
<li>"The Growing" by Sylvia Hiven</li>
<li>"Family Magic" by Michele Winkler</li>
<li>"Mission Accomplished" by Peter Wood</li>
<li>"Helen Went Beep" by Erin Entrada Kelly</li>
<li>"The Prototype" by Judith Field</li>
<li>"Colorful Caps" by JC Hemphill</li>
<li>"Lifesource" by Barbara V. Evers</li>
<li>"The Centaur Bride" by Eric J. Juneau</li>
<li>"Rooting for You" by Michael Heneghan</li>
<li>"Security" by Chris Bailey Pearce</li>
<li>"The Garden" by R. L. Bowden<br />
</li>
</ul>
From practical advice on raising homunculi to the difficult magic of
raising a happy family; from things that go bump in the night (or in
this case, the kitchen) to things that go beep in the bedroom; from the
magical, mythical distant past to two very different visions of our
technological future; and from the primal temptation to be found in a
stolen paper clip to a tale of lost love that can't be described, only
read: you'll find it this time out in <i>STUPEFYING STORIES!</i><br />
<br />
Available now for Amazon Kindle and the Kindle Reader App:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YPRBCI</a><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008YPRBCI</a><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.de/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.de/dp/B008YPRBCI</a><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B008YPRBCI</a><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.it/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.it/dp/B008YPRBCI</a><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.es/dp/B008YPRBCI" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.es/dp/B008YPRBCI</a><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white;">
<b style="background-color: yellow;">UPDATE</b><span style="background-color: yellow;">: </span>The Barnes & Noble Nook link is now live!</div>
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-bruce-bethke/1112531290?ean=2940014909570">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stupefying-stories-bruce-bethke/1112531290?ean=2940014909570</a><br />
<br />~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-69285748186214535182012-08-13T12:00:00.000-05:002012-08-13T17:48:20.536-05:00The Slushpile Survival GuideI had an interesting exchange with an author recently. On further
reflection the highlights of this dialog seem worth presenting to a
wider audience, so without further ado:<br />
<hr width="25%" />
<br />
Dear Editor,<br />
<br />
Attached please find my story, [title redacted].<br />
<br />
I am not sure if I am eligible to submit, as I have already had one story accepted and scheduled for publication in <i>Stupefying Stories</i> this year. Please advise if this is the case.<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
[author's name redacted]<br />
<hr width="25%" />
<br />
Dear [author]<br />
<br />
Excuse me for asking, but where the <i>heck </i>did
you get the idea that once we've accepted a story by you, you must wait
until we publish it before you can submit another? When I accept a
story from you it means I <b>like </b>your writing and want to see more of it!<br />
<br />
So
no more of this "I am not sure if I am eligible to submit" silliness,
okay? Trust me, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein
didn't wait until John Campbell published their last story before
sending him their next story, and if that <i>modus operandi</i> was good enough for Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, and Campbell, it's good enough for us.<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
Bruce Bethke<br />
<i>S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TUPEFYING</span> S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TORIES</span></i><br />
<hr width="25%" />
<br />
Dear Mr. Bethke,<br />
<br />
[...]
I asked because recently some markets have made unambiguous statements
about not wanting concentrations of particular authors in relatively
slim time frames. [...] <br />
<hr width="25%" />
<br />
Dear [author]<br />
<br />
Hmm.
