Double Feature
It’s December, and I’ve had two new short stories come out since I last visited your inbox! Let’s say this newsletter combo is not the result of getting too busy and running out of time to post about the first story, but instead a planned edition because they pair well, both being flash-ish length, humorous, and having to do with children.
That’s totally it! Really and truly. Pinkie promise.
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Anyway! The stories are:
“Sunnyside Daycare Employees’ Chat Log, Post Alien Takeover”
This is available in the Unidentified Funny Objects 9 anthology, edited by Alex Shvartsman. You can order a copy of the book here but it’s also available at the usual online retailers.
“Sunnyside” is a humorous SF piece detailing what happens when aliens take over the human infrastructure, down to our daycares. Spoiler: the aliens don’t know what they’re doing.
This flash piece is written in the form of a Slack/Discord chat between the alien in question and the recently laid off human they turn to for advice.
Cool, cool. You got any “behind the story” notes for this one?
Let’s talk a little about this story’s journey to publication! “Sunnyside” sold to the second market I submitted it to, but only after 1) feedback from the first market and 2) a R&R (revise and resubmit) offer from UFO9.
I had run this story through my writing group before submitting it anywhere, got positive feedback, had a niggling sensation that the story was missing something, added the wrong thing, got feedback from market 1 that caught other stuff that was missing—but it was ultimately the feedback from the R&R that unlocked the True Potential(TM) of the story.
In short: Y’all, I spent a lot of time on a story that’s only 1k words. I’m proud of it, but man. It was a lot.
PSA on R&Rs: They can result in happy endings, as this one did, but I’ve learned when to run with the feedback and when to not. The feedback from Alex and the UFO team resonated with what I was trying to do with the story and helped clarify the true heart. If the feedback hadn’t resonated with me, I wouldn’t have gone with it. I’ve learned that following an R&R when the comments don’t leave me feeling excited to take another stab at the story will, at least for me, likely not result in a sale anyway.
However, this one did and now another story of mine is out in the world! Hurrah!
“Midwifery of Gods: A Primer for Mortals”
Another flash-ish-sized piece, this story is free to read over at Diabolical Plots. “Midwifery” is what it says on the tin: a primer directed to the unfortunate mortal midwife called upon to deliver a god’s progeny, which is a dangerous profession indeed.
In counterpoint to “Sunnyside,” this story sold to its first market with feedback from just one primary reader (thanks, Dawn!). Sometimes, the less feedback you get, the better, as long as it’s the right feedback. When you have an astute reader who gets what you’re trying to do with a piece, that’s likely all you need. ✌
Right. But I’m just here for the behind-the-story notes.
Well then, hie thyself over to Diabolical Plots to read the story, because the Author’s Notes at the end of the story should satisfy your needs (/end shameless click promo/)!
I hope your December is treating you well, readers! If you need some humor to brighten your cold days (in the Northern Hemisphere), or to complement your warmer nights (in the Southern), I hope you’ll give one or both of these stories a go.
—Amanda