NEWS

August 3, 2010, A lot has happened in two months. I've taught at camp. It was so much fun. Such great writers. I get so inspired when I go to Wordsworth. I'm working on a new novel, tentatively titled - Broken. Just working through the set up. I hope to start writing it this week. I sent How To be a Super Villain off to three publishers earlier this summer and just received my first rejection. These people don't know what they're missing. Now is the time to strike, what with all the super villain movies, sing a long blogs and plays. Seriously! Anyway, I have three more places I want to send it to. So we will see what happens. Boiled Cat, I was thinking about changing but I haven't totally decided. Cast your vote if you like. I think I can make it better, but I also kind of like it the way it is. Hmmm. So the plan this month is to try to write a novel in a month while looking after my daughter and getting her home schooling curriculum ready. That's right! I'm home schooling next year. I feel I'm not quite busy enough. Ha, ha. Take care everyone, happy writing, and I hope to have more news soon. Or at least sooner than two months from now. Ta Ta.

June 3. 2010, come and view my daughter Emily's story, I Ate It! on smories.com. It's a story about Ginger, a girl who eats EVERYTHING! Emily seems to be the only child writer shortlisted in this international competition. She's only eight years old. Not bad, huh? To win she needs to get the most views. So have a look at this cool website and see what you think. Emly would appriciate it. http://www.smories.com/watch/i_ate_it/

May 14, 2010, The Writes of Summer for Youth is now on line. Go to http://www.alexandrawriters.org/wos_courses10.html to check out the courses and see my mighty fine art work (I didn't colour it though). Pretty slick.

May 14, 2010, I was contacted by a staff member from the Seattle Christian Schools, SeaTac WA. They found my Bugs Are Us skit in my Free Stuff section and will be using it as a part of their Camp Casey Outdoor Education. Their fifth grade girls will be using this skit next week up on Whidbey Island. Pretty cool! Good luck girls - and have lots of fun at camp!

May 11, 2010, I'm teaching at WordsWorth camp again this year in July as well as the AWCS Writes of Summer for Youth in August. I don't think the info for the AWCS camp is up yet but WordsWorth is - so check it out and sign on up. Can't wait to see you all again. http://www.yabs.ab.ca/

May 11, 2010, I've been talking with an editor from Lorimer Publishing about Boiled Cat. Not even close to closing a deal yet but fingers crossed something will happen. I have a vocal group of loyal Boiled Cat fans chomping at the bit to get this as novel form into their hands. Something tells me their sick of loose leaf manuscripts.

March 12, 2010, Received another rejection from Michael Katz of Tradewind Books for How to Be a Super Villain. He said, "Sorry this manuscript does not work for us.You write well though." Sigh, I just can't seem to make it past that barrier between writing well and getting published. I'll just have to work harder.

March 10, 2010, Received a rejection from Abbey Ranger of Disney Hyperion for the February Trillogy book February - The Art of the Hunt. Her letter said the following:

Dear Kim,

It was a pleasure to meet you at the Surrey International Writers
Conference. Thank you very much for sending me sample chapters of THE
ART OF THE HUNT, and please accept my sincere apologies for taking so
long to respond!

I was glad to have the chance to read your work. Unfortunately, though,
I'm afraid the narrative voice in your sample chapters is not quite
compelling and distinctive enough to make this a right fit for our
publishing program. I'm sorry not to be writing with better news. Thanks
again for sharing these sample chapters with me and for your patience
awaiting a response. I wish you the best of luck in finding a good home
for your trilogy, and in all your creative work.

Sincerely,
Abby Ranger

March 10, 2010, I have a reading coming up on March 21 at the Auburn Salloon at 3:00 PM. Come one, come all!

March 1, 2010, Tradewind Books asked for the entire manuscript of How to Be a Super Villain. Yea!

February 26, 2010, I'll Never Get Done Rejected by Highlights for Children Magazine. Sucky.

February 18, 2010, I'm on YouTube! My reading of Life Before War from the FreeFall Magazine launch can now be watched. If you missed it live - come see it canned. It's not the whole story. You'll still have to buy the magazine if you want that. Just go to www.freefallmagazine.ca to get a copy. To see the YouTube video click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUgxathj3X0

February 16, 2010, Taking a short break from editing the final book in The February Trilogy to send off a query for How to Be a Super Villain to Tradewind Books out of Vancouver.

