A Small Accomplishment (and some Midwestern Female Syndrome)

Yesterday, a little bit of networking paid off.

I participated in a writers' chat on Zoom headed by Debbi Voisey, a writer from England, about publishing tips. One of the topics was publishing in literary journals, and on the panel was Shawn Berman, the editor of an online journal, The Daily Drunk.

When he explained that the journal picked items that were "humorous and quirky", I realized that I had a piece that might be what he was looking for*, Come to Realize. I don't write humor much, but a story about a vampire in a Narcotics Anonymous meeting seemed like it might fit the bill. And, apparently it did, because it's getting published next week. 

At less than a thousand words, Come to Realize is flash fic. I seem to have a little luck in flash fiction and short stories and poetry**, and less luck in the novel category. I suspect this is because of marketability instead of skill. It might be that my quirk is more welcome in small, non-lucrative presses than in the big money-making ventures. 

This might push me toward self-publishing, because I don't think my stories are what mainstream fantasy expects. The tropes are not obvious -- there are no elves, alternative worlds (well not much, anyhow)  I don't want to write to the trends (which always change anyhow). 

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* Midwestern Female Syndrome entails the inner desire to be perfect with external behaviors of self-deprecation and overly qualified statements. Here is an example. In reality, I have been published eight times, not counting the two slop journals publishing everything right and left to make money off of selling copies of the journal.

** Here is another example of Midwestern Female Syndrome. It seems us Midwestern women are always striving to look mediocre.