[Writer Post] 911 and WorldCons
Today is September 11, 2013. Twelve years ago our country changed – for better or worse, that will be a question pondered by pundits for another 20 years – forever. In 2001, I had been back from the WorldCon in Philadelphia for a week. I encountered New York City for the first time on September 6, 2001. I could tell you where I was, and what I was doing when the Towers went up, but many of you already know that story, and for those who still deal with the scars, I don’t want to pick at the scabs. Suffice it to say, I do remember. I will never forget.
However, today I want to focus on something more fun. About how that WorldCon twelve years ago changed my writing path forever…for good or bad, that too remains to be seen. Anyway, earlier in 2001 I’d gotten to know a regional author who basically smacked me upside the head “Gibbs†style and took me from writing fan fiction to writing something I could make money at (not a lot of money, but still…). This author is the one who introduced me to Selina Rosen at the PhilCon WorldCon. And thus began my Yard Dog Press Journey.
Selina was about to open up submissions for More Stories That Won’t Make Your Parents Hurl, which ended up being my first “professional†sale (I use quotes because even though I still earn royalties on that story, Yard Dog isn’t a SFWA qualifying market. I consider it a professional sale). But it wasn’t my first publication for Yard Dog. Selina put out a chapbook of essays on the 9/11 disaster called Beyond the Skyline – which I just discovered is still available on Amazon for a ridiculous amount. I wrote my story for her. It was a charity thing, as with Flush Fiction, it was to raise money for someone/something else. But it was my start there. I’ve never, EVER looked back.
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But I am looking forward. As much as I love working with Selina and Lynn and all of Yard Dog Press, there’s a great big publishing world out there. There are so many other editors I want to work with because I now know them personally and think they’re awesome people – I want to see what they’re like as professionals. Also because the more people you work with, the more skills you develop. Seriously, different editors will bring out different qualities to your work (same goes for collaborations – and I’m still up for creative adoption for anyone looking for a co-writer).
And now it’s time to continue moving forward. I’m back to writing words (because I have a project that needs to be done SOON). It’s a good feeling, especially on a day like today.
3 Comments
I didn’t know that. Very interesting ;o)
(OK, that sounded like it was a spambot comment. Sorry.) What I meant to say was that I didn’t know that your first publication was in a 9-11 collection. I haven’t seen that one.
It’s out of print now. It wasn’t fiction, and it wasn’t paid. I count the MORE STORIES as the first.