It’s happened. My first official publication has officially happened. One of my short stories, titled “Fire Alarm Testing,” was accepted into the third volume of the Analekta anthology a few months ago; and it has just been released.
I’m feeling really good about this. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my writing and some advice as to where to proceed from here. Hopefully this is a foot (or maybe a toe) in the door. I understand that the traditional publishing world would really like to see previous publications on the ol’ query letter resume, and with novels being such a large commitment for people to take on, it seems short stories are a great way to break into the market. And it’s excellent practice for me, since I have “issues” with writing short things. I always end up expanding short stories and ending up with a book. But I am having quite a bit of fun writing short stories, in honing the skill of making every word count and to really have a point for each and everything. During NaNoWriMo I noticed that my book chapters were starting to take on the character of short stories, having theme and circular nature. All of these ideas combined create the book as a whole, the little pieces and themes leading into the overall theme and point.
At long last, let me advertise my first publication: “Fire Alarm Testing” can be found here in volume 3 of the Analekta anthology. This is a short story, vaguely inspired by true events, about two individuals searching for what life and self means in the 21st century.
And just for reference, here are the first and second volumes of the Analekta anthology.
Yay! That’s super exciting. 🙂