After publishing my humor book in 2022 I worked on a 71,000 word mystery/crime novel, finishing it late last year. I started sending it to agents. When that didn’t work I sent it to smaller independent legit book publishers. Not vanity presses. They are traditional publishers but not associated with one of the giant guys. A few rejected it but one in NY State has had it for over three months now, so maybe, who knows, maybe they are interested.
As a new writer, I wanted to see how the novel went over first, before continuing to write more novels. I do have at least two more books in mind for that series, as well as two other book ideas. I guess I needed to take a break as writing a novel is challenging. So, I dedicated myself to improving my writing skills by taking more courses and joining writer groups. Part of that process is writing short stories. I belong to a private writer’s critique group that will tear apart my short story, making it better and teaching me skills. Submitting the stories to publications, I often get helpful criticism from the editors. In some cases, I pay the equivalent of a couple of cups of coffee for an editor’s critique of my story. All of this has made me a much better writer. Also, I have developed the ability to take criticism and rejections. This is a critical part of being a writer.
At some point, I will either have my novel accepted by a publisher, or I will self publish it under my own publishing company, Tabebuia Press.
https://tabebuiapress.com/.
I will first review my novel as I have not looked at it in about six months. Maybe get some beta readers and a proof editor.
But in the meantime, writing short stories has been very helpful for my growth as a writer.
The results? Twenty-five short stories published, one poem and one essay. In order to have these published I had to submit and be rejected by at least seventy publications. Probably more! I certainly learned to accept criticism!
In the right panel you will find the list of my published stories
And of course, if you want to laugh your lungs out, buy my humor book on Amazon!