I've forgotten who I sent my novel to last...

You ever get that feeling that the publishers aren't taking your novel seriously? I mean, really. That moment when you remember that your novel is in somebody's "slush pile" and you aren't really sure if you're safe to send it to another publisher? (simultaneous submissions are a good way to get yourself in trouble, kids)

Well, I'm there.

It's cool. I'm busy refining an earlier work to make it all fit together. I think I'm close to making it a more marketable piece (by bringing a conclusion to the personal half as well as the story half). And if I can get it into a marketable stage, I can send it out to another publisher and have two in the air at once.

Of course, it's not really a salable piece. I wrote it while in an overtly artistic mood. It's full of dark, noirish characters... almost a neo-noir dark fantasy, really. The main character is all masks and angles, if you get my meaning... not quite Bogey from The Maltese Falcon, and, in fact, he's kind of a deconstruction of the macho myth...

You see what I mean? And it's barely novel length, 70,000 words. Not nearly enough time to deconstruct anything! Let alone enough time to build a believable world. Or two, in this case.

So, given that it's not my most commercial piece, what should I work on? Stuff that moves me... or stuff I think I can sell?

Let's be honest with ourselves here. I work a day job. I chafe, sometimes, but I do stay ahead of the bills. But money... is a concern. I do have a mortgage. Also, if art exists only in a vacuum, unpublished, what good is it? It needs to be shared and understood and effect minds and hearts to be efficacious.

So, onward and upwards. More commercial works for me, and less artsy projects.

I'll discuss some of what that means later.