That must be another of those goofy ideas that's come out of some
creative writing program somewhere. "Let's all play fair and take turns
and give everyone an equal chance." It seems akin to:<br />
<br />
"Now class, let's all try to find something <i>nice </i>to say about Sally's poem."<br />
<br />
"Er, I used to fear death, but as I listened to Sally read her poem, I longed for it?"<br />
<br />
Luckily
my dad was a basketball coach, not a liberal arts instructor, so I
don't believe in any of that equalitarian nonsense. Every writer who
pitches a manuscript to me gets an equal <i>opportunity </i>to impress me with their work as they come in the door, but I have absolutely zero interest in forcing equality of <i>outcome</i>. I run a brutal meritocracy here. I want to put my <b>best </b>players in the game, every chance I get, and keep them in the game for as long as I can.<br />
<br />
I mean, let's switch to the reader's point-of-view for just a moment. When you read a really terrific story, do you think:<br />
<br />
a.) "Wow! I really loved this story! I'd better not read anything else by this author for a while!"<br />
<br />
or<br />
<br />
b.) "Wow! I really loved this story! Where can I find <i>more </i>stories by this writer!"<br />
<br />
<br />
Not wanting concentrations of particular authors in relatively slim time frames? Sheesh. What madness.<br />
<br />
Now go write more stories!<br />
<br />
Kindest regards,<br />
Bruce Bethke<br />
<i>S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TUPEFYING</span> S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TORIES</span></i>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-1844311050616942682012-07-28T09:00:00.000-05:002012-07-28T11:03:45.430-05:00Plugs!JUST POSTED: THE BREATHTAKING <i>CHAPTER 27</i>! READ IT TODAY!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cliffhangertwofifty.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Yrz3-InFp3XaA-XJfghHcX0Fj2DK15ucvEfkaUeDOqpYxKZAJsv1qYeatZgeXaqeYFVwVKfUaIOyd3C1ExklSkWB78Hfj7GAwAJGc9nlheGYxnCdlMD5Q40uogbOkYISh7CLymtZzk7G/s640/Cliffhanger250TestRed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /><a href="http://cliffhangertwofifty.blogspot.com/p/what-is-cliffhanger-twofifty.html">What is the Cliffhanger 250?</a>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-69985390759067679282012-07-28T08:00:00.000-05:002012-07-28T11:04:37.819-05:00Open Mic SaturdayGood morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place
to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a
novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing
short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If
you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and
where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did
you make this week?<br />
<br />
Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-32178440284603255832012-07-27T08:00:00.000-05:002012-07-27T08:32:38.717-05:00Reviews!<a href="http://waggingthefox.blogspot.com/2012/07/rabid-reads-stupefying-stories-march.html"><b>Wag the Fox</b> reviews the March 2012 issue of <i>S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TUPEFYING</span> S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TORIES</span></i></a> and has some pretty nice things to say about us, and then follows up with <a href="http://waggingthefox.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-stupefying-story-behind-stupefying.html">an interview with yours truly.</a><br />
<br />
Read! Enjoy! Tell your friends!<br />
<br />
~brb~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-77304750673803627732012-07-21T12:41:00.001-05:002012-07-21T12:41:56.696-05:00Open Mic SaturdayGood morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place
to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a
novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing
short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If
you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and
where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did
you make this week?<br />
<br />
Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-85412614002420278592012-07-17T22:38:00.001-05:002012-07-17T22:38:06.878-05:00World Enough, and Time<br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Eye-Opening Research</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Several Friday Challenges back, we were tasked with writing a children's story. I had one on the back burner at the time, and the Challenge gave me the kick in the pants I needed to actually finish it. "Quinn in Trashland" received high marks, has gone through some revisions, and just might be ready to release to the wild. At least, that's what the First Reader, Final Reviewer, and Chief Editor all agree on (and who am I to argue with Her?).</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I shared the story with a handful of test readers. One of those, an online friend and substitute teacher, claims that every time she returns to sub for the class she read it to, they beg her for a copy of the book and demand she read it to them again. All of the test reader responses came back with glowing encouragement.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">So. Then...the big question. Traditional publishing or self-published ebook?</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I admit, I was leaning towards the traditional route. I still read to my kids at bedtime, even though they're all more than old enough to be reading to me instead. I just couldn't quite picture curling up on the couch with an e-reader or laptop instead of a book, and Quinn is definitely a story that begs to be read aloud to younger kids.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I grabbed my 2011 copy of "Short Story and Fiction Writer's Market" and a highlighter, and started my research.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Wow.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Quick summary?</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">A fairly large portion of the children's book listings simply say something to the effect of "if you don't have an agent, you're not worthy of our attention."</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">The general overview of the rest?</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">
