Author: Kerry Lipp

How goes the writing? Hopefully well! I took a rejection the other day, and it wasn’t a very nice one. I won’t go into details, but it was personalized, and the editor was kind of a dick. I didn’t expect the story to sell anyway, I was submitting WAY outside my normal market but this experience makes me really appreciate the tact displayed by that the vast majority of presses and editors I’ve dealt with in both personalized and form rejections. I got a good laugh out of it. If that’s what I can expect when submitting to “literary” markets, I think I’ll stick with horror for a while, probably the rest of my life. Don’t ask who it was, I’m not going to tell you.

I hope some of you got better news than me, but I digress.

Last week I talked about The Loop and before that I wrote about rejection. This week I’m going to take a little break from talking about writing and I’m going to make you an offer. I’m going to encourage you to get some writing done and to share it with myself and HorrorTree.

I get questions sometimes about writing and how to do it and how to get started. I’ll cover my thoughts on this later on down the line. This week, I’m going to CHALLENGE YOU to write a story.

Are you familiar with a Drabble? A Drabble is an extremely short piece of fiction. It is composed of 100 words EXACTLY. Not 98, not 105, 100. This does not include the title or the author contact information. You get 100 words to write the text of your story. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but try it, you can do a lot with just 100 words.

Here is an example of a Drabble:

Every now and then when I’m lying in bed, my brain starts doing weird shit like asking, “What happens when you die?”
It leaves me speechless every time. Of all the things me and my brain have been through it just never seems satisfied.
“But what do you think happens?” it asks again.
“Like I told you before, how the hell am I supposed to know?” I answer.
“But, I’m curious,” my brain asks.
“Fine,” I say and reach for the pistol I keep in the night stand. I rack the slide and switch off the safety.
“Let’s find out.”

I want you to write one and I want you to send it to me. This is a perfect time to host this contest, hot on the heels of rejection and The Loop, I’m going to do my best to use both to help you out as a writer.

Here’s the deal. You must write a Drabble, exactly 100 words. It must be a horror story and it must involve trees or nature in some form. From the clichés of the deep dark woods to a golf course development team chainsawing through hippies handcuffed around a tree to free up space for the 18th hole, and anything in between. It’s a wide spectrum. Make it yours.
Hopefully you’re smart enough to realize that the theme is derivative of the website that is nice enough to host this contest.

This is what we’re offering you. The top three Drabbles will be published on HorrorTree. This is an excellent opportunity to write a new story, get some feedback (I will personally respond to all submissions unless I get an absolute shit load) and get your name out there. For those of you that don’t make the cut, I’ll do my best to take my own advice and be supportive and polite with the rejections. This will be a challenge for myself as well and I’m excited, not to crush dreams, but to try something new.

Also, for those of you struggling to get started, a Drabble, though short, WILL give you a sense of accomplishment. You’ve written a story, and you might realize that it’s decent and think, “I wonder if I could elaborate on this and turn it into a short story.” This has worked for me and I hope it can work for you.

You may also fall in love with this super short form and it is fairly popular. There is a market for this type of fiction.

In addition to the top three being published on HorrorTree, for the first place winner, I will dig deep into my barren bank account, pray my overdraft protection is still in place and not maxed out and I’ll buy you a Kindle version of Under the Knife a medical themed horror anthology that I happen to have a story in. And it will be hot off the presses with a bunch of great stories by a bunch of writers. Some of them might even be better than me.

Think of this as a thank you from myself to you for reading this blog and a thank you from HorrorTree for the traffic y’all provide for the website while taking advantage of the stellar job that it does.

So!

Go write your Drabble and send it to [email protected]. (If you send it anywhere else it will be deleted, unread. I don’t want to flood my personal email with submissions) Please attach the story in a .doc file and also include the story in the body of your email. I’ve never done this before and I don’t know which way will work better. Make sure it is EXACTLY 100 words, title and author info not included. Make sure it follows the theme. And make sure you get it to me by the midnight between the Wednesday and Thursday of next week. That would be the midnight between March 20 and March 21. Please send only one story, I know they’re short, but until I have an idea what the volume will be, I’d like to limit to one entry per writer.

Any questions can also be directed to [email protected].

The number of submissions and how Stuart and I decide to do the judging will determine when the winners will be announced. Probably a couple weeks. We shall see.

THANK YOU ALL for reading Six Hundred Sixty Six Bottles of Blood on the Wall and for using HorrorTree to find places to submit your stories.

Good luck and happy writing.

Let’s have some fun!

Keep reading, keep writing, and keep it real,
KGSL

Usually I only lie to my students, my parents, girls and myself, but last week I lied to you readers and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me.

Last week I said that my biggest sin as a writer was being too repetitive. That was a lie, and I’m sorry.

But it was pretty close to the truth.

