Short story is done, time for the moment of truth!

   I gave you all some good writing advice last week about Zoetrope.com, a place to have other writers look at you work. Well. now that I’ve gotten some really great reviews on Zoetrope for my short story, Born Again. Now it’s time to submit it to a literary journal. My first magazine of choice is Glimmer Train Press. It is a literary journal, published quarterly, by Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda B. Swanson-Davies which costs $12, in the U.S. The stories in it are excellent, with enough diversity for almost anyone. Good writing, interesting subjects, and very enjoyable if you like short stories. It is also a prestigious journal that can help amatuer writers build a platform. For those who do not know what a platform is, it is the work on which you build your writing reputation and resume on. A must have for the wanna-be novelist.

     It is not the first time I have submitted this story to them. It was rejected last year, but I re-worked the whole thing, got feedback on Zoetrope.com, and got reviews like this:

"Wow. This one really hit home--effectively too. Being unemployed and seeking faith, I could really identify with the main character so I might not be the best objective judge of this story. I was able to pull back enough to realize objectively what a good writer you are. You are able to get into the mindset of the protagonist effectively and you are also able to handle the religious theme without getting too preachy. Great work and a great read and a hopeful one. I look forward to more from you and want to thank you personally for such an edifying tale.”

Ron

     Now I am sure now that it wasn’t the quality of the writing that led to the rejection, which is still my biggest fear. I’ll write a good cover letter and send it out this week. If you’d like to read it, follow this link http://iguanatree.blogspot.com/. It is a link to an old blog, I’m using it so you can read my short story. I keep it around for exactly these kinds of things. Hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you do.

     It would be great if it could be accepted by the time I get to the Writer’s Digest Writing Conference in January. The conference is going to take place at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers on January 21-23, 2011, go to WritersDigestConference.com for more information. I am hoping to find representation for my novel, Confessions of an Internet Pornographer. I was working all morning on my book synopsis.

     I am also trying to stay warm, Florida is cold today, a brisk 60 degrees. I know, I know Minnesota, that’s not cold. But it’s cold for us!

Love,

Lucho