January 15, 2010, FreeFall Magazine has nominated my story, Life Before War, for the following three prizes WGA – Howard O’Hagen Award, Journey Prize and the National Magazine Awards. Thanks FreeFall, you guys rock! If you still haven't picked up your copy and read my short story - Life Before War, follow the link and get it now. It's cheaper than going to a movie and far more entertaining - you can read it in the tub! http://www.freefallmagazine.ca/subsc.html

January 13, 2010, I sent in a short story called, I'll Never Get Done, to Highlights for Children magazine. Fingers crossed that they like it. My daughter's grade two class thought is was awesome. Mind you, they also think I'm a famous writer - blush.

December 16, 2009, Received the following reply from Sally Harding and Elizabeth Griffin of the Cooke Agency: Thank you so much for sharing The February Trilogy with us; we're pleased that we requested the material. We read it both with interest and admiration. However, in the end we are unable to offer you representation. The fiction market has been so difficult of late that we must feel a real commitment to any novel we take on. While we enjoyed reading The February Trilogy, and found it to be the work of a talented writer, it didn't elicit the passionate response that an agent should feel for any book they represent. 

November 23, 2009, I turned 39 yesterday. This past year I finally realized my dream of being published and paid for it (thank you Free Fall Magazine!). Next step - get that book contract. This year I'll work harder, faster and better than ever before. I won't give up or let the piles of rejection letters stop me from my goal. No! I will succeed. I will have February or Boiled Cat or something signed up to be published. Twelve months - that's all I have - can I do it? Absolutely! And if I don't? Just Try Try Again. Panic is not an option.

November 10, 2009, Received a rejection from Giest Magazine for my short story Returning Home. I am getting SO sick of rejection. Grrrr.

October 21, 2009, I leave for the Surrey Writers' Confernece tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited. I hope I'm able to sell my novels or at least get some good interest. At the very least I hope to get some connections and learn a whole bunch. I'll talk to you all when I return. Wish me luck! 

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, Magazine Soapbox

Truck Gallery
The Grain Exchange (Lower Level), 815 - 1st Street SW, Calgary

7:00 pm

Free event, open to the public

Editors from arts and literary magazines FreeFall (Leah Gillis) and Filling Station will discuss visual arts and magazines; and the "ins and outs" of small magazine publishing. Writers Kim Firmston, published in FreeFall magazine and Geo Takach, published in Prairie Journal will also read a selection of their works. Bring questions, thoughts, and sample works for face-to-face time with some of the creative geniuses behind the pages of Calgary’s best small, independent magazines.

October 9, 2009, The reading last night went extremely well. I had so much fun. I think I was the loudest person there! Check out my blog for more details. Still one more reading coming up on October 20th at the Truck Gallery - (lower level) 815 - 1st Street SW Calgary, 7:00 PM.

More news: I'm going to a writer's conference in Surrey BC October 23-25th. I hope to get some interest in my February Trilogy. I'll be working my butt off and bringing back lots of writing tips for all of my blog readers. I'm nervous but excited and can't wait.

September 28, 2009, I will be reading from my CBC short listed story, Life Before War, which is pubished in the current issue of FreeFall Magazine. Please join me for two fun evenings!

Join us to Celebrate the works appearing in FreeFall issue Volume XIX Number 2
When: October 8, 2009 from 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: Oolong Tea House 110 – 10 Street NW
Listen to readings from the new issue, enter the door prize draw, and enjoy the
beverages offered by the Oolong Tea House.
A list of readers can be found on our website. www.freefallmagazine.ca
Hope to see you there.
 
October 20, 2009 RAMM Arts and Literary Event
When: 7:00 Where: Truck Gallery The Grain Exchange (Lower Level) 815 – 1 Street SW Calgary
Leah Gillis of the Editorial Collective will be passing along information on how to
get published in FreeFall, and two of our authors will read some of their work.

If you can't make it but still want to read the story visit http://www.freefallmagazine.ca/subsc.html 


August 14, 2009, Two rejections today. One from Hades/Edge Publishing letting me know that after a year and a half of umming and ahhing over February - The Art of the Hunt, they've decided it's just not for them. Quick, they are not. Still it's good in a way, now I can get on with finding a publisher or agent - still not sure what direction I'm going to take, and the trilogy is pretty much done too. The other rejection was from Scholastic Canada. I know what you're thinking, no big surprise there given that I don't have an agent. Well, just to make things interesting, the actually did consider How to Be a Super Villain, and wrote me a personalized letter. Just goes to show you that it's not always necessary to have an agent when you go after the big fish.