<ul style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Generally only accept submissions the old-fashioned snail-mail way.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">"Please cool your heels for six months" waiting for a response from us, and then--</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">"We won't even bother to contact you unless we want to publish your stuff." Because, after all, they receive "more than 1000 submissions per month."</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Receive payment on publication--which, in general, is eighteen months to two years after acceptance.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Okay, I admit, these aren't a huge surprise. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Stupefying Stories, or I'm just totally and completely clueless about the publishing world (which is true, I am).</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">...but the idea of putting Quinn on a shelf for the next two to three years is not a pleasant one for me. And that's assuming a quick acceptance, first or second try; if five or six companies reject it before it hits that two year wait for printing, none of my kids will be young enough to enjoy it when it finally hits the bookshelves.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I do not understand how the publishing world can function this way, in the days of the Internet. Sure, the writer is lining up a paycheck two or three years down the road, but what does he do about next month...? I just don't find this to be an acceptable, functional business model.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">If I were to go that route, it would mean giving up three years' worth of sales opportunity. Granted, I lose the big "super publisher" logo on the side of the book...and the odds of my seeing it on a store shelf next to Curious George or Willy Wonka are fairly slim...and I'll have to do all of the advertising and sales myself, just like with the other ebooks I've got in mind. Is there a huge difference between the two? Would I really be passing up a huge opportunity by doing it myself rather than wait three more years to see it in print...?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Okay. I give. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">The Writer's Market goes back on the shelf, to collect some more dust.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">I am contacting some artist friends I know to work out a deal on illustrating "Quinn in Trashland" for a self-published ebook. If anyone knows of any poor starving artists...send them my way. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">If it sells enough copies, perhaps it will work its way to a self-published print-on-demand project...? Or one of those big-name publishing houses will come to me...?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Regardless...wish me luck. I hope you're all interested in curling up on the couch with your kids, and Quinn, and your digital e-reading device of choice.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">-=ad=-</span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-53729817315726295512012-07-10T08:28:00.004-05:002012-07-10T08:28:46.800-05:00Now playing on StarShipSofa<b>"Return to Earth," by Ryan M. Jones</b>, first published in <i>STUPEFYING STORIES</i> 1.1 (October 2011), is this week's Main Fiction feature on <b><i>StarShipSofa</i></b>, the Hugo Award-winning SF podcast. Check it out!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.starshipsofa.com/2012/07/10/starshipsofa-no-246-ryan-jones/">http://www.starshipsofa.com/2012/07/10/starshipsofa-no-246-ryan-jones/</a>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-66385024225030214832012-07-02T07:00:00.000-05:002012-07-02T07:00:10.766-05:00The Old Goat Learns a New Writing TrickAs many of you know, for the last five weeks I've been working on my serialized novel at the <a href="http://cliffhangertwofifty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cliffhanger 250</a> (stop by and check it out, if you haven't already). Chapter 16 went up today and is going to be used as an example for my new writing trick. And it's not just any trick, either. My new trick is the most important trick a writer can learn.<br />
<br />
What is this amazing, new writing trick? It is the trick every editor in the business wishes every writer in the business would learn. It is the trick of making my prose leaner so every word serves to advance the story. It is the trick of cutting words from my story. <i>Lots</i> of words.<br />
<br />
The idea of the Cliffhanger 250 was to force me to write and publish short, 250 word installments of the story. The short length (equal to approximately one typed page of manuscript back in the days of typewriters and snail mail submissions) was to keep each installment from feeling daunting to me (a guy who's never written any single story longer than 5000 words) and to use cliffhangers at the end of each chapter so I would have a goal for each installment I wrote. While writing those chapters, I found the first drafts of chapters had anywhere from 300 to 400 words; well above my targeted word count. I didn't want to change the title of site -- the "Cliffhanger 300 to 400" doesn't have quite the same punch -- so I really only had one choice.<br />
<br />
I had to cut words from my chapters. Ruthlessly. Even if you consider that each chapter tends to be 270 to 280 words in length, I found myself faced with cutting 10% to 30% of the words from my first draft. When you have so few words to work with in the first place, that <i>should</i> be really hard. It <i>would</i> be really hard, too, if I didn't have that target word count. By making the number of words more important than the specific words in the first draft, I found it much easier to do what needed to be done. I cut words, phrases, even entire sentences from the story and deleted them with ruthless abandon. Along the way, I found better, shorter ways to say what needed to be said.<br />
<br />
Want an example? Preparing for this column, I marked up my changes to show what I deleted and rewrote for Chapter 16 of <i>Scout's Honor</i>. Just for the record, the first draft was 353 words in length. The published version, not counting the italicized lead-in and wrap-up lines, is 269 words in length. Eighty-four words -- twenty-three percent of the word count -- gone in less than half an hour. Here's the example. Highlighted words were added, struck out words removed.<br />
<br />
<div class="Body1">
<s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Scouts
receive extensive training for handling all sorts of situations we may
face. Our implants are loaded with
further data covering virtually everything else. Somehow, the experts who designed the
training never considered my current situation.
