Whee. :P I am now an actual paid author.
And yes, the wording in the title is correct. I've been rejecting publication offers since I was eighteen. I have never actually received a rejection from any periodical to which I've submitted any of my work, be it somebody's crappy blog-software-based ezine, or an actual glossy sci-fi magazine... but I've never actually been able to bring myself to do the paperwork to accept the offers that came in.
I have no explanation for this. I can't even give a name to the feeling that comes over me when it's time to sign my name. It's not fear of success... 'cause I'm not afraid... and it's not my dislike of signing over the rights to my creations, as these are stories crafted specifically for sale, and I've always planned on keeping my most personal work within my own sphere of control.
(Yes, my most personal work is about superheroes doin' it. What's your point?)
It's just another example of human perversity (in the original dictionary sense of the world, not the "Eeew! He had sex in the Vatican with how many dead chipmunks?" sense... I apparently have the ability to achieve anything I set my mind to, except follow through.
But I signed and mailed the contract... went so far as taking my broken printer apart and fixing it myself then going out at ten o'clock at night to put the letter in the mail so that I would be able to do this while I still had the resolve.
It is an online venue, so I'll provide the link when the story gets published... but a paying one. I don't think it counts as a "professional venue" for guild purposes, but that's okay. Actually, at this point, what's motivated me the most strongly to seek out paying venues for my work is to get enough professional publications under my belt to qualify for science fiction writers' guild membership, just so it'll mean something that I'm not a member.
:P
ID:28429
 Mar 15 2007, 7:09 pm
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Mar 15 2007, 7:11 pm
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ACWraith
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Congratulations... to them. =)
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You forgot to close your parentheses, if this was programming your compiling would've failed! ( Sadly web design has placed me on a high alert for such a thing )
And congrats on the successful publication. Don't fret denying publication offers it just shows that you're more of an artist than a Gwen Stefani. | |
Yeah, well, I tell myself I'm being choosey, or that there's some cachet in being the author who rejects publishers instead of the other way around, but I think the bottom line is, I'm just pleasantly messed up in the head. :P
But I'm clearly getting better. | |
I'm jealous...:)
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You say you're nutsy, but it was obviously just a ploy to utilize reverse psychology in order to get published.
Really though, congratulations. May there be many more contracts with potentially reputable publishers. | |
Grats. I hope you blow the money on something ridiculous to celebrate (two words; electric shoes).
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Electric... shoes? Do they, like, condition you to avoid walking heavily by giving you mild shocks on impact?
Nice work Lexy! =) | |
hay guys over the internet, i'm really famous and successful and people always offer me really well paid jobs but I always say no
p.s. i own microsoft | |
Mmmm. Not really caring if you believe me or not. :P
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At last, proof that indifference can be a deadly weapon.
Not that I care. (Yeah, I know, I'm an amateur... =P) | |
It was less about not believing you and more about if you repeatedly turn down publication offers (especially considering how many writers don't ever get offers), you're a
Who cares about having control over your creations when you're filthy stinking rich? | |
Congratulations; I hope it works out for you, like you intended.
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Congrats! On top of getting paid, you'll be getting some wider publicity, which should in turn lead to bigger (or at least more) things to turn down! : )
@ Elation: She didn't say how many of those turned-down offers were something like "hi. i lik ur storeys. can i put them on my sight?!?!?!" or "I run a reputable 'adult' website. I would like to purchase your writings to place alongside some tasteful fetish images." Clearly, those are offers for publication, but you couldn't blame anyone for turning them down... Of course, I'm sure among her would-be publishers, there were some that she probably should have jumped on, but I'm sure she had what she rationalized as a good reason not to each time... | |
Hey, I only offered that one time and the images are tasteful AND artistic.... *grumble*damn neanderthal barbarians, no appreciation for culture*grumble*
On a more serious note, Congratulations! And just in time for St. Patrick's Day! Don't ask me how those two are related! She didn't say how many of those turned-down offers were something like "hi. i lik ur storeys. can i put them on my sight?!?!?!" or "I run a reputable 'adult' website. I would like to purchase your writings to place alongside some tasteful fetish images." | |
That's pretty neat! I look forward to learning more details.
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Ah... sorry, Elation. It was the "on the internet" part that threw me... it made it seem like you were commenting on how easy it is to make grandiose claims over the internet.
Though, truthfully, an unverifiable claim is as easy to make "in real life" as on the web... and if I were looking to brag, I wouldn't do it in the form of "...but I have some sort of affective disorder that prevents me from accomplishing anything." Anyway, thanks for the kind words, everybody. | |
Hedgemistress wrote:
and if I were looking to brag, I wouldn't do it in the form of "...but I have some sort of affective disorder that prevents me from accomplishing anything." Unless you had some sort of disorder that made you feel the need to brag about such things... | |
Hedgemistress said:
Ah... sorry, Elation. It was the "on the internet" part that threw me... it made it seem like you were commenting on how easy it is to make grandiose claims over the internet. I was commenting on that, too! :p A lot of people just write me off as this one-dimensional, idiotic troll. I'm actually a multi-layered, sensitive and inquisitive idiotic troll. SuperSaiyanGoku said: "I run a reputable 'adult' website. I would like to purchase your writings to place alongside some tasteful fetish images." That would be my dream writing job. | |
Elation wrote:
I'm actually a multi-layered, sensitive and inquisitive idiotic troll. You should put that on your résumé. | |