I received a rejection the other day to my story “Warm Cookies.” I’ve got a few more markets I’m going to send it out to, but if I don’t get it placed, you lovely readers (all three of you!) will get to snack on it.

Rejection is an unfortunate but apparently necessary part of any writer’s career path. I say apparently because we don’t really want it to be. It just is.

Being rejected sucks. There’s no two ways about it. It just blows chunks. It makes me feel like my writing isn’t worthwhile. It makes me feel as if I’m just spinning my wheels. It makes me feel as if every writer out there is SO much better than me and why do I even bother because I obviously suck and can’t string three words together that anyone wants to read.

And that’s okay. I don’t mind feeling those things. But when we feel those things, we have to realize it’s just our disappointment. None of those statements is true. Wallow in it. Feel sorry for yourself. Tell yourself how horrible your writing is or how short-sighted the editor is or how no one appreciates your art EVAR! And then? Get over it. Put your butt back in the chair, send that story/novel/proposal out again, then pull out your current WIP and get on it.

Getting hurt is never fun, but we keep going. We keep putting our work out there to either be stomped on or held up and revered. We hope for the latter, but we have to go through a whole crapload of the former to get there. It’s a journey.

So, I got rejected this week, but I still #amwriting. What? You say you don’t know what that means with the funny pound sign in front? It’s a hashtag we use on Twitter to share triumphs and pain, to keep motivated and motivate others (and yes, sometimes to guilt others too). But it’s what we do. We’re writers. I’m a writing. Therefore, I #amwriting.

So follow me on Twitter and write with me!

So Publisher’s Weekly has announced their Top Titles of 2009 and I can’t help but notice that there isn’t one female author on the list. Not one.

In their press release, they say, “We wanted to pick the best 10 and we came ready to mix it up, and although we were surprised that, when the dust settled, it wasn’t the most politically correct list – there are no women authors, for example – the balance of our top 100 reflects a remarkable diversity.”

Now, I admit I haven’t read most of these, but with names like Richard Holmes, Blake Bailey, Neil Sheehan, Geoff Dyer, David Grann, Matthew B. Crawford and David Small, I’m having trouble seeing the diversity here. I’m sure these are all amazing books – they’ve been picked from tens of thousands published this year – but diverse? There’s one African American and one Pakistani. The others are all, essentially, white American or European men.

Now I’m certainly not saying that a lesser book by anyone, regardless of gender or national origin, should be in a top ten if it doesn’t belong, but I have a lot of trouble swallowing the idea that Euro-centric men are the most exceptional writers.

I’d be interested to see a gender/nationality breakdown of the PW starred reviews for the year. I would lay odds that a large percentage were written by women, yet 0% of the top ten are by female authors.

PW’s Top 100 comes out on November 2.

I just returned from the SCWW 2009 Writers' Conference in Myrtle Beach, SC. The full conference is somewhat pricey, but well worth it, especially if you're just starting out or in the middle stages, as far as classes. There were several agents and editors in attendence for those with finished works to pitch.

Keynote speaker was thriller writer Steve Berry. He was very entertaining and personable, as well as inspirational for all of us who are still slogging away, trying to get published. I was also able to attend a class he taught on suspense, which I found interesting. He shared his approach to writing and his style in creating suspense within a ms. If you get an opportunity to see him speak, I'd recommend it!

Two agents are interested in seeing partials of my manuscript so that's fantastic! I got to hang out with Joanna Stampfel-Volpe again, which is always awesomeness personified.I met her last June at a conference and totally got to schmooze with her. I was excited to see she was coming to the SCWW con. She was very busy all weekend, unfortunately, and we didn't get to goof off together as much as at the other, but it was great seeing her again.

I was also able to meet and speak with Holly Root, of the Waxman Agency, and Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Both of these agents are personable and fun to speak with, as well as being very passionate about what they do. The conference had what they called "slushfests." These were group sessions where folks would bring in a 2-page transparency which was either a synopsis or the first two pages of their novels. So I was part of the SF/Fantasy slushfest and offered the first two pages of my novel. Unfortunately, somehow the decision was made to only do the first page of them. A few of the issues they had with the first page would have been addressed had the second page been read. However, there were a couple things they identified that will really help strengthen that scene, so I'm very grateful! Afterwards, I went up to each and asked if they'd be interested in seeing a partial. Both said yes (yay!) and Holly even asked for a few more pages than she normally requests (she made a point of this). As I said, they're both pretty damn cool! (And not just because they asked for my pages! ;) )

There were a number of other agents there, but those are the ones I actually interacted with.

I also want to toss a shout-out to Echelon Press. I hung out a lot with one of their editors and an author and man, are they great people! 

I took not one, but two classes on synopsis writing! So expect a WIL post soon!

Okay, so bear with me as I get my footing on the blogging again! 

For those who don't know, the magazine Realms of Fantasy, which has been in print for fourteen years, announced a couple months ago that the last issue would be April's, due to rising cost and less income. They just couldn't afford to keep the doors open.

The SF/F community rose to the occasion. "Save Realms of Fantasy" petitions, Yahoo groups and Facebook groups popped up all over the net. Folks raised money and wrote friends to spread the word.

And now, that hard work has paid off! Realms of Fantasy has been bought by Tir Na Nog Press and will continue to provide the fantasy and literary community with fabulous stories and artwork under the editorial direction of Shawna McCarthy.

For more information, see the post on SFScope. Happy day!