I finished it; now what?

Vaxil · Oct 17, 2006

I am proud to say I have actually finished a short story I had been writing. How long is it? It's 13 pages and oh god, it's 7,000 words! Do I need to shorten it? Crap!

But I finished it, and thats all that matters.

The question is, what do I now?

I wrote it; edited it; edited it some more; and until I get feedback am satisfied with it. So what do I do now? Print it off and give it to my friends and ask them to edit it? Give it to a teacher? No, it's a little bit adultly. Send it to a publisher? I doubt it.

So what do I do?

I'm definetly not all confident enough in it to send it to any publisher! But I certainly do want to get to where I can. Can someone advise me on what to do next? I'm guessing print it, send it to friends, and then rewrite it somemore. But what do I do afterwards?

OmenSpirits.com · Oct 17, 2006

what genre would it be classified would help to know. Then you'd know where to look to get it published.

pdr · Oct 17, 2006

And whilst you're thinking...

don't forget to try writing another.

blacbird · Oct 17, 2006

Pray.

caw.

scottVee · Oct 18, 2006

We'd need to know the genre to make any kind of specific suggestion. You can check duotrope.com for a zillion markets, or if it's sci-fi, fantasy (etc) try ralan.com -- these two sites have the most up-to-date listings and news.

7,000 words is a bit above average length. The longer it is, the fewer markets will be able to find room for it. But if that's how it long it needs to be, for the story's sake, then you can't change what it is.

Good luck with it.

Kate Thornton · Oct 18, 2006

Try to go back now and tighten it up - then read it aloud for smoothness and continuity.

Once you are satisfied, let us know what it's about - and submit it somewhere!

Congrats on writing it!

wordmonkey · Oct 18, 2006

Start subbing it and then start work on your next project.

Just remember, you're a writer, not an editer (spelling deliberate).

Write!

Jamesaritchie · Oct 18, 2006

editor

wordmonkey said:
Start subbing it and then start work on your next project.

Just remember, you're a writer, not an editer (spelling deliberate).

Write!

You better be both, or you're neither.

Silver King · Oct 18, 2006

Vaxil said:
It's 13 pages and oh god, it's 7,000 words!

If that's the case, it sounds like the manuscript is single spaced. Before you send the work out for consideration, study the FAQ forum for proper formatting guidelines. Also, take a peek at this site for an idea of what your final draft should look like.

Good luck!

wordmonkey · Oct 18, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
You better be both, or you're neither.

Well yeah. I meant that I have seen lots of people who do that "never finsihed artist" routine. And just edit and edit and edit and never move on.

S'all I meant.

alleycat · Oct 18, 2006

First, change it to double line spacing.

;-)

Vaxil · Oct 18, 2006

I dunno, spelling is needed to be checked! But I will re-check and rewrite a tad bit more.

As for the story, it is a gangster, street story with a hint of romance.

Del · Oct 19, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
You better be both, or you're neither.

This is unfortunately true. I've spent years teaching myself to write. Now that I consider myself a writer I realize I need to teach myself the business of writing.

pdr · Oct 19, 2006

Have you...

posted it yet so we can read it and make helpful comments?

Vaxil · Oct 20, 2006

Sorry, are we really allowed to post them? I read your not supposed to post material over the internet because it counts as 'publishing' it? Specially with novels,

Mike Coombes · Oct 20, 2006

Submit it. Let the editors decide.

And write another.

pdr · Oct 20, 2006

On this board...

you can post safely as the story is in a critique forum protected by a password so that it is not on public display.

Be brave and get some idea of whether it's publishable or needs a bit of work.

blacbird · Oct 20, 2006

Shoot your cat.

caw.

Vaxil · Oct 23, 2006

Hmmm, what do I need to do to get the password? I would love to post it there.

Silver King · Oct 23, 2006

The password is vista.

pdr · Oct 24, 2006

Er...

in what section have you posted your story?
Can't give you a helpful, kind and polite critique unless I know where your story is.

Vaxil · Oct 25, 2006

Sorry, I have not done it yet... I will do so tonight.

PeeDee · Oct 28, 2006

The best way to tell if the story is good or crap is to have someone publish it, then look at it in print.

Fortunately, if it's crap, it's too late to do anything about it...and you should be deep into your next story, deep enough that you don't lose any sleep over the crap story. If nothing else, it makes you try harder.

torrentwaters · Oct 29, 2006

PeeDee said:
The best way to tell if the story is good or crap is to have someone publish it, then look at it in print.

Fortunately, if it's crap, it's too late to do anything about it...and you should be deep into your next story, deep enough that you don't lose any sleep over the crap story. If nothing else, it makes you try harder.

To true, PeeDee.
I've found that once I'm finished writing something it helps to get as much feedback as possible. I use what I like and throw out the rest, but getting the different advice helps alot.

torrentwaters · Oct 29, 2006

PeeDee said:
The best way to tell if the story is good or crap is to have someone publish it, then look at it in print.

Fortunately, if it's crap, it's too late to do anything about it...and you should be deep into your next story, deep enough that you don't lose any sleep over the crap story. If nothing else, it makes you try harder.

To true, PeeDee.
I've found that once I'm finished writing something it helps to get as much feedback as possible. I use what I like and throw out the rest, but getting the different advice helps alot.

I finished it; now what?

Vaxil

OmenSpirits.com

pdr

blacbird

scottVee

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

wordmonkey

ook

Jamesaritchie

Silver King

Megalops Erectus

wordmonkey

ook

alleycat

Still around

Vaxil

Del

Sky isn't falling, ground is rising

pdr

Vaxil

Mike Coombes

Guru

pdr

blacbird

Vaxil

Silver King

Megalops Erectus

pdr

Vaxil

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

torrentwaters

torrentwaters