On August 23, 2013, I submitted a short story, The Passing of Millie Hudson, to a publisher suggested to me by a dear friend and author.
The story appeared once before in an anthology put out by a writers group I was in, but the antho didn’t do well. In fact, I don’t even mention it in my publishing credits because it was one of those ‘vanity publishing’ things. Instead of me paying for inclusion, I was allowed to include it because I was the ‘editor’ of the anthology. (I use the term very loosely because I really wasn’t an editor; more like a gatherer of blurbs and excerpts of unfinished novels). It was one of those morale booster things the writer’s group did so writers could see their name in print and hopefully give them incentive to keep writing. I have positive and negative thoughts on the experience, but that’s neither here nor there. The thing is, I always thought Millie Hudson needed a home. A real home where she would fit in and her story could be told the way it should have been all along.
When I found out about this particular publishing arm of the South Jersey Writer’s Group, Hypothetical Press, I sent Millie Hudson in with a hope and a prayer. Yes, it’s another Writer’s Group, but SJWG is well-known, has a huge following, and some authors you might recognize are members. It has a great reputation, and its previous anthology did very well in sales. Plus they are huge in getting the word out there about its authors. All of these were great pluses for me: reputation, word-of-mouth, awesome exposure. All things important to an author.
On December 16, 2013, four months after submission, I received my congratulations letter from Hypothetical Press. They LOVED my story. I cried. My lovely Millie Hudson found a forever home. I later found out there were close to 80 submissions for the anthology and only 13 were chosen. 1 in 7 odds. I’m happy.
There will be more info about the authors included, the titles of their stories, blog tours, etc., but for now, after a year of waiting, I’m happy to reveal:
Coming August 19, 2014
from Hypothetical Press
I can’t wait to share my story, The Passing of Millie Hudson with you. I am thrilled beyond words to see this story in its final, wonderful resting spot. Thank you Hypothetical Press (Amy and Jessica) for your passion and dedication to producing a fabulous anthology, and for your love and belief in my story.
More to come on this folks, so stay tuned!!
Related articles
When Kimberly was younger, she was incredibly timid. She didn’t talk much because she was afraid of what others would think of her. Instead, she expressed herself through drawing. Eventually, art alone wasn’t enough. There were some things she couldn’t express with pencils, so she began talking, and when she did, she realized she had something to say. Now no one can get her to shut up! Worse, she’s discovered she can put those words into writing to share what she has to say with even more people.
YA Chit Chat 