I Am Trying To Pick A Path

© Copyright Thor Beverley licensed for reuse
under this Creative Commons Licence

I was querying recently for my short story collection.  I stuck to agencies in the area where I live.  What are the rules with querying?  Can I query agents far and wide?  I guess I’m going to have to do a little more research.

I’ve also been considering looking at small press publishers myself.  There are a few in Canada, willing to take a risk on new writers (so I hear). Then there is self-publishing through Kindle or Smashwords or some sort of combination. 

I’m also considering breaking apart the collection and submitting the stories to various literary journals and magazine.  I’ve done that before with little success.  Many of the stories have been edited/revamped since then, so I might be more successful this time around.

I’ve also been considering using Wattpad, but I don’t know….

Bah!

Word of the Week!

Hurricane Isabelle!

I don't have any words!  Nothing.  For the last two weeks.  When I first was doing this, just over a year ago, I was finding words all the time.  I found words in fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, blog posts, everywhere!  I might skip a week, but never two.

Where have all the good words gone?

Word of the Week!

It’s been over a year, but I’ve decided to start up my Word of the Week again.  I miss it.  I miss sharing all the words that come up in my various reading.

Haploid vs. Diploid image from here

All of this week’s words come from Forty Stories, a collection of short stories put together by Cal Morgan from Harper Perennial.  (My thoughts on the stories will be posted on Monday.)

From Barnacles of the Fuzz, by D. Foy (Forty Stories)

Jitney (Kindle location 742):
 A small bus or minibus which typically operates service on a fixed route, sometimes scheduled.

Haploid (Kindle location 742):
 Of a cell of nucleus having a single set of unpaired chromosomes.

From Djeser Djeseru (Splendor of Splendors), by Paula Younger (Forty Stories)

Corniche image from here. (c) Arnaud Clerget

Corniche (Kindle location 1876):
A road cut into the edge of a cliff, esp. one running along a coast.

From Eighty-six Way to Cross One Desert, by Alexander Lumans (Forty Stories)

Alacritous (Kindle location 2207): Brisk, speedy, with alacrity, quick and eager.

Everyone Loves a Person Who Doesn’t Give a F*$# About Anything, by Laura Jane Faulds (Forty Stories)

 Pulsatile (Kindle location 2346):
Pulsating or vibrating. Characterized by pulses.

Tinnitus (Kindle location 2346):
The perception of noise such as a ringing or beating sound, which has no external source.
Rung, jingled, having been jingled.
Cried, screamed, having been screamed in a shrill voice.
A ringing, jingling, tinkling.
(I didn’t realize this was going to be such a complex word.)

Granaby, by Brandon Hobson (Forty Stories)

Dyspneic (Kindle location 3382):
Afflicted with Dyspnea; possessing unhealthy breathing.

Impetigo (Kindle location 3444):
A contagious bacterial skin disease forming pustules and yellow crusty sores, chiefly on the face and hands.
It is common in children and infection is often through cuts or insect bites.

Head Down, Palm Up, by Mitchell S. Jackson (Forty Stories)

Semaphore

Semaphore (Kindle location 3745):
A system of sending messages by holding the arms or two flags or poles in certain positions according to an alphabetic code.

Hers, by O.A. Lindsey (Forty Stories)

Sclerotic (Kindle location 3943):
Of or having sclerosis. Becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt.
Of or relating to the sclera.

That’s a lot of words.  I doubt each week will have that many.  In Forty Stories there are so many great authors writing fantastic stories, that I’m not surprised I had to look up more than a few words.

Learned any new words lately?

*Definitions from Wikitionary and Kindle app.