Animal Fantasy Awareness (T.A.A.'s going Back to Basics!)

Some time ago, my writer friend and "Comrade in Revisions", Kelly Hashway, posted on her blog something she shared with me in private 


She's unabashedly a YA writer. 


Those who read my Critter Chat with Kelly in January know she began her writing career in different realm form where she's heading now. Between various sales of her work in magazines, her first major release was a picture book, "May the Best Dog Win" inspired by her daughter (pre-K at the time of this post) who asked her to write one, and the rest is history--for that book, anyway. She later went on to collaborate with her illustrative sister, Heather, on her self-published effort, The Perfect Puppy, and more recently, Santa Bunny. Heather also did the cover art for "The Imaginary Friend" her two part short story now available for free* at Amazon.com (Price of Free may be subject to change).


Kelly's work has appeared in various magazines and anthologies, and we each have a story in the anthology "Trunk Stories." 


But as I said at the outset, Kelly's found her new home in the world of YA with the first two books in her trilogy, TOUCH OF DEATH AND TOUCH OF, currently slated for publication in January 2013 and July 2013 respectively (Pub Dates are subject to change so please follow Kelly Hashway's blog for any date changes).


I'm happy for you, Kelly, there's nothing like the feeling of finding where you belong and are most happiest. True for anything in life, but especially for writers who have to endure decades of apprenticing to start their careers.
Be it a magazine piece, memoir, nonfiction, novel or poetry/story collection.


Those who follow my blog know I struggle with writing my own stories for the YA audience, a skill that I know will serve Kelly well, but what you may not know is she landed her agent with a middle grade novel, which is my specialty, but the current market for debut middle grade fiction is struggling, even more-so for folks like me who are more at home with animal fantasy, than anything with a dystopian or edgy and dark bent. 


Aside from wishing I could write YA, I also longed for finding my own tribe of readers, not just writers of animal fantasy, and not just paranormal.


As many of you T.A.A. faithful may have noticed, I haven't written much on genre-specific issues nearly all writers of animal fantasy face.


I mean my blog's named, "Talking Animal Addicts" and yet I've kind of deviated from the core message of my blog, and there are really two key reasons why-


I Didn't "OWN" my love of the Genre
There are many posts I wrote to tackle this subject that I never posted or completed because I had doubts of the impact my passion could have.


Envy Delayed My Progress
That pretty much speaks for itself.


But no more. Like Kelly, and many writers before me, I need to embrace my niche, rather than feel shame from it, that's vital for all the writing I do, and those of your who also blog know full well what I mean.


So, consider this statement a follow-up to my intro post when I began Talking Animal Addicts in December 2010-


I started this blog to protest the myth that only preschoolers like animal fantasy, and unite other like-minded writers who know all too well as I do that stigma attached to these stories, especially as an unproven brand name author, but the stigma also comes from educators and parents, other writers (Even those we love and respect), even some publishing insiders who argue that kids are demanding more books with more contemporary, or reality-based plot lines.


Maybe there aren't millions of us, but there are more than the average person might think, especially among the non-parents or writers who aren't easily in tune with their "Inner Child" and/or interact with children on a regular basis. and I think part of this is the fear we have of divulging our passion for animal fantasy, since the first thing people will say is "That's a hard sell, especially for non-famous author." 


Whether this is true of every case or not isn't the issue here, the real issue is for those of us who proudly write the books we love to band together, and shout to the world, "We're not crazy for reading or writing books about or featuring talking animals!"


Okay, maybe not shout it at work, or outside your kid's high school (Or anywhere people who know you will hear...) but it's important to remind yourself why you do what you do. It keeps you honest, if not always sane.


I felt strongly there needed to be an outlet for these writers, a sanctuary even, where their passion would not get made fun of, but meet like-minded writers, that span the ages and stages of writers worldwide.




I want T.A.A. to become that safe haven, and will get back to more animal fantasy related posts in the coming weeks. If you have any ideas, feel free to share in the comments below. I urge all you writers of animal fantasy out there to let it rip in the comments below.