August 12, 2009, Received a personal rejection from Bancroft Press for Boiled Cat. I must get more submissions out soon so I can get more rejections. I need to keep increasing my failure rate!

August 2, 2009, I have a professional page on Facebook now. Come visit and become my fan! Lots of writing info to be posted there. Right now I have links to some cool contests. Check it out.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000054956119&ref=name#/pages/Kim-Firmston/118043254456?ref=search

The doctors have released me from my cast after deciding that my thumb wasn't broken. Still in pain but not too bad.

I'm so looking forward to seeing my story Life Before War published in FreeFall Magazine this fall. Follow this link if you want to pre-order a copy. http://www.freefallmagazine.ca/ They always do a big publication launch. I'll give you the details when I get them so everyone can attend.

I'm going out of town for a week of fishing and Geocaching. Loads of fun. I should come back refreshed and ready to finish editing the last February book. As a result, next blog may be a day or two late. Don't freak - just check in on Wednesday August 12 instead. In the meantime for your writing pleasure, have a look at this week's blog on the Hero's Sacrifice.

Talk to you all when I return. Play hard!

July 21, 2009, A horrible Dear Author rejection of Boiled Cat by Absey and Co. Super sucky.

July 20, 2009, Fitzhenry and Whiteside rejected How to Be a Super Villain. It was a nice personal rejection on pretty cream paper.

July 17, 2009, Edge Publishing contacted me regarding February - The Art of the Hunt. Everyone that is in charge of the manuscript has been in and out for the past couple of months. They will update me as soon as they know something. Ahh, summer.

July 16, 2009, Received a rejection from Piccadilly Press. They said, while How to Be a Super Villain was engaging, it was not what they were looking for.

July 11, 2009, I broke my thumb in a Calgary Stampede related incident, had my story, Life Before War, accepted by the Free Fall Magazine collective with the highest marks of all the stories submitted, and I'm off to the WordsWorth camp tomorrow. Can't type much, in too much pain. Talk to you all in a week.

June 23, 2009, Received a personalized rejection letter from Groundwood Books for How to Be a Super Villain. It's kind of cool to get real letters instead of form letters, it means I'm getting closer to my goal.

June 22, 2009, Received two rejections for How to Be a Super Villain, and neither one was a form letter. Horrah! Orca Books said, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to consider How to Be a Super Villain for our Orca Echoes series. I am sorry to have to tell you that it doesn't fit with our publishing list. As we publish only six Orca Echoes each year, and we are receiving more and more submissions, I must frequently turn down strong stories." Key Porter Books also sent a personalized letter saying, "Thank you for your query letter and synopsis regarding your manuscript entitled, How to Be a Super Villain. We have reviewed your proposal with interest and after careful consideration we have decided that, unfortunately, How to Be a Super Villain would not fit in well with our list at the present time." Not an offer for publishing, but not bad regardless. I remain ever hopeful.

June 19, 2009, Received a request for the entire manuscript of How to Be a Super Villain from Gumboot Books. I sent it off the same day. Fingers crossed. 

June 15, 2009, Received a Dear Author letter from Amulet Books for Boiled Cat. They only want agents to query them. I knew that but thought I'd give it a go anyway. They are taking open submissions for non-fiction though. Maybe I should try that. Hmmm.

June 12, 2009, Horrah!!! I finished the first draft of the last February Trilogy book, February - The Art of Destruction. Only five more drafts to go. I should be done by the end of September! I'm so thrilled.

June 2, 2009, I received a poorly photocopied form letter from Simon & Schuster (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) for my query, Boiled Cat. They requested I get an agent to query for me. The thing is I checked them out and followed their guidelines, I'm sure they had open submissions. Ah well, maybe the next letter will be better news.

May 29, 2009, Just found out none of my three entries to the Geist Magazine postcard story contest won. Of course there is never any winning if you don't try. At least I took the shot. This magazine has loads of contests. www.geist.com

May 27, 2009, I received a form letter from Usborne Press about my How to Be a Super Villain query. They only wish to take agented queries. No harm in trying though, eh?

