Writing and Publishing Fiction

This month the Unpublished Guy Fiction Panel discusses Becoming Coyote by Wayne Ude,
who happened to be my Creative Writing instructor at Old Dominion University.

The Deviled Egg Eyes of the Publishing Abyss Gaze into My Soul

'Twas the season to be jolly a short while back.

Dr. Zaius received Charleton Heston, stuffed by the finest simian taxidermist. When wrapped, it was certainly the most oddly shaped gift

Unpublished Guy Fiction Panel (left to right): William Blake, Dr. Zaius, Mrs. Butterworth

William Blake: Kafka, Kafka. burning bright. In the fiction of the night; What existential void. Could dissemble thy inexplicable asymmetry?

Novel Critique: Apes with Bald Kneecaps

Let's hear what the Unpublished Guy fiction panel, including Dr. Zaius, 18th century poet and engraver William Blake, and Mrs. Butterworth, has to say about the novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was developed while the movie was being filmed.

Dr. Zaius Rates the Literary Journal, Paris Review

Unpublished Guy: Dr. Zaius, what literary publication will you share today with the readers of this blog?

Dr. Zaius: This month, I would like to discuss the Paris Review. Specifically, I would like to discuss issue 110, which published the story "The Ape Lady in Retirement"

The lawgiver is clear. For the fiction writer, there are no publishing shortcuts, only the slow, hard route through a reputable publishing house. The lawgiver issued down eleven seven publishing commandments, which a writer must follow:

1. Just as a manufacturer designs a product for a profitable target market before a single item is produced, the fiction writer must write for readers that will buy a publisher's books. Who will read your fiction? Will you write for the literary class or the masses? Will you write speculative fiction about an upside down world where man rules ape or a tale of horror about a talking man that preys on ape? Will you write a romantic tragedy of two star-crossed lovers, one gorilla and the other, chimpanzee?

As Minister of Science and Defender of the Faith, I exhort you to heed the Lawgiver and follow the traditional, conventional path to publishing. Preserve a way of life that has served us well for hundreds of years. Do not listen to that self-publisher, William Blake. The self-publisher should be shunned and driven out, if not destroyed outright. Beware the beastly self-publisher, for they are the Print-on-Demand publisher's pawn.

Some time ago, I signed up for July Novel Writing Month, which of course, is a writing contest identical to National Novel Writing Month, held in November. What are all of these novel writing months? The goal of these contests is to write a 50,000 word novel. The prize is having written a 50,000 word novel.

My specialty has been short stories, so this contest should be particularly challenging. I will be on a sabbatical of sorts as I focus my time and energy on this challenge. Don't worry, I will continue to post to Unpublished Guy, documenting my journey in the spirit of Captain Robert Scott's race to the South Pole and Sir John Franklin's 1854 Expedition to discover the Northwest Passage.

Also, expect to see several guest bloggers posting in their areas of writing and publishing expertise.