Wednesday, 6 March 2013

IWSG: The 2013 A-Z Challenge



It's the first Wednesday of a new month, which means it's time for another round of IWSG postings. The IWSG was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, where members can share their writerly insecurities with one another, and also offer some much needed encouragement.

I received my very first form rejection this past weekend. It wasn't from an agent or a traditional publisher as you might expect, but from Amazon Publishing. I'd submitted a short story to their Kindle Singles program, an exclusive listing reserved for shorter works i.e. short story, novellas etc. It was a spur of the moment decision, and in retrospect, I guess it was a long shot, since the program favors non-fiction. And of the seventy-something fiction titles currently listed, most (if not all) of them appear to be works of literary fiction.

Still, it was an avenue worth exploring, and I can at least say that I gave it a shot. Now I can get back to my current project, and also start scheduling my posts for the Blogging from A-Z Challenge next month.

That's right, I finally signed up for the challenge, even though I wasn't going to until I'd written a good number of my posts beforehand. Right now, I only have a vague idea of some of the 26 books I'd be highlighting for the challenge. I would ideally love to stick with books under the speculative fiction umbrella, since that is what I love to read and write. Hopefully, the challenge wouldn't take away too much time from my current project, another reason why I need to start scheduling those posts. I'd better get to it then.

What about you? Are you doing the 2013 A-Z Challenge? And if so, are you going with a theme?
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10 comments:

  1. Jennie Bennett6 March 2013 at 17:59

    I just decided to do A-Z as well! And yes, I'm doing a theme. I don't think I could come up with enough posts if I didn't. Hopefully, people like it :)

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  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh6 March 2013 at 18:59

    I didn't know they favored non-fiction.
    That sounds like a great theme! You can do it.

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  3. S. L. Hennessy6 March 2013 at 21:05

    I'm really glad you're doing the A-Z challenge. Yours was one of my favorites last year.

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  4. Misha Gerrick7 March 2013 at 10:14

    I'm also doing the challenge for both my blogs. Have themes, but haven't finalized the topics yet. :-)

    Good luck!

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  5. Tony Laplume7 March 2013 at 16:21

    I wasn't going to do the challenge this year because I wasn't sure what I'd be doing in April overall, but now that it appears available I will be A-to-Z for the second year in a row.

    Form rejection letters suck! That's why as an editor I have never even considered doing them, even when I was doing a project that handled a good number of submissions. It's bad form...

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  6. Unknown8 March 2013 at 02:32

    I love your theme for a-z, what a good idea! I can't wait to read some of your posts!

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  7. Michael Abayomi8 March 2013 at 09:27

    J.A., fingers crossed.

    Alex, thanks man.

    Lauren, awww shucks. I really enjoyed reading yours too of course. Hope you're taking part this year...

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  8. Michael Abayomi8 March 2013 at 09:41

    Misha, wow. I wish I had that kind of dedication.

    Tony, glad to see you're onboard as well. :D

    Thanks, Jessica. The pressure is on now.

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  9. David P. King18 March 2013 at 16:35

    Best of luck on the challenge! No worries about the rejection. Your work will find a home. :)

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  10. Michael Abayomi19 March 2013 at 20:01

    Thanks, David.

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