The experiment.

A year ago I finished a new short story called Spencer the Spider and the Witch in the Wood. Because of many other projects that I have been involved with I put Spencer on the back burner and have just recently revisited it. I have done some rewrites and a lot of editing and feel that it is now ready to go to the publishers.

I have decided to try an experiment. Spencer is a Halloween story and it is to late to try and get it published with a traditional publisher in time for the Halloween season so I am going to try and self publish this short story. I am also going to post a blog entry describing what I am doing for every step of this journey.

My first step has been to send my manuscript to an independent editor. I am using an editing firm that I have used in the past. The best way to find an editor that will meet your needs is to research them through Google or Bing. (I love Google and would be lost without it.) Editing services are not cheap so it is important to find one that is highly rated and will perform the services that you need. I will post again when I get my manuscript back in about a week.

Good luck, and keep writing!

Morgan

Inspiration.

I was thinking that you might like to see some of the creatures that I used as inspiration while creating my character of Cuddles (pictured below) in The Deep Black Pond.

First was the Angler fish. I started with the idea of its oversized mouth and translucent teeth, and its angler, or lure eventually became Cuddles one large glowing eye.

Next was the shape. Ever since I had one living under a dock on a cannel where I use to live, the Green More eel has fascinated me. So that seemed a natural choice.

stokes rx / Foter / CC BY-ND

Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stokesrx/5845117677/">stokes rx</a> / <a href="http://foter.com">Foter</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">CC BY-ND</a>

Finally there was the color, and I wanted it to be as amazing as the design was turning out. This blue metallic Coy is truly one of the most unusual colors I have ever seen in nature and the perfect choice.

So there you have it. Just three of the several hundred thoughts that went into creating Cuddles the fish in The Deep Black Pond.

Good luck and keep writing.

Morgan

It's been a while.

I some times forget why I started this blog. Then the other week I saw this graphic on writers write.

I have been in the submission process for what seems like an eternity. Every time you make a submission to a publisher it can be up to six months until you hear anything if at all. Well I recently did another round of submissions, this time to Great Britain, and I did get a rejection letter from one of the publishers which made me fell really good. It made me believe that that publisher respected my work enough to take the time to send me a letter, and it was confirmation for myself that I had accomplished something. Now that may sound strange to some people but it is nice to know that even Sylvia Plath felt that way.

Good luck and keep writing.

Morgan