"It's been a long road, getting from there to here..."
After two years, sixteen submissions and fifteen rejections, my story "I Am FanFare" is finally available for you to read here, thanks to the editors at MindFlights who have graciously offered it a good home.
Originally entitled "Attack of the Killer Online Social Network," this story has seen its share of form letter rejections, short lists, and personal rejections—both warm and cold. Through it all, I revised and edited and resubmitted, knowing that someday it would be published.
Here's a sampling of the feedback I received that gave me hope along the way:
"It's a clever piece and generally well-written, but ultimately it didn't stand out to me enough for a buy."
—Futurismic
"While I enjoyed the amiable voice and the subject matter, I felt the story was too long for what it was."
—Shimmer
"All of the editors at Electric Spec enjoyed your story and we encourage you to try us again."
"The story didn't quite work for me, though I did like the ending."
—Neo-opsis Science Fiction
"While the subject matter is of interest to our readers and the story is well written, the story itself does not fit in well with our current releases."
—Alternative Coordinates
And last, but not least, my all-time favorite:
"While this story isn't quite right for us, we thought your writing was very strong and would love to see more of your work, if you should so desire!"
—Cicada
All this to say, never give up on your stories. Sure, some may require a few more revisions than others, but don't ever lose heart. Believe in your work, and believe in yourself.
And while you're at it, check out "I Am FanFare" at MindFlights. Here's the teaser:
For Hermann Nesmith, the FanFare online network is the social life he's always wanted—but the new "friend" he's made might not be 100% human...
Moohaha.
32 comments:
I'm loving that artwork. Well done, Milo.
Great story, Milo. Really well done. And I like the artwork, too.
Just read your piece. I loved it! Too bad for the editors that lost out on it.
I always wondered about the Big Brother aspect of advertisers and social networking.
Maybe I need to go off line and evolve...
Really cool piece. The ending isn't what I expected at all (in a good way), and stays true to the theme of the story. (I'd say more, but it'd be a bit of a spoiler, and we can't have that.)
As usual you inject some great humor into this. I think my favorite is the bit about super noogies.
Great work, Milo. I'm looking forward to more.
Now following, and I like the look of your site.
Science fiction is my genre of choice to read and write.
The Pay it Forward blogfest was a great way to get us to explore other bloggers' sites. Now I've got lots more to browse through.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Congratulations Milo. Awesome story.
I'm glad you kept plugging along; at least the rejection letters said more than "thanks but no thanks." And the publications are willing to read other stories from you. Nice to have industry professionals agree you are a good writer.
Well done.
........dhole
Just read this Milo. I thought it was really funny and kinda sad. And it really spoke to me. You know I've mentioned P.K. Dick a couple of times on my blog? Next thing I know, I'm gettting Amazon suggestions for P.K. Dick books. I found it disconcerting.
Oh, I love the ending!
Glad you stuck with it, Milo!
Deborah: Thanks; I'm having a lot of fun lately with promo graphics for my published tales.
Madeline: Thanks for reading!
Lydia: At some point, I think we're all going to need to take a break from the Matrix and re-learn how to be human; maybe that'll be my next story...
Tony: Thanks for reading; here's a BIG Super Noogie just for taking time out of your day to do so.
DG: Anytime; thanks for the follow.
Donna: You're right; I'll take a warm rejection any day over the form-letter variety.
Deborah: Yikes! Maybe we all should start using aliases online?
Eagle: Thanks!
Alex: Me too; I'd be lying if I said I didn't have doubts along the way, but my belief that this story would someday make the cut outweighed them.
That's a great story, Milo. I'm glad it found a home.
I've got most adverts blocked, now I wonder if I'm missing out on stuff!
Excellent work. And ... persistence is all. As you've shown.
Persistence pays. Well done.
Well done for just never giving up, Milo!
That really WAS a fabulous ending. I was grinning all the way through the story, though, because it was great fun. ... and, admittedly, I was amused that you referenced Bobby Brown, and wondering what on earth a poem about cheese and starfish would look like.
(Probably best to leave some questions unanswered.)
Lydia: Thanks for reading! I don't think you're missing anything...
Court & Martin: "Persperistence = Perspiration + Persistence" -- Steve Ramey, Flash Master.
Simon: "Never give up, never surrender!" -- Galaxy Quest
Katey: Thanks for reading! Said poem is scheduled to be published by the New Yorker actually -- as soon as I write and submit it.
Forgot to tell you - I featured this on my blog today.
Aww gee, thanks dude!
Great post, Milo, congratulations! I'm on my way to read your story--way to stick with it.
Ah the comment form finally came up. I loved the story. It really is my kinds of story - how can anyone say it didn't work for them? I've had editors say the same about some of my stories. I gave up submitting them. But your persistence has paid off. great. Glad I got o read it.
Devin: Thanks for checking it out.
Tahlia: Thanks for reading! Go dig out those stories, dust 'em off, polish 'em up, and get 'em back out there again. =]
Talk about "never-say-die."
I'm going to read it right now.
Thanks, Jay.
Great story, really enjoyed it. Glad it found a home. :)
Congrats Milo! It takes a lot of courage to continue, but when we believe that is half the battle! So glad you continued on your journey!
Off to read it now...
Never put a hot baby on a cold slab!
Jake!
Defcon: Thanks for reading!
Ella: You're right; when we believe in our work, the rejections don't sting as much.
Jake: Good advice.
Hooray and congratulations! I've got your story bookmarked for when I can give it proper attention - I'll be back to let you know how that goes. ;)
I just read it - so clever and fun and thought provoking. It pushed every one of my paranoid buttons. The ending was fantastic. I hope Hermann enjoys his new freedom.
Thanks for reading! In the past two years, we've seen Google and Facebook become Big Brother and Little Brother; you have every right to be paranoid.
The road is long and winding...full of stones and pot-holes...but isn't it the journey, not the destination which is the most enjoyable part of it? And if money comes with-all, we can have a good time on the way.
Honestly, the journey for this story was fairly frustrating, but I never gave up on it. It's great to know I won't have to submit "FanFare" around for a nice, long while!
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