When I’m actually sitting down, at my keyboard and mashing the keys into what occasionally resembles a story, repetition (if you don’t include swearing too much) is by far my worst sin.

But I identify myself as a writer even when I’m not writing and a writer not writing is the worst sin a so called writer commits.

Don’t look all innocent. You do it, I know you do. You’re reading this now, aren’t you? Yeah and I’m writing it. Neither one of us is working on our stories now are we? The crow calling the raven black.

But it’s okay to take a break right?

Honest answer: not really. And before you ask or point a finger, I’ll openly admit that I’m a hypocrite.

Reading about and talking about writing, while it can be therapeutic and beneficial still isn’t actually writing. Simple as that. And here I am, yelling at you while I’m writing about writing. That probably makes me king of the hypocrites. I’m cool with that, been called a lot worse, by a student, in a full classroom. I thought it was funny.

I lied about my biggest sin, but I’m not lying now. Wanting to write, overbrainstorming, reading about and talking about writing, isn’t writing. The only time you are writing is when you are sitting there writing.

Sounds simple right? It is, but few people get it.

I have two jobs. Between those two jobs I work well over 40, hell, probably 60 hours a week. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I’m also single with a minimal commute, and zero commitments. Forget all the girls who will be blowing up my phone as they read this, but go with me here please.

If Stephen King saw the life I live at my age and my WANTING to be a writer compared to what he’d been through to get there, he’d beat the snot out of me.

And he should. He wrote on a typewriter and didn’t even have a phone.

I work my butt off for what I have and my passion has yet to pay for it, but it will.

Most people in my life let it go when I say “I’m not writing today” or “I tried but it wasn’t happening.” And I understand why they do, but they shouldn’t. Name another job out there that you can just punch out and head home “because you weren’t feeling it.” Usually making this decision after about 10 minutes. Not cool bro.

I think my editor and my mom are catching on but they should be pushing me even harder than they already are. They will probably both read this, and I hope they both hit me harder.

But it’s hard enough already for me to put the books down and start writing my own stories. Don’t get me started on email and Facebook and everything else.

I use both as a writer and I use them well, but, I sure let them use me too.

I call them The Loop. Have you ever experienced The Loop? The Loop is ebola. It will eat you alive.

Let me define The Loop.

You’re a writer. You write. Congrats, have a cookie. You keep writing. You reread your stories. You don’t think they are that bad. You edit them and then, finally you take the plunge. You submit them. Congratulations! Good luck!

You get a truckload of rejections. Don’t take it personally; check the blog from the last two weeks for some insight.

Fast forward a couple months or a year and finally, God or editors or both must be drunk or the broken clock of your writing skills finally hit the right time because you finally sold your first story. Congratulations again! This truly is a milestone and you deserve to enjoy it.

A couple months after that, you’ve sold 4 or 5 more. You are starting to make friends. You are starting to understand the business and the craft. Reading stories isn’t the same anymore. You are selling almost everything you write. Maybe you’ve even started your own Facebook or Twitter page. Hell, even both. I have. Check ‘em out. (@kerrylipp and new world horror – Kerry G.S. Lipp on Facebook)

And let me tell you, you are teasing the shark. Daring him to bite your face off and chew it and savor it in front of your dying eyes.

The hungry shark is unapologetic. So is The Loop.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the power of social media, it can benefit you greatly, but it can also tape your eyeballs open and tie you to a chair and make you watch while it murders your free time. The power of social media can destroy you.

This is what happened to me and I hope it hasn’t happened to you. I’m fighting my way through, but if you can avoid this, do it at all costs.

I fell into The Loop.

The Loop is the social media that you access. And since we live in such a here and now time, without moderation, The Loop will eat you alive.

I’ve probably told you this already, but I’ve got about 10 stories circulating right now. I could hear back from any of them with acceptance or rejection at any point in time. And in my experience, I’ve received rejections and acceptances round the clock.

Guess what that means?

I’m weak and I check my email every ten minutes. This is not okay. If I’m reading a book, every couple pages, grab phone, open email, check. I even check my spam folder with my heart in my throat even though it’s almost always pills of some sort. (I would’ve just said dick pills, but my mom’s been reading these) I’m gonna go gray before I hit 30 (10 months) like this. Don’t do it.

I do it when I write too, which is unforgivable.

Oh wow, I’m in a groove, I just wrote an awesome scene, and instead of using that momentum to drive the next scene, let me pause and check my email to see if anyone told me that my last story sucked. Or rarely, that it is good enough to find a home in their book.

BAD IDEA.

The Loop isn’t just your email. If you’re anything like me, and I swear to God I’ll break this habit in the next month, you post about your writing to Facebook. Good for you. You should. Post it and move on.

