After I posted the Pax Orionis yarn “The Cuban War” a little while back, I said that I was done with scribbling fiction for a while as I needed to get back to trying to make money. While that need is true and ever-present, I’ve sorta gotten sucked into continuing to scribble PO stories. I’ve another one that is *kinda* finished… it just needs a couple editing passes with a woodchipper to clean it up.
I’m still a bit uncertain as to what to do with these stories. I’d certainly *like* to get them published, though that’s a monumentally unlikely outcome. On the one hand I’m thinking it might be good to post stories online for free as I finish them. On the other hand, *not* posting, because that’s generally the sort of the prospective publishers would seem to frown on. On the gripping hand, I’m an unpracticed writer who probably needs a professional editor. Someone who knows their job and gets paid large sums to do it. I ain’t got me one of them, though. So… hmm. Here’s my latest thought.
I’m thinking that I’ll have the next yarn in some vaguely presentable state within a week or so, barring the unexpected. At that time I think I’ll post an announcement that it’s done… and that the first three commenters stating they want it will be emailed copies to read. The only requirements will be that the readers do *not* share it further, but *do* share via email any critiques or suggestions they have… and that they post comments on the blog giving their general impressions. “This sucks” or “this is great” are both fine, so long as they are the honest assessment. No spoilers!
If that works, then I’ll do it for the *next* story, but with a different three people. And so on. After a handful of stories I might have generated a small group of readers whose critiques I find particularly useful, and they’ll get all the others to read, with the same caveats.
Does this sound reasonable? If it sounds like I’m trying to finagle some free editing… yeah, that’s probably in there, somewhere, no denying it. If you think you’d like to join in, please comment. I’d like to see how many would be interested.