Post Title.

About 225 words.  I had a very small piece published in The Writer May 2012, about 225 words.  I’ve subscribed to the magazine for nearly 15 years and they are celebrating 125 years in print.  In honor of the celebration the magazine asked readers to submit stories of how The Writer had changed their lives.  In my case, I can say, without hesitation that without The Writer my debut novel, MURPHY’S TROUBLES, would not be set for release this spring by a traditional publisher. 

In mid-December last year I submitted by piece to an associate editor of The Writer  that I had previously submitted a piece for the Breakthrough section of the magazine.  She was kind enough to forward my submission to the right editor which I appreciated, although I was embarrassed to have sent it to the wrong person.  I had no idea how or if she would respond to my submission although I was confident that my story fit exactly what they were looking for.

In early January I received an e-mail from the editor that they wanted to run a shorter version of my piece and a picture.  I was elated; a complete novice was getting the chance to be published in the premier writer’s magazine in the country.  The editor didn’t suggest I should changes to the original submission only that it would be shorter.  I frankly didn’t know if that meant she had edited the piece that would eventually run.  I was afraid that if I asked questions it would appear unprofessional – even though my magazine publishing experience is very limited, I didn’t want it to show.

Without a publication date it was a “pinch yourself to see if it’s true” situation.  In late February I received an e-mail from The Writer editor telling me my piece would run in the May edition and she wanted to know when my book would be published to include it in the article.  At that time I was working with my editor at Mischievous Muse Press and she and she preferred to say spring 2012 and not commit to a month.  I, of course, was hoping that the book could be released in May to coincide with The Writer article and it might yet.

Last week I received The Writer,  May 2012 and there I was on page 10.  It was shorter than my original submission – by about half – but it was the same as the previous four months.  Being published in The Writer  is a writer’s version of 15 minutes of fame,  so, I’ve had mine – it feels great.