Oh….what? You want to know what people think about it? Fine. You better check. Nothing? Ok. While you were checking that maybe you got an email? Nope. Ok, maybe someone Tweeted you? Nope. It’s been almost a minute, let’s head back to Facebook and start again.

This is The Loop and it’s a curse. It’s a distraction that will eat hours of your reading and writing time.

Social media is so fluid and updates so fast that you can literally get something up to the second. Avoid this notion at all costs. This is the trap that I’ve fallen into and it doesn’t affect just my writing time, but everything else. Your likes and comments and responses will be there when you get a chance to check them. Don’t build your life around it. This is something that’s hurt me for a long time and I’ve finally realized it and I’m fighting it. I hope it doesn’t happen to you.

But it happened to me and I wanted to let you know that if it’s happening to you, you’re not alone. We have to break the cycle. Murder The Loop.

Notice I haven’t even mentioned my own dealings with my newly created fan page. Nor have I touched on the conversations solely via Facebook message that I have with my web designer and my editor. Sometimes they go on for hours. No disrespect to either of them and I LOVE talking to them, and they help me so much, but talking about writing isn’t writing.

It feels good. I won’t lie. There is nothing better than talking about one of your stories to someone who likes it. God, that’s a great feeling. Hopeful and validating, but the more time you spend talking the less time you spend writing another one.

I’m not stupid, this blog, my editor, my shockingly up to 22 fans and my web designer all want interaction and I WANT THEM TO WANT IT. And all of those people are important to me. I don’t want to come off as arrogant or a prude and I want to build a relationship with readers and the tech age we live in provides the perfect avenues to do so.

But have to keep it in check.

I need to get over checking my email and talking too much about writing when I should be writing. You might need that piece of advice too.

Any ideas on shattering that pesky Loop are welcome. Send ideas to [email protected]. And we’ll see what we can do. Thank you!

Have a great weekend and limit you’re social media time Saturday and Sunday. See what happens. I’m going to…

Keep reading, keep writing and keep it real,
KGSL

Anybody make a sale in the last week? If you did congratulations! Anybody get rejected? If you did, hang in there.

Unfortunately I received neither, but I’m eagerly anticipating a response from several different places. I’m hoping for at least a couple sales, but I’m prepared for the rejections. Looking forward to them actually. As I showed last week, a rejected story always has potential for revision and resubmission to a different and often better market.

As I’m preparing my own collection for self-publication, I’m actually hoping some circulating stories get rejected, but not quite enough to withdraw them. I think a few of them would fit nicely into the collection I’m putting together. If you asked me a year ago, I would’ve said “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

But it’s true.

I’m far from being a veteran writer, but I’m sure a lot of folks that have been in this biz longer than me would agree. Rejection often works in your favor.

There are two main types of rejection letters. Form and personalized.

A form rejection is a standard, no thought, automatic rejection that will usually say something like “Thanks for submitting, but you’re story isn’t right for the anthology.” Or something along those lines. A polite way of saying “you suck.” When I first started, those were all I got. It was discouraging.

As I continued to submit I began to gather personalized rejections. It might have been the presses and editors that I was submitting to, or it might have been that my stories were improving. I’m not really sure. Several stories were rejected with a couple lines about the story, why it got rejected, why it didn’t fit, too long, too short etc. And almost always included my biggest, constant sin as a writer. TOO REPETITIVE.

I’ve heard too repetitive from publishers a million times. Guess what that tells me? Exactly. I’m too goddamn repetitive. I’m convinced that excessive repetition is my biggest flaw as a writer and through these personalized rejections, this major flaw was finally brought to my attention.

“Your story isn’t quite right for us,” would’ve never made me realize this.

Through those personalized rejections (send me an email [email protected] and I’ll give you a list of publishers that have sent me the best rejections) I was able to revise, resubmit, and sell to other markets. Could I have sold them without the comments of the editor? Maybe. I don’t know, but I sure as hell know those comments didn’t hurt, and sped up the whole process.

Hopefully, and I might be wrong about this, personalized rejections will at least help the editor remember your name, possibly giving you a better shot the next time around. Kind of like a makeup call in football or basketball. This guy wrote a great story that didn’t quite fit last time around, maybe I’ll throw him a bone this time. Like I said, I’m probably wrong, but I prefer to see the bottle of blood half full.

I can tell you a mini story about this. Last summer, I sent a story in that got rejected. I can’t remember what my cover letter said, but whatever it was got me an immediate, personalized confirmation response from an editor. I don’t know why she liked me from the word go, but she did. She even friended me on Facebook. Worse things can happen.

She rejected my story a few weeks later, and I don’t know if she personalized my rejection because she liked me, the story was good, or she personalizes all of her rejections, but I like to think it’s some combination of one and two. She was the first person to tell me a story of mine was too repetitive. Like most amateur authors, my first response was to jump up and scream BULLSHIT.

Then, I went back and reread the story.

