A Good Airing Out

My grandmother used to say this every spring; she’d take out all of her rugs and beat them over the clothes line, a year’s worth of dirt, dust, and skin cells soon wafted over the countryside. She would also scrub everything within an inch of its life, the proverbial spring cleaning.

I don’t do it in the spring. Actually, I don’t do it at all, not like she did. And spring never seemed the right time. I’d much rather be tidying my garden. I clean in the winter right after the holiday stuff is put away. I also sort my closets, eliminating what doesn’t work for me anymore.

For example, my dancing clothes. When Gary and I first started dancing I thought I’d be dressing in ball gowns with lots of glitter. Still do the glitter, but we are way too jumpy and dippy for me to wear long dresses, so out they went.

I clean in other areas too. For writing, I go through my records and make sure all my manuscripts are out. I send reminder notes to publishers or agents if they haven’t responded within their stated time frame. Along with my usual tasks this year I’ve realized that perhaps some publishers and agents just don’t work for me.

At this point in my writing career I know I can write; I wouldn’t have published as much as I have nor would I have agents asking to read manuscripts if I couldn’t. However…I think because my stories often don’t fit within a prescribed genre big publishers and agents don’t want that kind of risk in today’s market. I say that without pride or regret, as my dad would say, just an observation.

So I’ve decided to focus on boutique publishers; these are small to medium houses that focus on something out of the mainstream. I sent my Malaysian story, Chimera, to a publisher who only takes books with protagonists of color. I sent my after death story, Albatross, to a “new age” publisher. And so on. There are places that do unusual. They may not be big, but perhaps like Goldilocks and little bear’s bed, they will be just right for me.

Happy New Year.