This morning saw a bounce from Vestal Review on a short-short at 32 days and yesterday brought a 3 day bounce from Abyss & Apex.  What with the sales and a couple of story retirements, it's time to write some more short fiction and it's good to feel a new short piece ticking away in my head right now.  I should have it done in the next few days.  Why this long to complete?  Well, it's a piece that I think is going to be longer this time.  Slightly strange, but hey, there's a surprise.  And meanwhile, I'm working on finishing the final first cut on Metal Sky before it goes off to La Editor.  Job stuff to do today, still, again.  The beat goes on.

Later:  Well, Dublin turned out to be a no.  Onward.

Available only on Microsoft Reader and put out by Fictionwise, the notes say:

Volume 1 of James A. Hartley: Short Stories contains titles highly rated by Fictionwise.com members such as "Guilt-Edged Security" and "Responsibility," and more excellent short works, spanning the science fiction, horror, fantasy, and mainstream genres.

So, how about that. I have a collection.

When I first started writing stories and sending them out, I, like many others, would send stuff anywhere, thinking that the primary goal was publication. But...to paraphrase someone on another board, it's not about being published, it's about being published well.  Around that time, there were a couple of pro writers in places that I frequented and they consistently said to send to the top markets first, to send to the top markets and work your way down.  Your publication credits count, but if your publication credits consist of a string of less-than-professional venues, it's going to work against you, rather than for you.  I've heard more than one professional editor say exactly that.  Many of these places are read by aspiring writers who want to see their own work in those pages, and that's about it.  It took a while for that particular message to sink in.  This whole writing career thing is like any such path --  it's a learning experience.  Craft, experience and listening to those who have done it and been through the mill to get to where they are as well as a good dose of persistence.  I'm still learning, and I hope that process continues.  Sure, there are people who just want to have their name in print, who have no intention of following a career...but then I wonder why they bother frequenting places that are all about building such a career.

Oh, and just in, a 136 day bounce from Oceans of the Mind.

Later:  Oops.  Realised that the registration email link above was the wrong address.  Now fixed.

Some years ago, the HWA decided that in order to boost its funding, it should allow anyone who could front the membership fee to join, not as a full active, but as an affiliate.  For what purports to be a professional writers organisation, this is just stupid.  What it also means is there's a proliferation of the proponents of micro-press, non-paying webzines and publish-at-your-local-copy-store chapbooks.  Any time someone mentions that as a writer with a career, you should be looking, in the main, to target proper, professional markets for your work instead of giving it away for so-called imagined royalties or copies, the swarm of affiliate membership jumps all over it.  To a great degree, the HWA has become a self-publishing organisation,  The membership publishes itself, reads itself and sends to itself...and then votes for itself when it comes to the Stoker awards.  As long as there are no standards for admission, to my mind, this will continue.

Now, there are some good reasons for supporting the small press, but it becomes pretty clear where the demarcation lies between a professional and quality attitude in parts of the small press and the "I want to see my name in print" brigade.  I send to particular smaller press markets and there's some quality material out there, but I know damn well why I'm doing it, and I've made those choices for a reason.  In certain parts of the writing community, there's almost an attitude of sneering at professional publishing.  I suspect that it's self validation.  As long as the main professional writers organisation for Horror continues to hold, support and foster that attitude, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy doing the genre itself or those playing within its boundaries no good whatsoever. End of missive.

Borders is on Monday eve, more or less the requiem for Earthlight.  So this is sad.  Let us hope the place is not too much like a sauna.  And on the writing front, I have a story to complete, and just the books at the moment.  Nothing really biting me on the short fiction front, and besides, there is real life stuff dominating.

Meanwhile, as is proper, I should report what's come back in the last three weeks or so.  Literal Latte at 125 days, Argosy at 18 days, Flesh & Blood at 3 days.  I made the top ten in the ChiZine annual short story competition, but no placing.  Let's see..who else? F&SF at 10 days, The Pedestal Magazine at 56 days and Indy Men's Magazine at 7 days.  That's about it, but then this is the time of year when everything seems to slow down until August.

In the meantime, I've been to a launch for Liz Williams and another for James Barclay.  An honour and pleasure to meet and chat with Harry Harrison at one and at the other, standing around passing quips with Graham Joyce and Rob Grant (of Red Dwarf fame).  These events are become slightly wearing as well though, despite the small pleasures to be gained by attendance.

In others, a 55 day polite no from Stan at Analog and a 218 day near miss from TTA.  The issue of Penumbric containing my poem is now also available for viewing.

Meanwhile, this upcoming month is one which sees a number of pieces out from me:

                            "Window Across the Street" (H) UK Bloodlust UK, June, 2003
                                    "End in Light" (H) USA, Underworlds #2, June, 2003
                                    "Harvest Rain" (SF) UK InterZone June, 2003
                                    "The Ship" (SF)USA Electric Velocipede May, 2003
                                    "The Taste" (P) USA Penumbric June, 2003

I can officially count myself as having crossed the Atlantic divide now.  All I need is for the same to happen with the novels.

Also, I received my contrib. copies from Greek newspaper supplement, "9."  My story "Grievous Music" has become "Thanasimi Mousiki" in translation.  My name's up there on the cover and it's a slick production with some gorgeous graphics to accompany the tale.  Very nice.

In other news, a 13 day bounce from Cemetery Dance and news that another market has a submission.  On a more positive note, my poem "The Taste" will be appearing in the June issue of Penumbric.

Job stuff still grinding on, and the novel rewrites are continuing apace. Tomorrow night it's the Arthur C. Clarke awards in London, and once again all of the industry great and good will be gathered to drink wine and chat.

