Sunday, April 19, 2009

Submission Accomplished!

I worked on revising A Warrior Born last night until 3am and submitted it by email to Sword and Sorceress for their 24th anthology. Around 8pm tonight I got a note from the editor say she's holding it for consideration. This is good. It means the editor liked the story. But there are many reasons an editor chooses or rejects a story for publication. For example, if a famous author (someone whose inclusion in the book would mean sales) submits a long story and yours is also long, guess whose will get chosen? Or if your story touches upon a theme that they already have a story for and the other fits the editors space requirements (it's shorter/longer and they need shorter/longer) you get the idea. I tried to keep the word count down on this one because they did say that shorter stories are easier for them to publish. We shall see.

Now....in case you're wondering....

A Warrior Born is about Brin Torren, a girl with no talent for magic who lives in a world where magic is the norm. She is a misfit who prefers the Old Ways of the sword and is cast out from her home when her mother catches her sneaking around to practice the discipline. A huge and terrible beast (is there any other kind?), who exists by voraciously consuming the power of magic, appears in the southern regions of her world. Is this time for Brin to prove herself? (Oh, for pete's sakes, of COURSE it is!) But, can one young girl who has never even had a sparring partner succeed against such incredible odds?

I hope I've handled the requisite formula in a unique, professional, and interesting enough manner to join some of my published colleagues. Some of the mags that take sci-fi/fantasy are a very far reach for me. S and S was just a little stretch but one I felt I might be able to achieve. If nothing else, it's good practice to leave your comfort zone!

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