“Water Fairies”
There is an old adage among current as well as aspiring published authors to: Just Keep Submitting. You have to give publishers a chance to see your work if you want anything published. I’ve known this, but somehow things conspire to make me forget.
I have a story that just went up on the internet: “Water Fairies” at CommuterLit.com, a Canadian publication whose stories are meant to be read while commuting to or from work.
https://commuterlit.com/2023/05/wednesday-water-fairies/
I wrote this story years ago in response to a prompt on the Del Rey workshop. (The workshop had a lot of great prompts.) Another story I worked on there, “Jack and the Magic Hat,” was published by Mytholog in 2006. Del Rey removed their support and the website disappeared. I got busy with other things (sound familiar?) and I kind of disappeared as well.
I have been sporadically working on novels the last few years. I decided to concentrate on just one science fiction novel for the moment, a thriller with a twisty, complicated, time travel plot. For some reason, the more I work on it, the more complicated it becomes. Yet I still persevere.
I also decided to start submitting short stories again. I brushed off some old short story efforts, reworked them, wrote some new ones and sent them out.
I sent “Water Fairies” to several publications, most of whom politely rejected it. However, CommuterLit did not and published it on Wednesday. That’s a win and an ego boost.
Morale of this story: Just Keep Submitting.
