Manchester U 1
Liverpool 4
Magic.

Well, it's been three months to the day since I sent the MS off, and with every tick of the clock my expectations and doubts grow fatter.
However there's nothing I can do to change the situation so I'll just have to remain cool and aloof from all those alternating misgivings and hopes… somehow… must be cool, must be cool…
The problem is that cool is not an asset I can count on in my arsenal of behavioural qualities.
Damn, I wish I was, "The Fonz" sometimes…

I haven't written anything for a couple of days either, even though I've had a brain-ache of an idea for my "Hello Johnny" story… which I haven't mentioned to you yet but I was getting around to, honest.
Basically the story starts with a dude answering his phone only to hear an old woman say two words to him; "Hello Johnny" (hence the title, subtle, eh?).
This line follows him through the story, popping up in his email in-tray, his handy blah blah fishcakes, you get the idea. I was all fire and flame when I started it, whizzing down the first thousand words in a jiffy. However, I seemed to have slowed down in productivity these last couple of days.
So I'm going to give it a bash again today, see where it goes.

Tee had some bad luck with Frank Delaney. She lost all that she'd put down on a corrupted disk.
I lost the first six months of my book to a virus when I first started it. I couldn't even use the disk I'd stored it all on because the virus was apparently on that too.
"Stoopid computers" as Homer would say.
You love 'em, you hate 'em but you can't live without 'em, right kids?
Right Reg.

Whatever…Reg

4-0.
Just let that scoreline roll around your tongue like a melting chocolate Maltezer, spreading that sweet, malty satisfaction in its wake....
4-0.
It's almost sexual.
4-0.
That's what Liverpool did to Real Madrid last night.
I know it's not anything to do with my book but hey, it's my Blog, right?
Right Reg.
Nice...
4-0.

Mmmmmm, I feel all warm and toasty now.
Time for bed.

Reg :-)

On March the 12th it will be three months since I sent my MS off. I wonder if that means anything?
Granted, the people I sent it off to read the whole manuscript, which is a bonus in my view, but still… three months… come on. It just HAS to be positive, hasn't it?
Eh?

Whatever, I went through the Vampire 300 story again, changed it a little and now it's gone, into the great wide cyber-world. The story itself was over the word count limit and the guidelines for submission clearly stated that anything over 10K had to be queried first, which I duly did because I'm a good boy, I am.
I received a very nice email back thanking me for sticking to the guidelines and saying that they would keep an eye out for my piece.
The thing that flummoxed me was that they thanked me for sticking to the guidelines. Why wouldn't I?
My word count was 10431 words, the limit was 10000, and they'd know if I'd gone over because it was on a Word document which has a word count installed. Who would be so obtuse as to think that they wouldn't check?
I wonder at the mindset of these people who think along the lines of, "Oh, they'll never know it's over the limit. We'll keep quiet and blag it…"
Bloody Chavs.
Anyway, it's gone now.

I'm tired, irritated and work is getting me down. On top of that my bed is calling me… must sleep…must slee….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well that was quick.
I sent it off on Thursday and received the rejection yesterday.
Can't fault 'em for the swift answer, just the content could have been a bit more positive.

Ah well, I wasn't sure it was the right sort of publication anyway. The name alone, (Extreme Horror Anthology) arose my doubts as to its suitability.

So why did you send it then? (I hear you ask.)
Well, it was the first one on the list that didn't have a ridiculous amount of formatting to do. I think it must be some kind of test of willingness with these publications. Everything has to be "just so". The spacing, the margins, the type set, the size, indent or not indent on a new paragraph, put three asterixes, (or should that be asterii in the plural?) after a change of scene, every tenth letter must be a capital, translate the whole story into Hindustani... the list is as varied as it's ridiculous, especially when you're sending a twenty thousand word novella.
Each publisher has their own "needs" and I've no idea why, it's not like their going to print it blind. Why can't they read it through, send it back and then say how they want it?

No way Reg, that's far too much like hard work. These guys work a twenty five hour day and have no time to do that if they want to read everything.
Are you kidding me? Half of the slush pile gets binned after the first paragraph.
Ok, (I hear you say again) that's a fair point, but it's you who wants them to print your work, not the other way around.
True, but it's not like they're paying me, is it? At most it's a cent a word, an American cent that is. Or a voucher at Amazon or an Oxfam christmas card, whatever. The market out there is geared to the muck-eater (the writer) being kept in his bottom-dwelling place. You only have to read the comments on some of the other blogs by agents or editors to know who's at the top of the superiority tree and who eats what in the big scheme of things. I don't blame them, I'm as arrogant as the next one if I'm feeling superior. The thing is, I haven't been feeling very superior since I started sending my work off, to be honest.

That's because it's crap, Reg.
Thanks for that.

Actually, I must add that some of the blogs I've read from people in "The Biz" are very good; the ones I follow are excellent.
However, there are those that smack of self-love so much, I feel like I'm intruding on a
solitary sexual act everytime I read their splurge. Ew...

Well, that's it for now.
Needless to say, I found a different publisher of short stories, formatted the text to their expectations and sent it off.
Now where's that muck, I'm starving.

Reg :-)