03 February 2016

Five Red Herrings, Numero 7.


1.  Thuglit.  You like mysteries?  You like short stories?  So, have you read Thuglit yet?  It is a good magazine, a paying market yet, and available in paper or electrons.  Eight stories per issue, very reasonable price.  I bring this up because editor Todd Robinson has announced that, barring an increase in sales, this will be its last year.  And that would be a shame.

How good is Thuglit?  It provided six of the Best Stories of the Week I reviewed at Little Big Crimes last year.  That's more than 10%.  Two of them made my Best of the Year; 15%. 

And we're going to lose it because you refuse to chip in two bucks an issue, 25 cents a story?  Buy it here.


2. The Big Squelch.  Imagine that you submit a story to a magazine and get any of these replies from the editor:

"Lots of suspense."

"A fascinating romp through primitive territory."


"Some beautiful moments here."

"Easy to read, had a good hook, kept me interested and I loved the characters -- all of them."


You would feel pretty good, wouldn't you?  But each of these was in a rejection note received by Eric Wilder.  And in his list he tells you which editor said what about which story.  Fascinating...

3.  Going Up.  And down.  A month ago I told you about my new desk which moves to a standing position at the touch of a button.  A few people asked me to report on how it has worked out - i.e. has it been sitting in the down position since the second day?

Well, I love it.  My goal is to use it standing up for half an hour and then switch, but often I am so comfortable standing up that I don't notice how much time has passed until one of my cats demands that I make a lap. So I highly recommend it for any middle aged backs out there.


4. Wuzza wooza buzzy fuzzy!  Chuck Wendig is a writer.  Apparently he often gives writing advice.  Last November he got a bit fed up with that routine.  The result is profane and hilarious.

That’s me yelling at the clouds and shaking my fist at trees, screaming: I EARNED THE RIGHT TO YELL AT YOU ABOUT WRITING. And then I hiss at birds. Stupid birds...

You should write in the morning unless you can’t or shouldn’t or won’t or whatever.

Be more literary! Be more genre! Be less this more that wait no the other thing.

This won’t sell until it does and then it sells a lot until it stops selling and nnngh.

You should do XYZ except unless ABC or 123 or wuzza wooza buzzy fuzzy.


Read it all.

5. The haunted bookshop?  I started this piece by inviting you to spend a few bucks on Thuglit.  Here is another suggestion for those suffering from too much moolah - especially if you live in my part of the country.

The Seattle Mystery Bookshop has been supporting readers and writers in our field for decades. (Attached is a photo of me at a signing  last fall with a couple of wonderful readers.)  Like a lot of small bookstores they need some help and happily they have the sense to say so.  There is a GoFundMe to raise some dough for them, and there are cool rewards for patrons.



9 comments:

  1. I love your writing desk. I keep thinking about getting somethign for the treadmill that would allow me to write or at least do some other things while I tread slowly. I don't think it would work treading fast. P

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  2. Big fan of Thuglit and hope it continues.

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  3. That's some of the best writing advice I've ever read. Wuzza wooza buzzy fuzzy!

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  4. I realize I should have said this about my desk: it was built to my specifications and after a few weeks I found the wooden top was sagging, apparently from the weight of the computer (which hangs underneath, so that it rises and falls with the desk). The company replaced the top, no charge, adding a metal support beam. So far, so good!

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  5. And congratulations to our fellow SleuthSayers Art Taylor, Barb Goffman, and B.K. Stevens! All of them have been nominated for Agatha Awards! B.K> was nominated int TWO categories!

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  6. 1. Rob, you know I’m ADD, but where O where is the subscribe/buy button for ThugLit? I simply can’t see it and I feel my IQ slipping… slipping…

    3. Do the desk makers manufacture a desk with an even-further-down flat-on-my-back position?

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  7. Leigh

    Silly me. I assumed that somewhere on their webpage they would have a link to where you could buy the books. Good editors, not great publicists. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=THUGLIT

    Can't help you with the desk. The surface only drops to 32.8 inches.

    Rob

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  8. Thanks, Rob. That could be a reason they aren't selling more!

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