Holy shit.

I wasn’t even through the second page when I realized just how exactly right she was. I still do it. In every first draft and I don’t know how to stop it, but in my revisions, I keep an eagle eye out, and my writing improved a great deal with this small piece of advice. (Was that a run-on fragment? I hope so)

Anyway, I spent a few hours fixing up the story based on her suggestions and guess what!?

I sold it to the next market I subbed it to. It’s coming out soon in an anthology called Under the Knife from Cruentus Libri Press.

On a whim, not even expecting a response, I sent her a Facebook message thanking her for her feedback and telling her that I revised the story and placed it in another market. She surprised me with a quick response. She surprised me even more by telling me that she remembered me, my story, and the rejection she sent me. This was a month or two down the line. I’m not making this up. I was blown away. She congratulated me and said she looked forward to future submissions from me. Like I said a few weeks ago, you truly never know.

It was a wonderful experience and I hope I can place a better story on her desk in the future.

So personalized sound soooooooo much better right?

Sort of.

True, you get the excellent feedback, but sometimes you also get the, “your story didn’t make the cut, but it was the best of the best… of the losers.”

Thanks a ton.

Please excuse me while I rip my hair out.

I actually got a few of these before I sold my first story. (One place that I occasionally sub to is notorious for this) I’m being funny here and even though something like that is as funny as it is depressing, it is still somewhat validating, as long they don’t send that same line to everyone. Anybody want to compare rejections and find out?

I guess the lesson to take from this two parter is to not let rejection get you down. It’s going to happen, so get used to it and eventually you’ll get over it. Eventually you’ll even find it funny. I posted one last week and I’ve got a few others that have made me laugh. Here’s another gem: “Interesting premise and started out great. Good initial development, good hook and nicely developed characters.”

Aces right?

Here’s the second half “About halfway through the story it started getting ridiculous.” Out of context this probably isn’t funny, but it had me in tears. The good kind.

Don’t take it so seriously, practice, patience and perseverance will eventually pay off. If someone like me can sell 8 stories in a year, you can sell at least 9.

Lastly, publishing moves about as fast as a slug riding a turtle, so don’t count on those few stories that you’ve sent out. It might be months before you hear back. Keep writing. Have 10 more ready to rock while you wait to hear back.

Your writing will improve, your inevitable rejection won’t hurt as much and then when you get that pleasant surprise that you’re story has been accepted you can order a pizza and get happy drunk at a strip club and spend 100x more than the token payment your story will probably receive.

Also, you’ll have more experience with writing and editing (please god, even though I’ve occasionally committed this sin, don’t send out first drafts) so when you get a personalized rejection you’ll be able to improve the story and sell it somewhere else.

Take the advice of the editors, unless you can tell they completely misread your story, which is rare, but can happen, they are probably not wrong. You are fledgling writer and they are (or should be) an experienced professional editor. Translation: they know their shit. Listen to them. Their honest and sometimes harsh criticism is worth a lot more than a reader emotionally attached to you who is prone to telling you that you shit sunshine and puke rainbows.

If you work, and work, and work, it can and will happen, and in my experience, once things start going good, they usually stay good and rarely dip below average.

Don’t give up on your stories. Best advice I can offer you all. Take the suggestions you get in your rejections and turn shit into sugar.

I got no emails last week. I felt rejected. If you’ve got anything to say, hit me up at [email protected] or check out my brand new Facebook author page New World Horror – Kerry G.S. Lipp. So far it’s got 8 likes. That’s it. Makes me borderline suicidal. How about a mercy like?

PS. Just to prove my point about rejection, and this is not a lie, I wrote this blog at a bar and just asked my server for her number. (I’m really glad she was kind of cute) I figured as I finished this blog it would be win win. I’d either get it or I wouldn’t and if I didn’t, I’d learn from it and do better next time. And I’d have a nice conclusion to the end of the rejection blog.
Win Win.

PPS, I was kind of hoping I’d get rejected because it would’ve been funnier. I might even text her. No phone calls, it’s 2013.

Kick butt and write some great shit this week!

Keep reading, keep writing and keep it real,
KGSL

Rejection sucks. A lot. And hard. It’s discouraging and disgruntling to the point that just the thought of the r-word alone will prevent people from writing, and if we want to expand this to include all aspects of life, swap the word writing for the word trying.

And if you are a submitting writer, you deserve a self high five because you’ve come a lot farther than most people (who usually don’t even have a first line let alone the skin for rejection) that think they have a story to tell.

Sometimes I wonder if I’d still be chasing this slippery writing dream after nearly a year, if everything I got back was a rejection. Thankfully, there have been a few acceptances among the heaps of rejections.

The concept of rejection is so powerful that it prevents people from even trying. Not even talking writing here, just life in general.

Writer’s volunteer for this shit.

