Saturday, May 29, 2021

The Making of Waves - Stories from the Magic Filing Cabinet.

Many writers save all the versions of their work and the feedback on it that they receive from various sources such as critique groups, writers in residence, friends, and sometimes beta readers. I store printed copies of some  work in a small filing cabinet next to my desktop computer. In there, it's out of sight but perhaps not out of my mind. 

When the pandemic continued and we headed toward the second year of staying put, life  slowed down for me. I still miss my Viking and my involvement with the Rockway Entertainers chorus but  there was time to do more than to write the occasional haiku and On-The-Buses note for my Facebook page.  If I could find the energy, the objectivity and the stamina I might be able to put some of my short stories together as a collection. I chose eleven from my filing cabinet stash.

 I hadn't reread the stories in a long time. I had always found it difficult to accept criticism of my writing, especially when it was blunt. However, when I began to rewrite them, I was less hampered by previous impressions and critiques, and more able to refine them.  Two dear friends, Lori Hahnel and Dee Miller helped me with editing and proofreading.

I chose to self-publish the stories partly because of the time factor. Small presses can take eons to decide on whether to publish a writer's work. They have a hard time surviving in these Amazon dominant days. 

After some research I chose  www.volumesdirect.com the publishing division of M & T Printing, a local company. You can find Waves in the fiction section.