That's why,</span></s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> When the princess's lips locked on
mine, <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">training fled and</span>
instinct took over. I pulled her close
and <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">returned the</span> kiss<s>ed
her back. </s>Enthusiastically.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> "Ahem!"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> We jumped
apart, <s>brought to our senses by Rob's interruption. We cast our eyes downward like two scolded
children</s> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">eyes downcast</span>,
unable to meet Rob's stern gaze.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> "Highness,
go to the stern of the airship," Rob ordered.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> The
princess bristled at his tone, "Rob, you will not-"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Callan</i>, do as I say."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Chastised,
she stalked aft.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <s>Trying
to forestall what was to come</s> Hoping to avoid a rebuke, I said, "Rob,
I <s>promise-</s>"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silence, boy!</i>" hissed Rob. "You <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">just</span> took an oath <s>this morning</s> to protect
the princess with your life. That
includes protecting her from herself<s>, from her flights of fancy</s> and her
infatuations. That includes protecting
her from your base instincts. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do you understand?"</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> "Yes,
sir!"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> H<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">is gaze bored into mine</span><s>e
stared intently into my eyes</s>. <s>Apparently
</s><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">S</span>atisfied<s> by
what he saw</s>, he relaxed slightly.
"Many guards develop strong feelings for those they guard,
David. Burying those feelings<s>,
especially if they are returned,</s> is your duty"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> "It
will not happen again, sir."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <s>"Good,"</s>
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">H</span>e nodded,
dismissing the matter. "Now, can
that...thing...in your head teach you how to fly this airship?"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <s>My
implant was feeding me information</s><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">It could. A</span>s
Rob marched aft, toward the princess<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">,</span> I concentrated on the airship controls, <s>trying to ignore</s>
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">ignoring</span> the <s>heated
</s>discussion at the stern. We needed
altitude to reach the prevailing winds and <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">forward</span> speed to generate the <s>little bit of</s>
lift required <s>for the airship to rise</s> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">to gain altitude</span>.
A clever steam engine mechanism provided power for propulsion and also
vented exhaust into the gas bags for lift.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Looking up
from the controls, I <s>saw</s> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">spotted</span> a dark smudge on the horizon. <s>Happy Rob has brought my</s> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">Grabbing the</span> survival
pack <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">Rob brought</span> aboard,
I <s>grabbed</s> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">took out</span>
the binoculars and trained them on the smudge.
