Sold

8-21-06

I sold another article.

Non-fiction, of course.

I can sell non-fiction easy-peasy, but no one wants my fiction.

When I do get any kind of personal response, it’s always along the lines of “Nice, but doesn’t quite fit our criteria/not suitable for our readers.”

I write science fiction. Mostly. It has space ships and new planets and alien botany and alien relationships and politics and shiny techie toys and aliens and relationships with aliens and lots of new worlds and even the occassional weapon. There’s lots of adversity with dealing with aliens and technological breakdowns and robotics and AIs and nanotech and futuristic computers and nifty winged vehicles that run on mini-reactors. I toss in fantasy references and include comments on the latest entertainments. My best SF stories are character-driven, fully supported by tech. There’s culture clashes and gender clashes and truly evil intelligent villains and sometimes, the villain is the hero.

But write a 2,000 word article on the language of herbs, and snap, it’s sold. Write a 3,000 word article on the hybridization of the basil family and boom, I have three editors pantng to publish it.

Write a 1,500 word short story on a pair of post-apocalyptic children finding the wreck of an airplane with a working black box, and :::crickets chirping::::.

Try the horror field and write a 1,700 word short story on vampires and sunflowers with death and a new vampire trap, and :::crickets chirping:::.

Dabble in the erotic SF field, and write a lovely 2,000 word story on a woman searching for romance with her alien partner and a military captain chasing her, and :::crickets chirping:::.

Whip out a 2,500 word article on melomels and metheglyns and sell it in three days to five markets (with minor modifications.

I have 11 novels all completed, and not a single acceptance on a one of them. It’s true I finally have one editor who might possibly be interested in one, but I’ve had editors express interest before, and :::crickets chirping:::.

Still, I suppose as long as I can keep up the sales in the non-fic fields, I’m not doing too badly.