I got "Results May Vary" rejected from Asimov's yesterday – after a 99 day wait – and read through the story with excitement. Wait a minute, your story got rejected, pal. Yeah, but now I know what's wrong with it.
Really. I started reading through the story and thought, "That doesn't belong there. This doesn't flow. That isn't what I meant. This setting doesn't reflect the main character." I saw where things should go, what was weak and needed changing; probably not everything, but quite a bit.
I guess I've learned a thing or two during those 99 days since I sent the story out. Learning is a wonderful thing.
Library Rant
Our county really has a pretty good library system, so I shouldn't complain. But I will:
I went to the largest branch today, about five miles down the road from where I live. I sauntered down the sf/f aisle (one aisle, front and back) to see what was new. A few things, nothing I couldn't live without. I did notice, however, nine copies of Jasper Fforde's Lost in a Good Book. Nine copies. I've read the book (and it is good) and enjoyed it. But do we really need nine copies of a book that came out two and a half years ago? If so, I'd expect about 78 copies of The Da Vinci Code. (Give me strength.)
Oh, there's more.
I found that The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 18 is a Young Adult book. Yep, that's right. Not only that, Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners is in the non-fiction section. Instructional, I suppose.
The CD section is a real dinger too. Anything by Emmylou Harris is filed under "E," which is embarrassing, but understandable. Also The Alan Parsons Project is under "A." Also understandable. Other artists – most of them – are correctly filed under the first letter in their last name. So my question is why is Johnny Cash filed under "N" ?
Now Playing = The Way Up – Pat Metheny Group (filed under "M")
Now Reading = (about to start) Veniss Underground – Jeff VanderMeer
1 comment:
The Paul Sawyier Public Library in good old Frankfort, Kentucky, filed a biography of pianist Van Cliburn under V. I suppose it is something that they managed to get Beethoven under B and not V or L.
You can tell a great deal about a library by where they shelve books by Bernard Cornwell. Certainly all of his Sharpe novels belong in the plain old B-flat-concert fiction section. But what about his Arthur novels: fiction or sf/f? His Stonehenge book?
I actually have a lot to say about this, so I'll continue my rant later on my blog instead of posting interminably in your comments.
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