Ice lanced my gut as the smudge came into focus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> A
sandstorm stretched across the <s>distant</s> horizon<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">,</span> <s>and it was coming straight for</s> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">bearing down on</span> us!</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
<br />
Is this perfect? No. Is it better than the first draft? Definitely.<br />
<br />
The point to remember is that the words are there to serve you. Words don't get to stay on the page simply because you put them there sometime in the past. Words have to earn the right to stay on the page. They do that by serving the story, propelling it forward. Any word which doesn't do that is not serving the story and deserves its fate. Delete and don't look back.<br />
<br />Henryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813572493834867342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-41118201582963140222012-06-30T07:00:00.000-05:002012-06-30T07:00:06.901-05:00Open Mic SaturdayGood morning all, and welcome to Open Mic Saturday. This is the place
to share your news and perhaps do a little bragging. If you're writing a
novel: how much progress did you make this week? If you're writing
short stories: did you finish anything or submit anything this week? If
you've sold or published anything recently, when is it coming out and
where can we find it? In short, as a writer, what kind of progress did
you make this week?<br />
<br />
Or what else is on your mind, that you feel like sharing with the group here?~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-19646665611525410482012-06-28T17:00:00.000-05:002012-06-28T17:00:09.236-05:00Colorado Springs Shout-OutTo our friends in Colorado Springs: we've been watching development of the <b><a href="http://www3.gazette.com/fire/">Waldo Canyon Fire</a> </b>with considerable concern.<br />
<br />
If you'd just check-in and let us know how you're doing, we're greatly appreciate it.<br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
~brb~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-36243371455451691902012-06-26T16:16:00.001-05:002012-06-26T16:16:49.194-05:00World Enough, And Time<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Don’t Tick Off the Tech Writer</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
LadyQuill has been quiet of late.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
She was offered her last book contract (Google Secrets, available now at Amazon, grab it quick before they sell out!) three weeks before her birthday, so I bought her a new laptop as an early birthday present. Her old one had seen better days and just was not up for the rigors of an 800 page technical book.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
I got her a good one, too. Dell. Full keyboard with keypad, nice wide screen, and she loved it. Cranked out that book and it worked like a charm.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
It’s starting to show it’s age, too, though. The B and C keys failed. This wasn’t that big a deal, as she uses a USB keyboard, but it’s still something that needed to be fixed.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Then the hard drive went out.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Now, LadyQuill has had hard drives crash before. This computer had a separate partition set aside, called DataDrive, with all of her files on it. The most important stuff was backed up to “the cloud.” So, while a crashed drive for most anyone else is a total disaster, for her, it wasn’t much more than a low-level annoyance; the DataDrive partition was even still accessible. She started working from a bootable CD while I handled the tech support duties.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Yes, I’m the one who needs to speak to tech support. The reasons will become clear.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
I checked the Dell website, and found she still had 70 days left on her warranty. Then I called the 800 number.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
The first tech I reached--I’ll call him L1--had an accent, but nothing I couldn’t deal with. His biggest problem, though, was that the warranty was due to expire. He tried four different times to get me to extend the warranty, and finally passed us through to the next level. </div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
That’s where the real fun began.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
The second tech, L2 for short, was totally and completely chained to his script.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
“Look,” I said. “I can tell you this hard drive is bad. </div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
“My wife keeps three different versions of Linux running on her laptop. If one of them crashes out and refuses to boot, she can switch to another. This system had Ubuntu, Debian, and Arch installed, and none of them will boot. The system will boot just fine from a CD or a Knoppix thumb drive, though.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
“Now, she has tried three different Linux installs on it and none of them work. One of them ran a hard drive test, and that program said there are over 600 bad sectors in the Master Boot Record. This drive is hosed, and my wife would like a new one under the warranty.”</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
“Well, we can’t just send you a new drive,” L2 said. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to use the Maintenance Partition to wipe your hard drive and put Windows Vista back on it, like when you bought it. Once Windows is back up and running, that will probably fix your keyboard problem, too.”</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Right. Installing Windows Vista solves everything, and the two keys that have not worked for weeks--under multiple Linux versions, too--will magically start working again. Immediately after this, Icehawk the Barbarian will headline on Broadway and Vidad will be the opening act for the Stones’ next tour.</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
