Author: JD Mader

JD Mader is an award winning short story writer and novelist. 'Joe Café' and 'The Biker' are out now, as well as 'Please, no eyes'. and the collaborative 'Bad Book'. Mader has been writing for half his life and has no plans on stopping any time soon. Learn more about JD Mader at his blog and his Amazon author page.

Rejection is Your Friend!

Rejection is a bitch, and it can come in many forms. Most writers probably feel the bitter sting of rejection for the first time when they decide to share something they wrote and get a lukewarm reaction. What? Your genius is not appreciated? Mom didn’t immediately call the local paper?

Then there is a new level of rejection once you start submitting work. When you start getting those tiny slips of paper in the mail and you think, “they couldn’t even use a whole sheet of paper? They rejected eight writers with one piece!” The self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) is a tough one, too. You get the letter. It weighs nothing so you know it’s a rejection and, to add insult to injury, the letter was addressed by your own hand. Continue reading “Rejection is Your Friend!”

The Accounting

It is important to stay ‘in shape’ as a fiction writer.  Today, I gave myself the writing prompt “It was done”.  A goal: 500 words. And one hour. Here is the result.

It was done.  Something about the finality was comforting, but it was also terrifying.  It raised the hair on my neck and sent tingling doubts darting like swallows through the darkening of my mind.  My mind.  Oh, I could remember when it had been mine.

It was done.  The gun felt heavy and smoke filtered softly from the short barrel.  The shot had been a surprise.  So fast.  So final.  Weeks and months of agonizing and questioning and wondering if I was mad.  And it was over so quickly.

It was in the things she said!  Hidden, encrypted daggers behind innocent conversation.  And her eyes.  Did I get the message?  Oh yes.  There were nibbling doubts from the beginning.  Maybe I was seeing something that wasn’t there?  Maybe I was becoming a tad forgetful…overworked.  But then she would tweak the paranoia.  Her eyes would twinkle the understanding.  I could never ask about it.  She knew that.  That was her trump card.

Continue reading “The Accounting”

Work It!

I was a teacher for a decade.  Not a traditional classroom teacher, a Reading/Writing Specialist.  I worked with kids who suffered from learning challenges.  I also worked with a lot of kids with life challenges – inner city youth primarily.  It was immensely rewarding and very hard. A few months ago, I was handed a medical condition that essentially ended my teaching career (Patulous Eustachian Tubes).  Suddenly, I couldn’t teach to the best of my ability because all I could hear half the time was the sound of wind in my ears.  (A lot less romantic than wind in your hair.)  I don’t do things that I can’t do to the best of my ability…especially something as important as teaching.  So, I decided to give freelance writing a try (more than just fiction).  And I am currently figuring out how to make that work.  Time will tell.

Continue reading “Work It!”

Can I buy some milk with this smiley emoticon?

I’m feeling a little bit bitter today.  It’s not a feeling I enjoy, so I’m gonna write it out.  Here’s my issue.  We’re getting hosed.  I have literally smeared the internet with words – and 90% of them do nothing for me monetarily.  I have one novel on Amazon: Joe Café. I have gotten 25 reviews and the book is rated at 4.5 stars.  Cool.  I got a review a while back that started “Well written & compelling.”  Good, right?  Then it said the ending was abrupt and that it was “worth it” as a .99 cent book, but the reviewer saw that the price had been raised to $4.99 and it was not worth that much.

Bad reviews come, and I have enough good reviews that the fact that some random guy thinks my book ends abruptly (a conscious choice) doesn’t bum me out much.  What gets to me is the economics.  I am not a greedy person.  But here is what pisses me off.  If you thought the book was “Well written & compelling,” then it was worth $4.99.  Do you know how much a sandwich costs?

Continue reading “Can I buy some milk with this smiley emoticon?”