Experiments in Self-Exposure

I've only ever been asked exactly four times to write pieces for other blogs, but each time I venture out into the wide world of the Internet, I learn new things. The most important lesson I've learnt is the most obvious, that once something with your name on it is out there, it's out there, and there's no undoing it.

The first invitation I received was an email from the ether last year soliciting my help for a project that looked fun and interesting - a blog about writers and their loyal lap warmers that might eventually become a book to be titled A Cat on my Keyboard. I was flattered to receive the request, and enthusiastically set about ruthlessly exploiting a member of my feline tribe for self-promotional purposes. Also, I wanted to share with the world just how damned cute he is. The result was this piece about Cooper. As you can see, I was obviously the only person who responded to the request for cutesy, catty material, which now seems a little embarrassing. The whole blog and book thing seems to have completely stalled too. Ah well, I couldn't know that at the time. Lesson learnt: check out who else is supporting such projects before you commit.

The second invitation blew me away - an offer to participate in this 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. My gosh, was I excited and flattered and all of the above or what? I carefully crafted my answers to David McDonald's questions, but then ruined the effect by sending off a hastily snapped selfie to accompany the post. All I can say in my defense is that I'd just been through one operation and was rushing around getting things ready for the second major operation, my mind addled by pain and my judgement seriously impaired by pain killers, so the photo seemed okay at the time. Then, while I was in recovery, my two, ever-so-sensitive brothers began to tease me about it, because that's what brothers do. When I looked again with my post-op eyes, I saw they had a point. Lesson learnt: I desperately need to scrub up, find a photographer who specialises in diffuse lighting, and procure myself a professional looking author pic for self-promo purposes.

My third invitation was the one I blogged about a few weeks ago - the author interview for Return of the Dead Men (and Women) Walking, which hasn't been used yet. Possibly it won't be used because it will require too much editing - I did go on a bit, and it turns out the interviews are actually micro interviews. Lesson learnt: find out how much space you're supposed to take up with your wafflings.

And now for my most recent foray out into the world of letting it all hang loose - I'm this week's Wednesday Writer over at David McDonald's excellent blog Ebon Shores. And a big thank you to David for extending this invitation. I think it's an okay piece, but of course I'm having second thoughts about it now that it's too late to go back.  As you can see, it does need an author pic, but since, as I told David, I don't have any reasonable and attachable photos that don't include a horse, the book cover will have to suffice. Lesson learnt: the same one as earlier, namely that I still need to secure a tolerable author pic.

Funnily enough, late last night, mere minutes after I emailed off this piece about second-guessing, I received notification from two editors, who last week quickly rejected my first submission to them for a themed publication, that they're holding my second submission for further consideration. It was a story I sent off on a whim when I suddenly realised it fitted the guidelines even though I was sure they'd outright reject it...