“I’m sorry, but we accidentally wiped out the maintenance partition,” I answered. </div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
That was actually my fault; I tried to install MySQL on the laptop, screwed up the instructions, and fried an Ubuntu install, and then wiped out both the Windows partition and the maintenance partition in the repair process...but L2 didn’t need to know that. </div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
“My wife doesn’t use Windows. We installed Ubuntu on it the day it came home. They didn’t even give us the CDs.”</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
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In the course of speaking to these two, I burned up nearly an hour and a half. I could not get L2 to budge an inch; the only possible solution was to wait for them to send us replacement CDs, then restore the maintenance partition, then restore Windows, and that would fix anything that could possibly be wrong with it. And, on the very remotest of possibilities that it did not...then we would need to take the laptop to the certified Dell shop downtown--which would very likely then need to send the laptop to Dell for the actual repair.</div>
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Really?</div>
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While waiting for the CDs to arrive, we decided to short-cut the entire issue. We took the laptop in to the shop, and explained the situation. The guy behind the counter looked mystified; he did not understand why Dell bothered to involve him, but he said he would try.</div>
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Of course, that meant that LadyQuill was without her computer.</div>
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...can you say withdrawal symptoms...?</div>
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The shop tried three times to speak to Dell, and got even more of a runaround than we did. Finally, on the fifth day of laptop cold turkey, they called me and asked me to call Dell. “They should give you a reference number,” he said, “which will authorize us to repair it under the warranty.”</div>
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Okay, I can do that.</div>
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What I did not know at the time was that Dell had sent LadyQuill a Customer Satisfaction Survey. </div>
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She ignored it at first, but by the fifth day without her laptop, she was steamed. Not only did she score them straight zeroes across the board, but she wrote in two or three paragraphs for each and every question. The final draft was over three pages long, and ended with “I will never buy another Dell product, ever again.”</div>
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I called Dell, and got a different guy named L1, and L1 tried yet again to convince me to extend the warranty. “If the warranty dies, then you won’t get free maintenance anymore,” he said, desperate to change my mind. “You’d have to pay someone to change out the hard drive if it died then.”</div>
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“If the drive dies, I’ll fix it myself,” I said. “In fact, if the drive had waited another 71 days to die, I would have had it fixed within three hours, including driving time into town, and my wife would have had an operating system on it in less than an hour after that. I’m only on the phone with you because the computer is still under warranty. You’ve kept us jumping through hoops for over a week. Would you please put us through to someone who can actually help us?”</div>
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I had decided that L1 was not really tech support. His entire job is to convince the caller to buy more warranty, whether they need it or not. Deflated, he finally abandoned the sales pitch, and passed us on to L2--who, at any other tech support phone bank, would have been L1.</div>
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L2 started in on the same “okay, let’s get out the CDs we sent you” script, and I told him the same thing I had just told L1. </div>
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“All we want is a new drive,” I said. “The computer is in the shop. If you’ll authorize them to fix it, you don’t have to do anything. In fact, if you’ll ship me the drive, I’ll even do the work, and you can save yourself a few hours by not bothering to install Windows on it.”</div>
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“I’m going to look at your case records,” L2 finally said. “Let me see if there are any other options.”</div>
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I heard his voice change. I distinctly heard a kind of strangled "squeak" sort of noise, like you'd expect a stalking cat to make when the mouse whips out a flaming sword and cloak of invulnerability. I'm making the assumption that he stumbled across that Customer Satisfaction Survey.</div>
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“I need to go speak with my supervisor,” he said, very quietly.</div>
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I was on hold for quite a while.</div>
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When L2 came back, he said “If I send a new hard drive to the same address where we sent the CDs, would that be okay?”</div>
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I pressed him on the keyboard, and he added that to the order without skipping a beat.</div>