Jesus. That’s rough.

Though rejection has its place in everyday life, I’m going to try and apply it solely to writing for the next 1,000 words or so. However, I think that if you can handle getting your writing rejected, you can do just fine with all of the other rejections life will throw at you. And it will throw a lot, and they will never stop. Get used to it.

Enough with the depression, this is supposed to be fun, so I’m going to tell you a story and hopefully rearrange you’re mind when it comes to rejection.

When I first started taking writing seriously, I had no idea what I was doing. I probably still don’t, but I’m learning.

I submitted and submitted and submitted for about 6 months before I finally got that first acceptance. And let me tell you, reading that email from Kevin Bufton at Cruentus Libri Press was one of the best moments of my life. I don’t know if this is true or not, because I like to think that I wouldn’t have quit so soon, but this acceptance kept me going. Kept me from quitting. Six months of pure rejection takes a serious toll on your mental state and makes you really question what you are doing and whether or not it is worth it. But once I got that first acceptance, they started to fall like dominos. THANK YOU KEVIN!

I got my second acceptance, after 10 or so more rejections, about a month later. I know this is supposed to be about rejection, and we are heading back there right now.

My first acceptance was amazing, but my second one melted my mind.

I wrote a story for a contest in April. It adhered to the guidelines. I thought it was a good story. It was 5,000 words, on the nose. Looking back I realized that between drafts, revision, proofreading, and polishing, I had close to 50 hours invested on that story.

50 hours!

That’s one hour for each 100 words. That is insanity. Talk about putting your all, your heart and soul and blood and sweat and tears into a work. When I submitted it to that contest, I waited and waited, checking my email every day. I never even got a response. I was patient, and a few weeks later I checked the website and realized that they’d already announced the winners and despite sending me a confirmation email that they were looking at my story, they never sent me an acceptance/rejection.

That cut me pretty deep.

I wasn’t sure why. I thought the story followed the guidelines and though the content was probably pushing xxx instead of R, (which they were open to) I couldn’t understand why they didn’t even send me a form rejection.

Maybe it was too graphic, maybe I got lost in the slush pile, maybe something I didn’t realize disqualified me, or maybe they were just dicks. I don’t know. Don’t care.

Writers. Don’t get discouraged. This shit does happen. Not often, but sometimes.

I’m not going to lie, I was confused and devastated.

BUT I DIDN’T GIVE UP ON THE STORY. ONE REJECTION DOESN’T MEAN SHIT.

I still thought I had something, and actually, this led to my stumbling onto HorrorTree. I can’t remember what I Googled, probably “bloody, violent, tasteless erotic horror submissions” or something like that. I told you it was pushing xxx. Regardless, HorrorTree popped up with the submission call for the anthology DOA2 from Blood Bound Books.

I think the date was July 31, but I might have that wrong. I do remember that the submission window closed the day I found it and I beat the deadline by minutes.

I read the description. BBB wanted extreme horror, no taboos. Perfect. I thought about my story, “A Scalene Love Triangle,” and even after those 50 hours and that discouraging lack of response, I had my doubts.

But I believe in moving before you are ready.

I sent the story in, and expected it to get its head taken off. I was getting used to form rejections, but every now and then publishers would give me a few comments. They usually aren’t wrong. Take their advice. (I’ll comment on this in part 2.)

I followed Blood Bound Books on Facebook and they occasionally posted gigantic names that they were including in DOA2. Jack Ketchum, J.F. Gonzalez, Wrath James White, Robert Devereaux and more. Every time I read a new announcement, my heart sank.

No way I had a shot.

I was wrong.

September 1, 2012 around 11:30pm I got my email from BBB. They wanted my story. (I’m currently working on a non-fiction essay that captures the explosion of emotions that rocked me that night. It’s a cool story with several elements. Maybe I’ll post it here, or maybe somewhere else, but I don’t want to get too far off track.)

This story, that had been rejected without a word a few months ago, and with either no or minimal revision, I can’t remember, would now find itself at home with my favorite writer, Jack Ketchum, and several others that I’d been reading for years.

It was either Katie Holmes marrying Tom Cruise or a garage band opening up for Slipknot. Choose your own simile. I prefer Slipknot.

DOA2 will be out later in 2013 from Blood Bound Books with a stellar line up, including yours truly. Had I sold the story to the original contest, it would’ve been published for two months on a webzine, with few, if any recognizable names. It would also only be allowed to be published thereafter as a reprint, something a lot of publishers don’t want or pay much less for. Now, I’m getting paid, and sharing the stage with some of my favorites. If this Cinderella story carries on, maybe my story will even come just before or just after Mr. Ketchum’s story. Damn, that would be something.

And I’m guessing it will be cemented, available on Amazon until Lovecraft’s violent fish people reclaim the earth. A little more value there than two months online for free!

