(Not) Published By 2011

Last year I embarked on a campaign to get my work in print somewhere, anywhere, and labeled it Published By 2011. I was targeting small literary journals around the country, sending them what I considered to be some of my best stories. It is now November 30 and still...nothing. Usually I'm all for sticking it out until the end of a deadline but I'm going to call it- it's not going to happen in 2011.

If you're familiar with literary journals, then you know that when you submit the editors will take about three or four months to respond. If one doesn't hear back by then chances are your story didn't make the cut. And anything submitted after September isn't going to be considered for publication until the following year. So there it is.

Could a journal contact me tomorrow and say my piece will appear in their December issue? It is possible, yes. Do I think that will be the case? Only if they're disorganized. Any journal worth their ink would have notified me in October or early November to get my permission, bio, etc, none of which occurred.

I'm upset but not devastated. I could have been more aggressive in my submissions (I didn't send out stories as much as I promised I would) and I could have been more thorough in my search for a perfect home for my literary babies. My bad! But before I can embark on my new & improved Published By 2012 campaign, there have to be repercussions for failing myself this year. Otherwise, I'm just going to slack off every year without a care.

Not to imply that volunteer work is punishment, but this year, because I didn't work hard towards my goal, I've signed up to cook at a soup kitchen for "starving artists" in Brooklyn. Normally I'd use my writing as an excuse for not volunteering my time but CLEARLY I'm not working on furthering my writing career; might as well use that time productively instead. In addition, I will be packing up and donating at least 10 books from my own collection, which, because of my tiny apartment, is already limited. The empty shelf space will remind me that MY BOOKS belong there.

Finally, I figure some defined goals and the steps needed to achieve those goals need to be laid out. No more of this haphazard, submit-when-I-feel-like-it nonsense. A TO DO list must be made. So I made one.

Next year, my friends. Next year we'll celebrate good times for real.

*smooches...still hoping to get something in for December*
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failure is never an option

36 Soon Come: "A Thousand Butterflies..."

Wednesday was a weird day for me: Work was crazy, I had to make thesis edits (yes, I'm actively working on it!), I hadn't worked on my piece for the reading at the Cornelia St. Cafe, and I was still struggling with this one simple interview writeup that was over a month late. My brain was everywhere!

As showtime neared I was a ball of nerves. I wasn't confident in the story I had written and more than anything I knew there wouldn't be a friendly face in the audience to cheer me on (except Will; he showed up. Thanks, boo!). Then I got there and realized that my bio had been left off of the program *sigh*

And don't even get me started on the waitress who stole my change!

But then I got up to the stage and read the first line...and people laughed. Mind you, I didn't think the piece was comedic, but maybe something in the way I read it made them laugh. Whatever it was, they loved it! As I made the long walk back to my seat all these strange White people stopped me to say, "Wonderful!" or "That was a great story!" and the only other Latina in the audience said, "That was beautiful, Mama!" and I began to relax.

One woman (who I had met before) asked how long I'd been writing and did I go to school or was I self-taught. She was all, "You should be published! That story was so compelling and you read it beautifully." (I must add here that her forthcoming book, "Lost Cat Chronicles" sounds like it will be a great one. I heard her read from it twice and even though I'm not a cat lover I'll be sure to buy it when it comes out.)

I was in ego heaven. Correction: AM. I AM in ego heaven. You know us writers are vainer than a motherfucker, so this was definitely the boost I needed. I'm getting my body right and the first few pages of my novel kick ass. Inside my head I'm all like this:



Of course, outside I'm not because I'm always sore from working out but still... kiss of life indeed!

*smooches...all amped up to read again*
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if you know of any events, let me know!!

36 Soon Come: Published By 2011 Update

I've been a bad, bad girl writer.

When I stopped blogging in January it was with the intention of diving into my personal writing projects and taking the literary world by storm already. Instead, I ate. A lot. I read some, which any writer worth his salt will tell you is essential to continue improving your craft, but mostly I ate.

This is why right now, on May 10, 2011 I've YET to have anything published. June will be here before we know it and I will only have SIX MONTHS to get a story published.

To that end, I have made a small list of publications that will soon be getting an email or manila envelope full of magically delicious Jaded Words. The only way to get stuff out there is to send it around, right? Well I have to start doing that again.

Also, if you're in NYC, you really, truly, madly should come hear me read on Wednesday, May 11 at the Cornelia St. Cafe (showtime is at 6PM sharp - NOT CP time - and it only costs $7). I'll be debuting the first five pages of my novel-in-progress, "Precociously" (shout out to Will Dawson for the title LOL).

*smooches...trying to meet my destiny half-way*
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now if it would just hurry up and get here...

Ten Times Better Than Any Rev Run Tweet

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal." -Hannah More

*smooches...a little encouragement on a Wednesday*
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think about Ms. More's words next time you feel defeated by life

Taking The Show On The Road

Although it is proving to be a lot more of a hassle than I expected, on December 11th I will be hosting a reading in Washington, DC. That's right- the same gathering of writers and poets some of you have had the pleasure of witnessing in Manhattan and Brooklyn is traveling south to bring some literary goodness to the Nation's capital.



Why would I add this stress in my life? Well, why not? I have a good story I'd like to share, and maybe I don't want to wait until the January reading here in New York to share it. Or maybe I'm hoping to gain a new audience. Or maybe I'm expecting to be discovered in DC since NY isn't showing me the love I thought it would.

Whatever the reason, I'm planning to be #PublishedBy2011, and it's not going to happen by limiting myself to the three people that come to my NYC readings. I don't believe my own hype; I need more people. And if I have to go to DC to get them, then so be it.

If you're in the area on the 11th I expect to see you. Please, I'm not in the mood to threaten you today...

*smooches...excited for this new venture*
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and be on the lookout for readings in other cities, too, in 2011. I ain't playin witch'all, I'm getting published next year!