Rhonda Parrish

My poem, Sandcastle #5, has been accepted for publication in the Summer issue of SHINE.  This is the second time this haiku will have been published, which, as you can imagine, makes me very happy

I’ll link directly to the poem when it goes live in June

I just heard back from a publisher who asked me to make a few changes to a story and then re-submit it.  How nerdy is it that that makes me very happy?  How about that I said ‘that that’?

My poem, Vampiric Fluff, has been accepted at Static Movement :)  I’m not sure when it will be published because they have an automated system for submissions, so I’ve not actually spoken to anyone directly yet.  Yay!  There is something really awesome about having a story or poem reprinted — it’s very satisfying to know that someone likes it well enough they don’t mind that they aren’t the first person to publish it

I sent an email to Writer’s Market support on March 7th about not being able to add markets any more and on the 9th I got a reply, a very personalized, polite reply. I will share part of that here:

We’re currently fixing a huge customer database/customer service application tied to WritersMarket.com, which will significantly increase the customer service aspect of the site. When that is finished and tested (currently projected at 4/15-4/20), Add-a-Market is the very first thing on our list. It’s a much smaller job compared to the customer service application; so it should be done fairly soon after that mid-April customer service deadline. I know that still feels like a very long time (at least it does to me), but we are working to get it on there asap. In fact, we’re planning on adding it to the favorites folder part of the site, so that you only have to “add-a-market” one time, even if it’s one you submit to multiple times, and that will also allow you the ability to keep all your favorite markets together, whether they’re listed on our site or not.

That seems more than reasonable, so my current plan is to renew my Writer’s Market account and use it — but also report my stats to Duotrope and make donations there, because I really enjoy being able to see each market’s average response time and acceptance ratios.

I’m going mad trying to find all inclusive submissions tracker.  I used to love the one over at Writer’s Market, but then when they re-did their site they took away the ability to add markets that weren’t in their listings.  Then I started using Duotrope’s system, which totally rocks, but alas, doesn’t list all the markets I use and doesn’t seem to add new ones very quickly once I ’suggest’ them.

My desk is getting covered with little bits of post-it notes as I try to record all the submissions that neither system will accommodate, and  all the rest of them are split between two systems — making it necessary for me to continuously cross-check everything before I can send something out.  It’s very tedious.

I think what I need to do is just create something of my own, but unfortunately I’m a bit of a technical moron.  I wouldn’t even know where to start.  I’m going to hit up my husband and see if he can whip something up for me, but he’s really busy teaching right now, so if anyone knows of a third system that might work better than the two I’m using, I’d love to hear about it before I lose my mind.

I wrote a flash piece titled ‘Whatcha Gonna Do?’ that when it was read by a friend was described as “…a biting commentary on modern parenting…”. I was very happy with it, and am even more so now that it’s been accepted for the Summer issue of  Skyline Magazine

My story, A Merry Christmas, has been published at Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k)!  Yay!  You’ve got to love any magazine that is edited by a giant squid, don’t you?

I’m very happy that my stories based on the Word of the Week at NaNoLJers have been so well-received.  Now I just need to find some time to write a few more of them.