Outside of my first acceptance, that initial rejection is BY FAR the greatest thing that has happened in my writing career. Rejection sucks, but it’s not always a bad thing.

This is not a press release for that book. This blog is about rejection. This story should illustrate that one rejection is never enough.

This whole blog was setup by guess what?

REJECTION.

After about 4 months in limbo, even surviving the first of a two round selection process, one of my favorite stories, and one of my “best” according to a few friends that I allow to read my work, got rejected last week. It hurt. I cried at least 3 tears, not a joke. That shit stung.

One reader friend, who is also a professional editor, told me that she couldn’t believe that it got rejected. I’m not arrogant, not even a little bit, but honestly, neither could I. I wasn’t expecting that.

But as I learned with “A Scalene Love Triangle,” when life throws you a curve ball, you find a way to mash that thing out of the park.

I’ve strongly considered self-publishing my own collection for the last month or so, and with this rejection, my collection might have just found its backbone.

Remember my first blog? Shit into sugar? “A Scalene Love Triangle” is evidence. Hopefully this more recent rejection will be too.

I’ve got a lot more to say about rejection and if you’re a writer like me, you’re probably interested in hearing about how others deal with it. I realize that I talked about myself a lot here, but I think that everything I presented is relevant and beneficial most importantly, hopefully motivating to any aspiring writer. And last week I admitted I was kind of a whore…

I’d like to make this a two parter and talk a little more about general rejection in the second half.

If you’ve got experiences, ideas, or stories to share, I’d be happy to hear them and use them in part two. Rejection sucks and it’s something that all writers deal with all the time. Send whatever you’ve got to [email protected]. I’ll do my best not to reject you.

Keep reading, keep writing, and keep it real,
KGSL

Let’s start by talking about how much I hate the term “social media.” I’m sick of it. I hate it the way I hate Milwaukee’s Best Ice. It’s gross and it turns my stomach. But, just like that potent and disgusting beer, it packs a wicked punch.

Now let me tell you why.

Some of you are wondering who the hell I am and why I’m writing for HorrorTree. Simple answer is social media. If you don’t follow HorrorTree (same goes for the tons of magazines/small presses out there) on Twitter or don’t like them on Facebook and you want to be a horror/dark fantasy/science fiction writer, you are psychotic. I know that’s harsh, but it’s true. All it takes is a couple quick clicks and you’re automatically deluged with information. You’ll be in the loop. Take a second, if you haven’t, and go take care of that. I’ll wait.

Done?

You better be.

Ok, let’s continue. I’ll tell you why I’m writing for HorrorTree. HorrorTree’s Facebook page asked for writers interested in contributing to an ongoing column for the site on writing and horror. I answered the call and here I am. I’m ecstatic that I have this opportunity and I earned this opportunity by paying attention to social media (and writing a killer intro blog that you should read if you haven’t yet) and I could not be more thankful.

Almost every day, HorrorTree’s FB and Twitter pages talk about new open markets and this info is so valuable. They also request things from time to time. They asked for a columnist, and they got me. I’m thrilled, I hope you are too. They have also been asking for quotes from writers who have used HorrorTree to get published, and several authors have submitted quotes. If you are one of those, thank you! If you haven’t yet submitted a quote, please do so. It’s a great way to not only get your name seen in another venue, but also to thank HorrorTree for the FREE and EXCEPTIONAL service it provides. And if you’re reading this, you’ve used HorrorTree. Pay it forward!

So much of playing the social media game is backscratching, and I mean this in the best way possible. From my experience, most writers will help you and gladly accept help from you. Be the one that starts it and people won’t forget.

Writing and getting published in 2013 is wild west and cutthroat enough the way it is. Don’t be a parasite.

Two things happened to me two weeks ago. Both because of Facebook. The first one led to me being here. The second is going to jumpstart my writing career in ways that I knew would eventually happen, but now, they are going to happen in the coming months.

I wouldn’t exactly call myself a whore, but I kind of am. Almost every time I submit a story that gets accepted, I take an iphone screen picture of the email and post it on Facebook. (I generally keep the publisher name out of it) Sometimes I get a lot of likes and comments, and sometimes I get nothing. Either way, I’m putting myself out there. I even post rejections if I think they are relevant and funny. I’ll talk about rejection in a future blog, but the reigning champ is, (publisher name withheld) “the story of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, retold with cannibalism. This is way out there.” That rejection is one of my proudest writer moments, and I put it on Facebook because I thought it was hysterical. And it is, my FB friends thought so too.