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The spare parts arrived less than twenty hours later. I brought the laptop home the same day. And exactly 47 minutes after she cut open the box, LadyQuill was running Linux on a laptop without a trace of Windows software on it anywhere.</div>
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<i>Allan Davis is a writer/photographer/database programmer in southeastern Nebraska. Before he was a programmer, he was a tech, and though woefully out of practice, can still change out a laptop hard drive with the best of them. </i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Just don't ask him to install MySQL.</i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-62657016526151095072012-06-26T08:00:00.000-05:002012-06-26T09:50:29.168-05:00The Slushpile Survival Guide<h3>
A Manuscript's Odyssey, Part 5</h3>
<a href="http://thefridaychallenge.blogspot.com/2012/05/slushpile-survival-guide.html">Part One</a> | <a href="http://thefridaychallenge.blogspot.com/2012/05/slushpile-survival-guide_22.html">Part Two</a> | <a href="http://thefridaychallenge.blogspot.com/2012/06/slushpile-survival-guide.html">Part Three</a> | <a href="http://thefridaychallenge.blogspot.com/2012/06/slushpile-survival-guide_18.html">Part Four</a><br />
<br />
As ridiculous as it may seem now, a year ago, when we were first ramping up to launch <i>S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TUPEFYING</span> S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TORIES</span></i>, we worried about whether we'd be able to attract <i>enough </i>submissions to make it work. Ergo at that time we decided to make it a sticking point that every manuscript received would receive the full attention of the entire original editorial team. Every new submission that came in would be posted on our private file-sharing site, read by everyone, and then the team would discuss the story and decide whether or not to accept it.<br />
<br />
It was a nice vision.<br />
<br />
It was also insanely impractical.<br />
<br />
Within a few weeks we'd completely overloaded our original file-sharing site and exceeded its capacity. Not too long after that we'd completely overloaded our original editorial team and exceeded their capacity, too, and they began to show signs of serious story-fatigue. As the trickle of submissions became first a stream, then a flowing river, and then a raging torrent, our submissions-handling process needed to evolve quickly or die.<br />
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It evolved, in fits and starts.<br />
<br />
We went from sharing every individual file that came in to posting zipped-up weekly round-ups. We went from "everyone reads every submission" to "each editor takes a portion and forwards only the best stories to the entire group." We went from a voluntary opt-in system in which editors were allowed to pick the stories they wanted, to assigning blocs of work and nagging people when they fell behind. We started pre-screening stories and rejecting the obviously unsuitable submissions before they ever made it as far as the slush pile. (Believe me, read a few hundred stories and you will develop if not an infallible sense of what's good, at least the ability to catch the unmistakable whiff of True Crap the moment you see the first line. Or sometimes even just the title.)<br />
<blockquote>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Sidebar discussion:</b></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Every now and then some well-meaning person asks, "Why not do what [magazine] does? Let the slush pile accumulate for a month," (or two, or three), "and then pick a Saturday, have everyone come over to your house, order in some pizzas and beer, and deal with it all in one afternoon and evening. It'll be fun!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, for one thing we're an Internet-based company, spread out over two-thousand miles and three time zones, so that puts a serious crimp in the idea of our all meeting at anyone's house. (In fact I don't think we've ever all met in person.) For another, on those rare occasions when we do get together, we can't even agree on which </span><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">beer</i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> to buy. So for us to reach agreement on which <i>stories </i>to buy in the space of just a a few short hours...</span></span>
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We went from "let's identify promising writers and work with them" to "if you can't be an advocate for the story as-is, reject it."<br />
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That last one was a difficult step to take. We've all come out of writing group backgrounds and have painful memories of what it was like when we were just starting out. We all have this innate desire to behave as if we are still in a writer's workshop, and to identify promising new talents and then spend the time it takes to coach them through the rewriting needed to turn their interesting student-grade projects into polished professional work. And to be honest, of the stories we've published so far, a few of my favorites came to us in just exactly that way.<br />
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But ultimately, we had to let go of that. As the first winds of the Great Submission Blizzard of 2011 began to howl and the story-drifts began to pile up in the lee of the garage, it became apparent that we had to make a choice: we were either running a writing workshop and trying to teach people how to write or building a fiction publishing company. There simply was not time and energy enough to do both.<br />
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And then the Heavens opened up, and it being winter, the torrent of stories became an avalanche, and we began to realize that we were in <i>real </i>trouble.<br />
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<i>...to be continued...</i>~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.com0