May 26, 2009, I was asked by the Young Alberta Book Society (a program of the Alberta Foundation of the Arts) to teach at their up coming 2008 Camp - WordsWorth - When the Phoenix Rises! July 13-18. I am super excited and can't wait. I'll be teaching Speculative Fiction to the 15-19 year old age group. The younger age group (12-14 year olds) meets the week before. It sounds like a great camp and if you are a young author interested in a week away from home to focus on your writing, have a look at their web site and download the registration form. www.yabs.ab.ca

May 20, 2009, I sent Boiled Cat queries out to Abrams Books for Young Readers (Amulet Books), Absey & Co. Inc., Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Bancroft Press, Chronicle books - Children's division, May Davenport Publishers, and Bloomsbury Children's books. I also sent my short story Returning Home to Geist Magazine. And to top the day off, the postal worker gave me my SCBWI membership package. Fingers crossed it actually helps me get published.

May 19, 2009, My query to Red Deer Press for How to Be a Supervillain was rejected. Economic times and the fact that they don't do many early chapter books being their main reasons. Still, it was a good rejection - as far as rejections go. Here is an portion: At the best of times, early chapter books are not our forte - though I can see that yours is one with considerable energy and inventiveness. Right now, I'm afraid this doesn't sound like something we can consider for our program.

May 13, 2009, I sent queries out for How to Be a Supervillain to Gumboot Books, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., Key Porter Books, Kids Can Press, Orca Books, Piccadilly Press, Red Deer Press, Scholastic Canada Ltd., and Usborne Publishing. I also queried FreeFall Magazine with my short story, Life Before War. It took me all day to get this done! Fingers crossed firmly now. Next week, Boiled Cat submissions.

May 7, 2009, I received another rejection for How to Be a Supervillain, this time from Amulet Books. While it was a form letter, Harry N. Abrams did pen a nice - Thank You Kim! - on the letter. It gave me a warm feeling all over, which is weird for a rejection letter. Hmmm, I guess a little kindness goes a long way. Now I really have to get my butt in gear, queries don't send themselves. My problem is writing is way more fun than begging for rejection. Maybe tomorrow I'll work on it. For now - back to my first draft of February - The Art of Destruction. I'm so close to the end now!!

April 30, 2009, I sent a fun craft I’ve done many times as a Sparks leader (the youngest group in Canadian Girl Guides) to Canadian Guider Magazine for their Ideas to Go section. It was called The Amazing Enlarging Machine. Fingers crossed they’ll use it in their magazine. No payment for publication but seeing my name in print would be a hoot. I have an article to send them too in the next few days. We’ll see if they’re interested in that at all.

April 29, 2009, I finally got around to joining the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Honestly it takes me forever to get to some things. I’ve been thinking about joining for a while. Now I belong to two writing societies, The Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society and SCBWI.

April 27, 2009, I sent out two queries for How to Be a Super Villain to Amulet Books and Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Can you tell I'm in the A section of my Writer's Market book? I was going to send out more but life ate my brain and it didn't get done. Hopefully this week I'll get more submissions out. After all, they aren't going to sell sitting in my drawer, are they?

 April 21, 2009, Received a form rejection letter from Puffin Books out of New York for How to Be a Super Villain. It looks like their photocopier is running out of ink. Maybe I should drop them a note suggesting they add more toner. Just kidding. Time to send another batch of queries. You can't succeed if you don't try.

April 20, 2009, I sent a query for Boiled Cat to Flux Publishing. Fingers crossed. They seem to publish all kinds of cool things. I'll have to purchase a couple of their books for pool side reading this summer.

April 6, 2009, Received the following from Oxford University Press: Dear Kim Firmston, Thank you for sending us the manuscript, How to Be a Super Villain, which was read with interest. We regret to say that we would not be interested in this proposal as we feel it would not fit happily into our current list. I am sorry not to give you more encouraging news but hope you have success with another publisher.

March 20, 2009, Received a rejection from Annick Press for the How to Be a Super Villain manuscript. It was a form letter, the worst kind. I still have two submissions out on this book and more will be sent in the near future. My fingers are still crossed.

February 27, 2009, I was on the CBC Radio One’s phone in show Wild Rose Country.  Along with Don Gorman managing editor at Rocky Mountain Books, they answered calls about the road to publication, rejection letters and literary awards with host Donna McElligott.

February 26, 2009, the 2008 CBC Literary Awards were announced. Unfortunately my story, Life Before War, didn’t win but it was still an exciting week.

Mid February 2009, the 2008 CBC Literary Awards short-list was published. In the short story category there were 1,400 entries and 29 stories short-listed. My story Life Before War, was one of them. Kind of surprising since I entered on a whim. Who knew? It just shows that if you don’t try you can’t succeed.

Early February 2009, I finally finished the second book in The February Trilogy, February – The Art of Training. Only one more book to go and I’m already halfway through the first draft.