Rarely, I’ll post first drafts of stories. When I post first drafts it always says “STORY WILL BE TAKEN DOWN IN 8-12 HOURS” and then I take it down. I think that leads to a sense of urgency among people who want to read me and help me out. I’m not sure if that’s legal, so I do it sparingly, but I’ve gotten some excellent feedback. The note will say “this is due in a few days or I just finished this and I’m curious on your feedback. Don’t tell me what should happen, because I’m not posting this to steal ideas. What are the hiccups, inconsistencies, etc. Where are the major grammar/continuity mistakes, and is the pace fast enough.”

My stories usually change quite a bit between first draft and finished product and I think briefly posting serves two points. First the readers get to see the story evolve and change, and that can be a very cool thing to see. Second it includes them in my work. I love when writers write forewords or story notes in their books. I think it develops a strong bond between writer and reader and by using social media, I’m trying to evolve that concept to fit the information age. And as a thank you to those that read, when a book I’m part of comes out, I’ll buy a couple digital copies and post a Kindle code or two as a status. 2 free digital copies to whoever can snatch them up the fastest.

What I’ve noticed is that several people might read, but only a few will comment. Or none. Sometimes I get phone calls or text messages in lieu of FB comments. This is a good sign. Anyone willing to take that kind of time believes in you and wants to help you. Take what they say seriously, but weight it against what you are trying to achieve with the story.

Feedback is also fodder for a future blog.

Anyway, my occasional posting of stories and my posting of acceptance/rejection letters led to something that I had never even considered.

Are you listening? Because this could, I hope it does, happen to you.

An old friend contacted me. A friend that I hadn’t seen or really even talked to in three or four years. He read my posts. He read my stories. He watched me actively chase my dream. He saw my success. He recognized my dream, and he maybe even saw some talent. And he wanted to help me out.

He said he believed in me.

Just because you don’t get likes or comments, doesn’t mean people aren’t reading. They are. Active, passive or vicarious; think about the potential response of people on your social network. Think about all the statuses or links that you laugh at or click on that you don’t acknowledge with a like or comment.

Is it a lot?

Probably.

You never know. People worry about stalkers and creepers robbing their houses when they post about being on vacation.

Shift your paradigm. Don’t be stupid, but think about and more importantly, EMBRACE the potential that you have. Not everyone wants to help you, maybe just a small percentage, but you do have friends, even some you don’t see or talk to or maybe have never even met in person, that want to see you succeed.

Some won’t though, the envious and those fearful of chasing their own passions will see you as annoying. And they are dicks. Spread your success! It will motivate some, I promise. I’ve had more than one person tell me that my posts have started them writing again. That’s a good feeling.

But, with that said, either through jealousy or annoyance you will lose friends on FB and followers on Twitter. Screw ‘em. I’ve lost some and I care about as much as I like the taste of Milwaukee’s Best Ice. The people that stick around may be beneficial even if they are silent. And a lot more might be paying attention to your posts than you think. You truly never know.

Back to my friend. He’s a web designer. He’s a reader, and he wanted to help me out. I’m now talking to him almost daily, we bounce ideas around. We’ve got some great ones. He’s introduced me to WordPress. I had no idea web design could be so easy (assuming you have support to do the heavy lifting). We’re hoping to launch a website that will rock the horror fiction world in the coming months.

Our infant ideas are coming to life, and I can’t wait to see the result. It all came around because I wasn’t silent. I didn’t care about being annoying on Twitter and Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, moderation is crucial, but posts about success and what you’re doing is most likely what you’re going to say anyway, so post it. Not to mention when most people post pics of their dogs, children, and lunches ad nauseum, you owe it to cyberspace to add a little variety. You never know who’ll take some interest.

Hopefully it isn’t the chainsaw toting behemoth wearing a dead skin mask. Instead it’s the guy who wants to help you out, and in my experience, even though it may take some time, it will always be the latter.

Maybe there’s a publisher reading this right now saying, “I found Kerry G.S. Lipp via social media and I want that guy to write a story for my next anthology.” I doubt it but like I said before, you never know.

Hey dream publisher and anyone reading this: if you’ve got ideas, requests, suggestions, death threats or anything else, shoot ‘em over this way. [email protected].

Keep reading, keep writing, and keep it real,

Hi. My name is Kerry Lipp I’m a nerdish ladies man and I write mostly horror under the name Kerry G.S. Lipp. Nice to meet you. HorrorTree is extending its branches and roots and on top of the awesome job they already do of showcasing all of the open horror markets they are introducing a few columns on writing. I volunteered the split second I realized this opportunity and here I am. I hope I can stick around for a while.

I don’t want to bore you with personal details, I’m sure enough of those will come out in future blogs, but I’ll give you a little bit of background and how I came to the point I’m at now, taking writing seriously. Calling it my third job, I’m that serious about it.

In 2008 I graduated from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio with a master’s degree in English Literature. I spent all of my electives taking creative writing courses and was fortunate to study under author Brady Allen. His first collection, “Back Roads and Frontal Lobes” just came out and it is well worth your time. Check him out.

