A Community of Writers

Let’s build and grow and celebrate together while we each try and ride this wild beast called the writer’s life.

Let’s Connect

Every couple of weeks, I share a bit of my reader’s group newsletter on here. I do this so that my followers and readers who aren’t subscribed can still stay connected. I’ve really loved doing this and have found that readers like sharing their recent wins, too.

So, please, share what you’re working on down in the comments. If you see someone else has shared a win or a setback, feel free to reach out and connect. It’s nice to know that we’re not all in this alone. Knowing someone else is out there and they see the work we are doing and cheering us on, can be the thing that keeps us creating into a new day.

My Beautiful Writing Life

Since completing my book and sending it out on query, I’ve been redirecting my work focus all into my games, books, and courses that are coming out over the next few months. But I have a hard time focusing on simply one or even a couple of projects, so I have other things on my burners.

For starters, my editorial roles with both Apparition Lit and Fireside are both well underway. I’ve been enjoying working in the role of guest editor and the extra control that I have over the final decision of what goes into the magazines. This has also given me a greater appreciation and understanding of rejection.

The past few months I’ve been getting rejections for stories off of the platform, of course, that I know are good and are even marked as standouts by the editors. I couldn’t understand how a story could be the most memorable and yet not good enough to make it into an issue.

Reading through stories that make me cry or laugh or touch me deeply but having to say no because they don’t mesh well with other stories in the issues has taught me that there are other factors at play in rejections that have nothing to do with the story. I’ve always known that rejections aren’t a marker of a story’s merit, but it doesn’t stop the sting when a story that’s good gets rejected.

Now, I really get it. It’s also helped me slip into a new practice of submitting out my own short stories. I used to do a blanket submission so that I always had 20 submissions out at a time. Now, I’m only sending out one story at a time in a more focused way. It’s been refreshing and helpful at getting over certain hurdles to publication.

I still have some articles on my docket to write and send to the editors on top of my two monthly columns. Recently, I got to interview the game and art directors behind one of my favorite new games, Spiritfarer. They were both so nice and thoughtful. It was a highlight of my past month.

Every 15 minutes I’m refreshing my inbox for news on whether the agent I sent my query and opening pages to is interested in representing me. There are moments where I want to jump the moon and go straight for submitting all of the agents on my list no matter the tier. At least that way there’s a higher chance of hearing back sooner. But I know that isn’t me thinking with my best mind, it is just my impatience.

Further Reading

Aigner Loren Wilson is a queer Black SFWA, HWA, and Codex writer. Her work has appeared in Tordotcom, Fiyah, Vice, and she is a Hugo Award finalist for her editing. Along with her writing roles, she is also the guest editor for Fireside Fiction and Apparition Literary summer and fall issues. Subscribe for access to masterclass courses in writing, editing, and making a living as a creative.