I was going to spend this post writing about books or publishing or agentry or something clever like shwarma fried eggs, but, at the moment, after getting the news of last night's/this morning's tragedy in Aurora, CO, it seems a little trite...

The phrase "oh the inhumanity" doesn't come to mind. "Oh the humanity" does.

I once heard, and I couldn't quote the originator of this claim to save my life, that some believe humanity is not innately evil. They said that the origin of evil is society and culture.

What in the world are society and culture made up of? I believe the answer to that is without question human beings.

If our innate nature was good, then it would be hard to be evil. Unfortunately it is all too easy to do the things we hate in ourselves. Saying nasty comments about this or that driver as they cut us off, for example. And why is it that the people it is easiest and most common to be utterly despicable and hurtful to are the ones we love the most?

There is nothing harder in the world than saying "I'm sorry".

Well, I'm not going to go on a rant about sorrow and death. But prayers go up for those affected by the shooting. And the hardest thing to do? Pray for the shooter. It is so easy to rise up in arms and shout for justice when really we just want vengeance. Don't mistake me-- I'm one and for all in support of the death penalty. But the right mindset should follow us who are not directly involved in doling out justice to this man.

In any case, I spent this morning sending out a few more electronic submissions, but to publishers direct instead of agents. That's new for me. I received this update via one of my groups on LinkedIn about someone who had compiled a list of publishers who are actively seeking new submissions. Now, like any list, it's not entirely accurate. Some of the publishers have since reneged on their claim that they are seeking submissions. But those are relatively few for such an extensive list, conveniently organized alphabetically by genre of manuscript that the publisher is seeking.

You can find that list here, but a word of advice: find your genre/style that you fit in, and go through and open all of the publishers that are in your country of residence in another tab or window, as it may be. The reason I say only go for those that are in your country of residence is because if you send to outside countries you get tangled up in world rights and the like, which can be difficult if you don't have an agent or publishing company from your own country who know the job dealing with it for you. Also, if you send to outside countries, you have to order online international 'stamp' vouchers, which you then have to wait to arrive, and then stick in your query package so that, if the publishing company deigns to, they may respond to you with paid postage.

A hassle, I'll assure you.

So go for the country-of-residence publishers. And then judge the book by its cover. If the website looks like a Dungeons and Dragons fan club (as some of the Fantasy designated websites I looked at this morning did) or a kinky erotica page (ahem) skip them, even if your manuscript falls within those margins. You're representing yourself as a professional, and if the publishing company can't be bothered to do the same, you probably don't want to work with them. This is when you can be picky and choosey about who takes on your project. Don't sell yourself short. Beggars can't be choosers, in the end, but consider-- if that publishing company with the partially dressed cat girl in the arms of the burly, barely clad dragon warrior on their front page decided they just couldn't stand to not have your book in their catalogue...would you be pleased? If the answer is yes, go for it. If the answer is no...

...don't even bother sending. There are plenty of publishing companies out there, so don't give in to the mindset that you have to scrape at the dirt to send your work off. Aim high. You can pick small publishers, of course, but try to pick those that will suit your needs. In a way, even as you are selling to them, they are selling to you, and if you don't feel inclined to buy the product, don't put down the money.

In the end, the moral of this story is know your worth. Hard to do as a writer, as an artist of any kind, but have some pride to go with your humility. And stick to your guns. You don't have to be picky and only send out to the Big 5 publishers or agents, but you don't have to send to every local printing press with a sexy fox chick as their mascot.

Besides, in this huge long list that I've linked above, there are plenty of well-known publishers or at least less-well-known but still respected companies listed. Baen Books, publisher of one of my favorite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold, was on the list. I summarily submitted to them. I will have to wait 12-18 months, apparently, for an answer, but that's alright. I have things to do meanwhile, including waiting for other responses to my queries. I have received since my initial send-out about 9 rejections back. Typical and not disheartening. Of the 39 I sent out I may get back 39 rejections. Will that stop me?

Nah. And it shouldn't stop you either. The author mentor I have been talking to told me she received over 80 rejections before she found the right agent. Don't sweat it. You could be that author who receives over 300 rejections, and then your work is reknowned throughout the world. You'll look back on those times and laugh, maybe write a memoir, and future hopeful writers will look at your example and take up their arms and work hard.

Just look at Harlan Ellison, for example. He had a writing teacher in either high school or college, I can't remember, who told him he should never write again (note to teachers: never, ever do this). When his first story was published, Ellison proceeded to send a copy of every edition to this professor. And now Ellison is, if not very well known, an inspiration to many writers and even movie producers (though not perhaps agreed upon as such in some cases).

So don't give up, never get rid of your earlier writings (it may make for a really funny manuscript in later years, kind of a 'Then and Now' anthology) and keep hacking away. Maybe it feels like chopping down an oak tree with a herring, but if nothing else, you're going to have some biceps by the end of it all...