This week my story "Rain Puddle Man" was published in the e-zine Spaceports & Spidersilk. The October issue is full of Halloween stories for kids, and you can buy it here.
When the editor, Marcie Tentchoff, emailed me that link, I started reminiscing over my relationship with that publication, and with her specifically. She's chosen to publish six or seven of my stories over the past three years. In fact, of all the stories I've submitted to her, she's rejected only one. It was the first one, and I was very green; she was absolutely correct in calling it seriously flawed.
Marcie is an editor who "gets" me. I've been incredibly lucky to find a few such advocates already in my short career. That kind of partnership is a huge boon to a writer's self-confidence. Statistically, I suppose it's as unlikely as a successful love affair, since it's all about taste and personality and world view. Those three elements are very tough to match between two people.
An editor who "gets" you doesn't necessarily always buy your stories, but s/he always sees what you're aiming for and appreciates what you've tried. And s/he is always eager, even impatient, to see your next submission. I hope every writer gets a chance to work with an editor who's so in tune with his or her vision. It can make all the difference.
I hear such relationships are hard to come by, Anne, and I'm so happy for you to have found an editor who 'gets' you. Just someone, an editor or a fellow writer/artist, who likes and understands your taste, is precious. Congrats on the publication of 'Rain Puddle Man.' Don't know if I've said this before, but the title really caught my attention and reminded me of something Ray Bradburyish.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful, Anne! I'm lucky too. My editor from Futureword Publishing gets me too and has been so patient and helpful to me! We even laugh together on the phone. She's a very small publisher so she can't publish much but just having a good relationship with her is really helping to boost my "mental" writing ego!
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