Thursday, April 15, 2010

Trunk stories and, what's this? A submission that isn't writing?

Well, I'm settled into our new home enough that I've started sending my trunk out again. "Trunk stories" for any non-writers reading, are stories that you've written but not yet sold. Most of us have pretty big trunks full of stories, and once they get to be too old, they retire to the trunk for good. There is also such a thing as a trunk novel, meaning a novel you wrote to learn the process or try out an idea, but again, never sold. Usually the term "trunk novel" means one you aren't trying to sell anymore either. I've got four of those.

I've been bad about keeping up my short story submissions, but I've been moving all over the place. Now, I hope, our address will stay fixed long enough for me to get my trunk all circulating again. My mother was kind enough to send me some American air mail stamps so that I can include a S.A.S.E. with each submission (much easier than international reply coupons.)

Yesterday I also did a submission of an entirely new kind, a jewelry submission. One night I was posting items in my store, including a bracelet that I didn't think was exceptional. Minutes later, a convo (Etsy message) arrived from a jewelry magazine editor asking if I'd be willing to submit to Jewelry Affaire. I, being clueless, emailed her a thank you and then asked how I was supposed to submit. I didn't know if she wanted step-by-step photos of how I made the item and a tutorial or what. Turns out, she just wanted the item or an item like it to consider for featuring in the magazine. Then, a few minutes after that, the bracelet sold to someone I don't personally know. I had no idea it was so special. There are 198,765 bracelets for sale on Etsy right now, to give you an idea of how small a needle one bracelet is in the proverbial haystack. The majority of my sales are to people who know me and my work and  come to Etsy specifically to find my shop.

So I made another bracelet in the same style and a few coordinating pieces and sent them off yesterday. Wish me luck on my "subs"!

7 comments:

  1. Good luck on your subs!

    Have you seen the new contest over at A Motley Vision called Mormons and Monsters? Wish me luck, I'm going to write something to submit there.

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  2. I haven't, but yes! Good luck! Good people over there on that site.

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  3. That's totally awesome about the jewelry! I hope it makes it to the magazine. That would be a huge boost to the Etsy shop. Maybe you could submit to other jewelry making magazines. There are tons of them!

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  4. Good luck with your story submissions! Hope they go well.
    That bracelet you did was simply amazing! I'm not the least bit surprised that someone snatched it up so fast. Hope the magazine has room to feature it.

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  5. Thanks guys! And yeah, Ling, subbing to other mags is a good idea, but it would require me to know something about what I'm doing, which I'm still working on ;-)

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