Tell your writer friends to find T.A.A. on Facebook and Google+.
Eventually T.A.A will have its own Twitter Feed, but for now you can follow my separate Twitter Feed here.


Remember, "We're not just for preschoolers anymore" We're for readers and writers who love what we do, and eventually people will see that reflected in our stories, instead of thinking "We're just trying to ride the copycat wave of Charlotte's Web, Redwall, and Watership Down." 


Some people do that. No question. 


I'm not one of those people. 


Anyone whose read my work, even people who normally don't read or particularly like animal fantasy, have told me this, a writer can't ask for a better endorsement than that (Well, a paycheck would be nice, really, but that's a topic for another time).


Until Tomorrow, 
May the Fantastic Fauna Be With You

I'm back! For Good This Time

Readers of T.A.A.,

I'm back, and will be updating reularly from now on, a promise I can and will keep, . I've had to sort out a lot of feelings, fears, and frustrations that held me back, in writing and in life, and while some things are moving slower than I'd like, I will get there, because I believe I can, as I know many of you are doing the same.

I will continue the F.U.N. Factor series articles later on this month, because for the next week or so, I'll be covering topics that both explain why I've been MIA, how I figured out the problem, and what I'm doing now to address and improve the issues I now face.


Stayed Tuned,
May the Fantastic Fauna Be With You,

Your Overemotional Literary Rat,
Taurean

Is All Published Work Really Created Equal? Or When Taking "Baby Steps" Aren't Enough Anymore

Sorry for going dark again, but I had to think hard about what I wanted to do next, and I needed the write words to come to me, and they have.


At the outset of this blog, I said I was unpublished, and it's true, but only in terms of being paid.


Last summer, my old critique heard about these anthologies that were looking for submissions, and they all suggested I submit to them as they did,

At first, I resisted. Why? Because I wasn't getting paid to contribute, and it won't count as a clip I can use, since I wasn't paid and the anthologies weren't from a well-known press.


So, why'd I submit anyway? One reason only-
I was tired of hearing "No" from agents I queried my books to.


They accepted nearly everything sent in, no fierce competition was nice, but it felt hollow to get published this way. The few short stories I've written are longer than most magazines are willing to consider, 500 word gems do not come easy to me, no matter how much I work them.


Another perk was these anthologies didn't want "All rights" as most magazines do now, and I've yet to learn how to write things I know I won't want to reuse the same world and characters but still have the level of quality and care put into it.


I thought if I'd be able to let go of my frustrations if I sent those anthologies my stories because I knew they wouldn't say "No" unless I submitted too late and all spots were spoken for, but that didn't happen.


Even now, nearly six months later, and despite all my efforts to do so, I don't feel any different about this.


Everyone in my group and other writers I know preached to me it doesn't matter and that I should be grateful I was published somewhere at all whether I was paid or not, but they don't understand how I feel, because they have other things they're good at, things people value and are paid for their hard work. Even if they never get published (Which would be a shame because I know how good they are) they do so many other things that make them feel needed and feel some sense of accomplishment, even if they hate the job.

I know there many writers who believe any non-scam published work means something, and yet many writers believe writers disserve to be paid for their hard work. I think both points are valid, but even though many writers don't make a living solely through their words, it doesn't mean we always want to give or work away for free. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being charitable and sharing what help I can offer to my fellow writers, we all need some kind of support, but I still want to be paid for some of my hard work, and I don't think that's shallow to feel that way.

I know these are frustrations I'll always have to deal with, just like the writers before me, but I hope solace comes for me sooner rather than later.

I'd love to hear from you. How do you handle setbacks in your writing career? What helps you make peace with the waiting game we in the business always play?

Did writing stop being fun for you? Were there times you felt like you weren't getting any better in spite of the months and years spent revising?

If you are interested in the anthologies where my work appears, click here, and search for the following titles.


Trunk Stories


Something in the Attic

Yarns for our Youth 2 (Not yet Available. Coming Soon!)


I might not update this weekend, as I've got a lot of reading and soul searching to do, but check back Tuesday, March 1st for an important update about ttheT.A.A. Prose and Poetry Slam.


Until Next Time, May the fantastical fauna be with you,


Taurean