Backstage Pass

I’ve always been curious about what goes on behind the scenes. Whenever I’m offered an opportunity to work “backstage,” I heartily accept. That way, I don’t just get to see what goes on; I participate with wide-eyed wonder.

One such backstage moment took place when I volunteered at a therapeutic riding stable. I helped, along with five other volunteers, tack horses for a group of summer campers who came to ride. Nobody out front knew about one volunteer’s talent to quickly catch her steed’s “horse-biscuits” with a shovel before they hit the floor, but anyone touring the barn could see a clean aisle. Likewise, no one saw the pony that kept trying to shake the bridle off his head, because it was firmly in place by the time he stepped into the indoor ring. Was this particular backstage story exposé worthy? No, but it was fun to be part of a group that made things happen.

As a reader, when I hold a finished book in my hand, I rarely think about what goes on behind the scenes. I just hope to have an enjoyable read. As writers, though, we get to experience multiple backstage situations.

Naturally, the first one is writing something that excites you. Next, are revisions and rewrites. If you have the good fortune to be part of a critiquing group, you get feedback to help with even more editing. For the next step, many people will tell you to let the manuscript “breathe” for a bit before you reread it and make additional corrections. I agree.

Once your manuscript looks awesome, you might self-publish, which comes with its own set of backstage steps. Or, you might choose to send it to a publisher and hope to get paid for all your hard work.

Here’s a backstage look at one of my short stories.

During the summer of 2017, Gemma, from my critiquing group, mentioned that Running Wild Press was accepting short story submissions for publication in their latest anthology. Even though I mostly write novels, I had some short stories waiting in the wings. I reviewed a couple and decided that, with a little work, a story I’ll call “J” seemed print-worthy. I made some edits and submitted it in August, 2017. The next step after submission is … waiting. In this instance, it took two months.

On October 28, 2017 I received an email from Running Wild Press. Seeing the publisher’s name as the sender gave me a spark of hopeful excitement. Upon opening it, I got this:

Dear Aud Supplee,
Thank you for sending us “J.” We appreciated the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not for us.

 

Just as there are many ways to create a story, there are a variety of author reactions to a rejection letter. Whenever I get them, my shoulders droop and I let out a heavy sigh. After a brief mourning period, I take a deep cleansing breath and move on to either editing the story, or focusing on another one. Technically, I should have chosen the edit-path because the email went on to say:

“Setting and main players are established, but generally over- or under-explained. Eliminate repetitive ideas, descriptions, and interactions to make more room for the story to develop around the key players. The stages of grief are unnecessarily truncated to mimic a resolution. Make it messier…”

 

There was more, and all of it was amazing. Despite the helpful suggestions for improvement, I wasn’t entirely sure how to implement them. I decided to let the story simmer in the back of my mind. One year later, I’m sad to say, it’s still simmering. I do hope to revisit “J,” but time moved on and so did my attention.

When the summer of 2018 rolled around and Running Wild Press put out a call for their next anthology, I submitted “Monkey in the Middle,” a story about a crumbling marriage as seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old girl.

As always, I sent it out with eager anticipation and waited. This time, since I knew my rejection date from the year before, I started getting nervous around October.

When October 28 (the date of last year’s rejection) came and went with no word from the publisher, I emailed Gemma, who had also submitted. She wrote back that one of her pieces had been rejected, but she had two others still under consideration. We both allowed ourselves a moment of hope. No news is good news, or at least it’s not a rejection.

And then…

Running Wild Press
Fri 11/23/2018, 1:19 PM

 

Even before I opened the email I could see the opening words: “Dear Aud Supplee, Thank you for sending us…” They were the same opening words as last year.

My body warred over the thudding heart of hope and the slumped shoulders of defeat. I cringed as I pressed the key to open the email:

Dear Aud Supplee,
Thank you for sending us “Monkey in the Middle.” We love it and would like to publish it in the next short story anthology of Running Wild Press. We pay $— for first publishing rights and then the rights revert to you. You will work with an editor to collaborate on polishing your story.

Please respond to this email to let us know if you accept.

 

At first my shoulders couldn’t believe what my eyeballs showed it. Once the eyes and the shoulders synched up I let out a celebratory, “Woo Hoo!” This, however, was followed by a hint of disbelief, which happens if you’ve been rejected by enough publishers. “Did this really happen?” I asked myself. “I think it did! Woo Hoo for real!”

I sent a quick email to Gemma. She too, had a piece accepted, making us anthology buddies!

Because edits will come next, this behind-the-scenes story isn’t over. I’ll share the process as I participate, with wide-eyed wonder, in “Monkey’s” transformation from accepted short story to part of a published anthology.

And, if I may, I’d like to add one more, “Woo Hoo!”