K. Marvin Bruce

  Don’t believe everything you read.   You know, when I started sending out short stories for publication over a decade ago, I checked Poet & Writer for the best fiction publishing venues to get noticed.   I got rejections from all of them and now I’m noticing the ones that’ve disappeared. Literary agents, they said, paid attention to places like Glitter Train and Tin House .   The former closed and the latter now only accepts submissions from agents.   So it is in the fiction publishing market.   It’s best to find an editor who likes your work and stick with her. I have this spreadsheet.   It lists every submission I’ve ever made.   It’s really handy because sometimes you forget even the rejection letters.   I look through it when I have a few days off work, to remind me of where I’ve been. Maybe it’s happened to you.   You find the perfect mag on Duotrope and you craft your story just for them.   Follow their specs, get a se...

Ten percent, in the context of the Bible, is a tithe.  The old laws say that you owe God ten percent of your income.  Some religious people today still pay it. I was reading an article recently that featured another ten percent.  This applied to writers.  Although an unscientific survey—including information from Duotrope—this article suggested the acceptance rate of fiction writers is ten percent. That means, and I’m no math guy, that a piece has to be submitted an average of ten times before it is accepted somewhere.  This helps explain, but not assuage, my lack of success when it comes to getting published.  It’s normal. This has been on my mind lately since  Interview with the Gorgon  is getting more than ripe.  I stopped trying to find publishers some five years ago when it was under contract with Vagabondage Press.  They took a long time killing it—with no kill fee—leaving me in ...

I’ve lost track of how many stories I’ve written.  Writers write primarily for themselves, but at a certain point it occurs that maybe somebody else would like to read your stuff.  You can get disabused of that notion pretty quickly, but still you’ll write. I subscribe to Duotrope.  It’s a search engine with useful content for potential publishers.  So when I finish a story I let my fingers do the walking to find someone who might like it.  I can’t classify my writing; it’s all over the place. You find a publisher then read what they want.  It’s not exactly like what you do, but maybe close enough?  You give it a try. I’m a monogamous guy.  I never did like dating—those with rejection complexes seldom do.  When I find a publisher, I stay close.  Then, inevitably, they begin sending rejection letters.  The relationship has grown cold.  I have trouble going back to past writers.  I head back to the singles bar c...

I recently ran across a copy of Library Journal .  Those of us who write are greatly indebted to libraries, even if we never sell a story. Much of my childhood involves memories of trips to the library.  The smells, the tacky texture of books constantly handled, the quiet.  They stay with me. While thumbing through the Library Journal , it struck me that I'd never heard of many of the publishers advertising there. I thought of how hard it's been to find publishers for my own work, and I realized it's a lot like the story of the perfect lovers. You know the one. The story where lovers that we, as readers, know belong together, but the author (cruel lot that we are) keep them apart.  Romeo and Juliet is only one such scenario. Publishers need content.  They crave writers who are steady, dependable producers of good material.  Some of us write every day and have done so for decades.  Publishers don't notice us. For our part, as wri...

It must’ve been about a year and a half ago when I discovered Duotrope.  Before that I found literary magazines on the Poet & Writer website.  Everyone wants you to read their magazines to figure out what they like, and that makes sense.  I work full-time, however, and can’t read everything. I love to read, but the working writer faces some unique challenges.  I’m still seeking a publisher for Boeotian Rhapsody, and the other day on Duotrope I found a publisher that wanted authors to submit a marketing plan for their books along with the manuscript.  At least they were very clear—we’re not going to publish unless you do the selling. One of my best friends works in publishing (non-fiction, unfortunately).  I sometimes ask him about this.  Are authors supposed to market their own books? Well, this blog is one answer to that question.  Yes, even established publishers with full staffs have to have author support to make a book succes...