Saturday, May 28, 2016

Review: This One Summer

This One Summer This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perfect bittersweet coming of age story

I heard about this book from a friend who tolerable her hometown school's library pulled it from their shelves. Apparently, some rating scale had it listed at a second grade reading level (which, for comprehension, I could see).

I had to see what the fuss was about. I agree: not appropriate for second graders, but would be fine for the 12-18 year olds the publisher says it is for.

In the long run, this was a great coming of age story for a young girl. I would recommend it to anyone, even adults wishing to relive the turmoil of those days.

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

Typos Happen

So I've been submitting short stories for some time. I've had some luck ... a couple of shorts accepted to a few places, but nothing paying. Anyway, I've been shopping this piece around a few place. I like to start with the larger markets and work my way down. So I've submitted to "Fantasy & Science Fiction," "Asimov's," and "Apex Magazine." So far I've only received form rejections. No big deal. It's part of the process. Right?
Anyway, I'm prepping this piece for submission to "Escape Pod," and I realize I have a typo in the title. I've sent this short story out to three different magazines, and to each I've had sent a misspelled title.
Oops.
I'm a little embarrassed. Not so much that I'm going to let it ruin my day. I realize submissions should be as clean and polished as possible. It's a sign of being a professional. But sometimes typos happen. Lesson learned. I've corrected the typo and submitted it to the next magazine.
Good luck moving forward.