Currently working on rewrites of a couple of novels, both Empties which is fantastical litfic and Binary my grand sf novel as well as processing Metal Sky in the backbrain.  I've been doing a bit of ruthless retiring of some old stories, but still have enough in inventory to keep the subs out there at the moment.  Job stuff is still chugging away in the background and I'm off to an interview in Amsterdam in Friday.

In the meantime, I've had a few returns:  One from Borderlands at 32 days, one from Sword & Sorceress XXIII at 142 days, one from Stand Magazine at 301 days (way too long for a measly little form rejection, but then that's the mainstream marketplace for you), one from The Massachusets Review at 128 days, two from Gobshite Quarterly at 106 and 116 days apiece.  Amazing.  They've been pouring in and I haven't really noticed because I've been too busy writing.  Must be the season for mainstream bounces.

Not unexpectedly, one came back from Zoetrope this morning at 100 days.  I also had a 200 day or so bounce from Granta a couple of days ago, as well as about 50 days on an anthology proposal I was pitching.  Anyway, past records indicate this is the time of year when things slow down on the return front.  Let's see if reality proves me wrong.  And so it goes.  I've decided I will hold off on short fiction for a while, unless something turns around and bites me.  I have to concentrate on the longer form for a while.  Back to the novel!  Oh, and one last thing:  The other novel, the followup to Wyrmhole is now to be called Metal Sky.

Yesterday saw a 23 day bounce from Cemetery Dance but that's about all to report there.  I've finished an interview with Stephen Jones for The Fix but have a pile of magazines to finish reviewing.  I've had a couple of job interviews over the past few days, so that's a Good Thing too.  And this morning, a 21 day form rejection from The Threepenny Review.

I've had a number of other returns in the meantime, but all within acceptable limits, so I'm not reporting them here.  I did have a novel bounced from Gollancz a couple of days ago.  One of those "if it had been another time," which is encouraging and disheartening at the same time.  Still, onward!

Meanwhile, I don't know whether it's my new service provider or not, but I've had at least two submissions I know have gone missing in the aether.  I have suspicions about other emails as well.  One to the Verte Brume anthology and one to F&B.  Jack got back to me in a day with an encouriging bounce on the resend, but, so much for the antho.  Friday was not good in the bounce stakes.  The three bigs came back to me on the same day, F&SF at 19 days, SciFiction at 52 and Asimov's at 100.  I currently have 65 submissions of various sorts out there.

I've also recently been invited into an intriguing anthology project.  Whether I do it or not will depend on the employment situation.  If and when it happens, I will post more details here.

I had a conversation with a headhunter this morning about a position I was applying for.  She said, "Oh listen, just send your CV.  I can't talk about it.  I received over 300 CVs overnight and I have to make a short list."  This is somewhat indicative of the state of the market.  Two other positions I was looking at have fallen through.  Something needs to happen in a good way soon.  I need a job.

On the returns front, one back from ASIM at 10 days, one back from F&SF at 19 days and one back from Asimov's at 67 days.  Oh and a very encouraging rejection from the Borderlands #5 anthology at 10 days.

I'm sitting here waiting for something to happen, and I don't quite know what that something is.  Now, it's not as if I'm not doing stuff in the meantime.  The writing work continues, every morning I hit the job boards, I keep hassling my agents about things, but nothing happens.  I really, really, desperately need a job now, and that concern is weighing heavily.

In other news, I have a new discussion group at Night Shade Books.  The official press release follows.

Night Shade Books has created a writer message board nexus on its Web site, located at this location.

In addition to my own message board, Lucius Shepard, Elizabeth Hand, Michael Bishop, Steve Aylett, Jeffrey Ford, Jack Cady, L. Timmel Duchamp, Zoran Zivkovic, Rhys Hughes, Tim Lebbon, Jeff VanderMeer and Gabriel Chouinard, are just a few of the many writers who also now have message boards at the site. Night Shade will also be hosting a series of chats at the site. For more information, please contact Jason Williams at jasonw@nightshadebooks.com

Other news sees a pleasant 55 day return from SciFiction, one from Absolute Magnitude at 282 days, and another from Dreams of Decadence at 45 days.

Two mainstreamers back this morning from The Alaska Quarterly at 56 days, and yesterday, I received about a three-hour bounce from NFG.  That was following another 12 day bounce from them, and another friendly one day return from Abyss & Apex.

Foolishly or not, I have opted to run for Overseas Regional Director of SFWA.  SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) is probably the only truly international genre organisation, and for the past six years, the position has been held by someone who, though well meaning, has been comparatively inactive and maintained a pretty low profile.  I'm sure I could add something to the position.

I also spent some time this morning tweaking the search parameters on various job boards and running the resultant searches.  There were some relevant hits, so we'll see what happens.  The other ongoing task is, of course, updating all the places where my email address appears.  I give it a couple of months for the transition to happen properly.

A couple of bounces to round out the year.  One from F&SF at 25 days, another from F&B at 6 days and one from Glimmer Train at 64 days.  So, that closed off last year, but today, the New Year already starts well.  My story "The Devils Within" is now up on Elysian Fiction, and they upgraded me on the way back to London.  United have seats that massage you in Business Class.  Wonderful.

Looking back at the year past, it wasn't too bad in writing terms.  I sold 25 pieces of short fiction and two books.  True, 12 of the short fiction sales were reprints, but they're still sales.  The books are the big one though.  Geoff Ryman once said to me that it take five to eight years to break, and then the work starts.  Perhaps that's the journeyman stage, the apprenticeship.  So far, Geoff has certainly been right on.  The writing journey is still, at least, going in the proper direction.  I have some great hopes for 2003.  I have a few things scheduled to come out this year, including the first novel, Wyrmhole and I hope to sell a few more as well.