You know, sometimes I wonder just why our mothers chose to feed us from birth. That single habit has wreaked more havoc on a writer's life than any other.
I mean come on, let's face it; if we didn't have to feed ourselves, look how much spare time we'd have? If we didn't worry about eating, we'd never have to wrok, and if we didn't have to work, look how much time we'd have to devote to what we truly love and really want to do-WRITE!!!!!
I signed with an agent a few months ago for my second novel, "Dark Ridge". She's great; very supportive, very professional and well, let's face it, very demanding, in the nicest possible way, of course. She is anxious for me to get another book to her, but I don't have one, not finished anyway. I have six works in progress, all of which seem to excite her.
What doesn't excite her is the fact that I had to go back to work fulltime in order to 'feed' that nasty eating habit my mother started me on. Now the only time I have for writing is Friday mornings and as every writer knows, you simply can not impose a time restriction on your muse. At least I can't. Mine controls the when for her appearance and she will not be shackled to a certain time.
That's a real problem for me. I have Friday mornings to devote to creativity and my muse may or may not make her presence known.
It is really disheartening to sit down at the PC and sit, and sit, and wait for the muse to strike, only to look up and see that a couple of hours have passed and I've written "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" roughly a hundred times. Now I ask you, where's the creativity in that?
And then there's the weekend. Two whole days of freedom to write to my hearts content, and I have a husband who for whatever reason simply can not leave me in peace, so of course no writing is done on the weekends. Sometimes, I think the best course of action for me is to hole up in the mountains in a little cabin with NO TV, no phone and no husband and beg, coerce, cajole or just threaten my muse into working with me.
Maybe in just a week I could get one of these blasted works in progress finished. Then I'd feel like I'd accomplished something.
Oh well, we do the best we can, don't we?
Okay, so one more complaint and I'll shut up. Is it just me, or are the compiling editors or anthologies kind of taking credit for something they really didn't write? Now, I know I may be stepping on some toes here, but I'm not really, and I'm not trying to hurt feelings, start a war of words or question anyone's integrity, but let's look at some facts, okay>?
Okay, you, as a writer, answer a call for submissions. Now, as a writer, you figure any exposure can only help your career, so you follow the guidelines, submit a story or two or an article and you get so excited when the compiling author sends you an acceptance letter. Your storie(s) or article has been accepted. As payment for your offering, you receive exposure, ( a good thing), and a copy of the book. Hmmm, okay, so I get the exposure, but let's face it guys, exposure don't buy the bacon, right?
Okay, so, finally the book is published and you get your free copy and you show it around to your friends, your co-workers, your family and to a person they all ask the same thing, " So how much did you get paid for this?" "Oh, I don't get paid for it, I get exposure. I get my name out there." Out where exactly? AS far as I can tell, the only person getting any exposure is the compiling author. That is the person doing interviews, doing radio spots, putting up websites, blogs, making personal appearances and doing book signings, and the only one getting paid!
Take this one anthology I wrote a couple of stories for. I ask a few people who had bought the book if they could name any of the contributing authors in the book and they all gave me the compiling author's name, and you know what? The compiling 'author' didn't even have a story in the book. Just the introduction and the afterword. How about that?
So, I have to wonder, why do we submit stories to anthologies? For the exposure? Better re-think that.
For me the most maddening thing is the fact that of the five anthologies I have works in, I can't recall a single compiling author who has actually given credit for the book to the contributing authors. Seems to me like there would be no book if there were no contributing authors, because if the compiling author could have written the whole book alone, they wouldn't send out a call for submissions. And that being the case, I for one, will not do another anthology unless I am paid up front for my contribution. Let's face it, I can use the money as much as the next guy.
Okay, having said all that, let me just say this. I do not regret the contributions I have made to the anthologies I have stories in. Even minute exposure is better than total obscurity, right? But, I don't think it's out of line to be recognized for the contributions I've made. I've been thanked by the compiling authors for my contributions, but I can't recall ever reading an interview where my name or the names of any of the contributing authors have been mentioned.
I suppose this sounds like a petulant child, but I'm not.
I'd like to hear form other 'contributing' authors to see if I'm the only one who feels this way.
I'll bet I'm not.