Anyway, I wrote some decent stories in those days, but it wasn’t really because I wanted to. It was because I had to. I wanted to graduate and my favorite electives were creative writing. In the three years after my graduation, without the grade gun to my head, I wrote exactly 3 stories. Not so good for someone wanting to be a writer. I had to face a hard truth that I didn’t really WANT TO OR HAVE TO be a writer.

Now I feel that way. I both want to and have to write.

It was the reading that drove me to it. I read novel after novel, all types of genres and authors and finally one day in April of 2012, I was halfway through a novel (I won’t name names) and slammed it shut. Told myself I would start writing again then and there, and I did. Told myself that I wouldn’t read another novel until I published my first short story. Instead, I would limit myself to ONLY reading short stories. Reading the market is just about the best thing an aspiring writer can do, besides, you know, um actually effing write.

I didn’t quite keep my promise to myself, but I came pretty close. I hadn’t read a short story in years and I loved coming back to them. I bought every anthology and author collection I could get my hands on. This led to my discovery of collections by Joe Landsdale, Brian Keene, Elizabeth Massie, and Jeff Strand, as well as many others and some absolutely delightful anthologies.

I started writing again. My first good session was about 14 hours straight, on the front porch, killing an ipod battery and multiple laptop batteries, and damn near a case of beer. I wrote two stories in those 14 hours and after heavy revision, I’m happy to say that they will both find print in 2013. I found the markets to submit to on HorrorTree, and I can’t thank HorrorTree enough for what it does.

When I was fresh out of grad school, and this is probably a lie, but who knows; I could never find markets to send my work, it was discouraging. HorrorTree along with some validation from publishers actually buying my stories has thrown gas on the fire that almost flickered out over those three years. Now it’s burning hot and bright and I couldn’t be happier. In the last nine months I’ve written 25 stories, sold 7, and I’m waiting to hear back from about 10. And 3 or 4 are desperate need of chainsaw revision. This is an exciting time for me.

I still struggle though. My biggest hangup is that it’s still so hard for me to put the books down and start writing my own stories. I struggle with it all the time and I’m still more addicted to reading than I am for writing. Plus, my parents gave me a Kindle for Christmas. This did not help one bit. Great news for small press horror. Awful news for my free time and my bank account.

I know the reason. It’s easier to read than it is to write, plain and simple. The best advice I have to aspiring authors who really want to get serious, it to TRY, and damn it’s hard, to put the books down for an hour a day and start mashing on that keyboard. Don’t wait. You can do it. If books aren’t your vice, then dump the Xbox controller or the Pawn Stars marathon or whatever it is. You can free up at least an hour in your day. Do it.

Don’t know what to write? Start surfing HorrorTree. There’s all kinds of stuff here. Set yourself a couple deadlines. If an open themed antho is too overwhelming, pick a themed one, try something crazy. Have fun with it. Try and make yourself laugh, make yourself cry, or try and gross yourself out. It is possible!

With all of that said, I think that there are two non-fiction books every aspiring writer should read. There are probably more, but these are the two that have benefitted me the most and I preach them to everyone.

The first is exactly what you’d expect: “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King. If you want to be a writer and haven’t read this book, I’m not convinced you want to be a writer. I think I’ve read the text version 3 times and listen to the audio version close to 20. It’s magic. I don’t agree with everything Mr. King says, but there is some killer stuff in there about process, setting goals, what to write and how to write it. There’s also a good deal in there about his quest to become a writer. He wasn’t always “the” Stephen King. He was a starving artist just like you, living in desperation while he honed his craft. Remembering that, and seeing that, and seeing that he didn’t just pop up out of nowhere is educational and inspirational. Buy the book. Read it. More than once.

The second is probably not at all what you’d expect but it sure is brilliant. The second book on my must read list for aspiring authors is “The 50th Law” by Robert Greene and 50 Cent. Yes, the rapper. This book is pure motivation and almost everything applies to writers. I’ve listened to the audio three times, and it’s changed my life every time. The two strongest chapters are about turning “shit into sugar” something every writer should be doing. And “confronting your mortality” something else every writer should be doing, but sadly isn’t. How many times have you told yourself “I’ll write it tomorrow?” or “I’ll write it after the game?” or whatever. The way mortality is presented in “The 50th Law” will have you blowing off everything in your life, except what you’re passionate about, and if you want to be a writer, this is good news for your word count.

Put the books down, but read these two before you start writing. It’ll help, I promise.

This is a new feature at the HorrorTree and I’m not exactly sure what it will lead to. I’ve got some ideas for posts and some things I’d like to write about include writing process, generating ideas, editing, discipline, submitting, getting accepted, getting rejected, making friends, marketing, and a million others. I’m also interested in what you want to read in the column. So let us know.

Keep reading, keep writing, and keep it real,
KGSL