I'm Officially In

... in the business, that is. I got my first rejection from an agent. 

I'm reminded of the scene in the movie "Goodfellas" where Big Paulie congratulates a young Henry Hill after his first pinch in jail, telling him "hey! You broke your cherry!"

Oh those guys. Wise Guys, that is.

Time Well Spent?

Just how much time should be devoted to self-promotion, social networking and query submissions? Half the day? The entire day? Surely that would cramp one's writing.

Don't mistake this heading for advice on the subject. I really don't know. In the past I just focused on writing, editing, proofreading, then on to the next project - which I couldn't wait for. It had to be put down on paper, no matter what.

Now I find myself stuck - no, not writer's cramp - but pondering just how much energy I should put into shopping the book around.

Guess I haven't mastered multitasking, if indeed that's what's required. Past employment dictated that you cleaned the sink, the shower, the toilet, and then the floor. You couldn't do it all at once (unless you got crazy and just hosed the bathroom down from the outside spigot).

I really just don't know.

Cereal Serial

Had the idea of posting a new story right here on the blog, in chapters, like a serial of sorts. All labels and warnings say not to do it; that I won't be the exclusive owner of said property. There sure are a lot of 'no-nos' in the writing biz (which I am certainly not part of nor have extensive knowledge of - yet).

Speaking of which is this; if one follows the rules of all these 'no-nos', isn't that like taking a giant eraser and scratching off everything you've done? Who do you listen to? What do you heed?

There must be some reward for thinking outside of the box, right? (see Andy Weir's 'The Martian).

Questions, questions....

Definition and genre

A thought occurred to me:

Does one's first published work define what's to be expected of one's future work? For example: first story is thriller/horror. Will agents and the buying public classify you as a thriller/horror writer?

Not that I have a problem with that. Most of what I've written fits in that category.

I guess I'll find out in further adventures.

Dooze and Dontz, Another Query Sent, and Campbell's Soup.

Another query sent, today's date, March 18, 2016.

There's always this list of do's and don'ts concerning query letters; so much so that I can't keep track of them, at least in my head. Maybe I should write them down.

Then again there's always the story of someone who 'went outside the box' and got published. The question is this: how far outside the box can - and should - one go?

Some agents still take submissions by snail mail. How's this for 'outside the box': sending the manuscript rolled up inside of empty Campbell's Soup cans, chapter by chapter. Maybe not professional, but surely to draw attention.

Speaking of that, I wonder how many writers have taken to standing outside of agent offices, waiting for them to come out and then handing one of them the manuscript - this after it's been rejected over and over again. I'm sure it's happened; just haven't looked for any documented cases. Desperation is, well, desperate I guess.

Why is There Air?

The question is always this: why write?

The only answer I can come up with for myself is this: because of Carl Kolchak, a.k.a The Night Stalker (not as in serial killer Richard Ramirez). The TV show was a favorite amongst myself and my friends. I guess the guy with the frazzled straw hat, 20 dollar linen suit and ragged sneakers was a role model for us - one of them anyway. When you're a twelve year old kid you have a lot to choose from: your parents, your teachers, your siblings, friends, etc. So how screwed up do you have to be to have Carl Kolchak as one? 

Better him then any of the Corleone family, right?

So you're in your own little world, the rest of of it locked out, creating, writing away; the scenes of adventure, terror, love, heartbreak. Then all of a sudden you're supposed to break away from that and share your creation with people. Escapism on one hand, then go back to the fold of reality on the other. It's a hard thing - unless you're an extrovert, which I'm not.

Here's the deal: I do it for the adventure, not fame or fortune. Much in the same way Carl Kolchak carried out his one man crusade against vampires, werewolves, and sewer dwelling creatures with visible zippers on their backs.

The Thirteenth Floor

Two queries sent, one by form, the other by mail. No response. Oh well. I expected that anyway. Rejection is part of the game, right? (although I've never ventured into the arena of trying to get published; what do I know?)

Is no response a form of rejection? Probably.

I've been writing for a long time now; grade school on up, mostly for my own escape from reality, to turn to my inward psyche and play out the movies in my head and see them on the page. Funny that I never thought of getting published; I just couldn't see it as a reality. I mean, you walk into any Barnes and Noble and see wall to wall volumes of fiction, non-fiction, instruction books, antique guides, art collections, art instruction, writing instruction (I've read those ad nauseum) - I see all that and think 'Christ! What chance do I have?' It's like playing the lottery.

And BTW, I don't think quality enters the picture. A lot of poorly written books out there - some of them on the best seller lists. Admittedly, it'll be a gamble, but I don't have anything better to do. I need all the damned distractions I can get to keep my mind off the constant pain I'm in.

So, the book is entitled "The Thirteenth Floor", a story about a group of urban explorers who enter abandoned buildings. The leader of the group, Jerry Mooney, an aspiring filmmaker, sees this as an opportunity to pitch all the footage the group shoots to a cable network for a reality show. When the group accepts Evetta Kellor into the fold, he sees this as his ace in the hole; she's a spiritual medium who can get in touch with the past spirits of said abandoned structures. Things get intense when they find a way into the empty Norman Building, the city's psychiatric hospital, which was shuttered in the early 90's when the state decided that keeping patients who were not a danger to themselves or the community was costing too much money. Once inside the building, the group finds that the former tenants are getting inside all of their heads, not just Evetta's.

The Norman was inspired by the Terrance Building here in Rochester, NY. It's still standing, unless the city finds some other use for it (and most likely it won't; asbestos removal for a building of that size would break the bank).

So off we go. A new adventure and a new blog. Progress reports to be updated.

Chuck Gombatto (that's Mister Gombatto, mind you!)