I've Posted a Short Story

by Mel Gilden

I'm back again AGAIN!

Life goes on, though it does not always continue the way one wants it to.  For instance, though I keep writing books, publishers and agents maintain their determination to ignore them — this despite my long and distinguished career as a published writer.

In my attempt to break down the publishers and agents, I have decided to post a short story on my website.  It is called Gladys, Who Writes the Checks, Has the Flu.  I am hoping that this will be but the first story in an occasional series.

Gladys is a fantasy concerning my relationship with a publisher that no longer exists.  Rather than having you try to guess which parts of the story are the fantasy elements, I will tell you that they are the parts with the ghosts.  My mom was pretty much as painted in the story, though the editor in the story is a little more cranky than the real thing.  Thank goodness.

I have tried to sell Gladys through normal channels, but have not yet been able to do so.  I think it is a pretty good story, full of charm, wit, and humor.  Therefore, the only reason I can think of that it hasn't sold is that it concerns a side of publishing that publishers generally do not care to think about.  It is said that when publishers get together they talk about art, and when writers get together they talk about money.  More often than not this is true.  Publishers talk about art because they already have all the money.  Writers talk about money because, well — you figure it out.

Even so, I did not write the story because I wanted to offend a hand that once fed me.  I'm sure that publishers have problems that I am not aware of.  And I was paid for my work eventually.  I wrote the story just to get my earlier frustration out of my system.  That particular frustration is gone.  Others remain.  Some may eventually generate stories or even a career — who knows?

I look forward to hearing what people I know from email, Facebook, and personal meetings have to say about the story. 

Thanks for your time.