A crisp, gorgeous early…

A crisp, gorgeous early fall day. Feeling comfy in sweatshirt, alert and ready to work, even a little excited about a possible book idea. I'll tell y'all more about it if it solidifies. Had a lovely dinner last night with Ian and El and Cliff and Steve; that standby spinach lasagne, salad, and cheap red wine. The company of amusing friends, and a nice fire afterwards -- what more could one ask?

What else is on my mind? Easiest to simply post here another message I just sent to the Erotica Workshop, rather than explaining it all over again...

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Subject: EROS: CHAT: More aspects of editing an anthology...

I don't remember if I've made clear to y'all that I don't exactly have final say on these. The set-up is that the publisher has asked me for the anthology; I put it together and show it to him, and only *then* do I get a contract. So I can't formally accept anything -- all I can tell people is that I'm accepting it provisional on his approval. I think this is a fairly standard (and reasonable) precaution on his part, considering that he has no real evidence that I have any skill in editing an anthology. It's a bit frustrating to work with, though, even though I'm pretty sure he'll buy what I put together.

Mainly now I'm wondering at what stage I should be sending back decisions. If I definitely want to buy a story, should I be telling people now? The ones I'm uncertain of, do I leave them in limbo until more stories come in? Would it be kinder to tell people that they're on the maybe list, so they have time to revise or send in something new? Ditto the ones I'm sure I want to reject -- do I tell them that immediately, so they have time to try another piece? Can I ask people to revise along certain lines, knowing that I can't promise to buy the piece -- is that fair?

Would it help if I gave people more of a sense of what I'm looking for? I definitely lean towards the 'literary' side; I'm looking for something more than a solid, erotic story (of which I've received many)...I'm also looking for deep characterization, and/or interesting style.

Is it even fair to ask these questions here, knowing that some of you have submitted stories, and are undoubtedly wondering where you stand? This is my test case, I'm afraid -- I'll probably make several mistakes along the way, and I can only hope that they will not be too painful for my first submitters...

It's like starting out as a top in BDSM and not being quite sure how best to begin. You're pretty sure you'll know what to do eventually...and in the meantime, you make it up as you go along, and hope the bottom forgives you. :-)

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10:05 - Wrote new story. :-) Sent to those of you on the 'first readers' list. Again, drop me e-mail if you want to be on tht list and aren't. This one is a short erotica piece for possible inclusion in new book. Gods, I'm happy. There's a delirious high when you finish a piece...