Read Mel's Past Essays
#12 8-9-09
I'm back again AGAIN!
Life goes on, though it does not
always continue the way one wants it to. For instance, though I
keep writing books, publishers and agents maintain their determination
to ignore them -- this despite my long and distinguished career as a
published writer.
In my attempt to break down the publishers and agents,
I have decided to post a short story on my website. It is called "Gladys,
Who Writes the Checks, Has the Flu." I am hoping that this will
be but the first story in an occasional series.
"Gladys" is a fantasy concerning my relationship
with a publisher that no longer exists. Rather than having you try to
guess which parts of the story are the fantasy elements, I will tell you that
they are the parts with the ghosts. My mom was pretty much as painted
in the story, though the editor in the story is a little more cranky than the
real thing. Thank goodness.
I have tried to sell "Gladys" through
normal channels, but have not yet been able to do so. I think it is a
pretty good story, full of charm, wit, and humor. Therefore, the only
reason I can think of that it hasn't sold is that it concerns a side of publishing
that publishers generally do not care to think about. It is said that
when publishers get together they talk about art, and when writers get together
they talk about money. More often than not this is true. Publishers
talk about art because they already have all the money. Writers talk
about money because, well -- you figure it out.
Even so, I did not write the story because I wanted
to offend a hand that once fed me. I'm sure that publishers have problems
that I am not aware of. And I was paid for my work eventually. I
wrote the story just to get my earlier frustration out of my system. That
particular frustration is gone. Others remain. Some may eventually
generate stories or even a career -- who knows?
I look forward to hearing what people I know from
email, Facebook, and personal meetings have to say about the story.
Thanks for your time.