Two weeks ago, I opened an email to find the words every fledgling writer is waiting to hear:
We enjoyed your story and would like to print it in the upcoming issue of The First Line.
It was a story I was pretty confident in when I sent it out. I had a really good feeling that this story would make the cut. (I had “just missed” having a story accepted six months earlier…a story I actually like better than the one they picked, I think, but I’m not complaining.)
The First Line is a quarterly literary magazine publishing short stories, with one twist: Every story in a given issue has to start with the same first line. So, in the upcoming issue, the first line was:
Three thousand habitable planets in the known universe, and I’m stuck on the only one without ______________. [Fill in the blank.]
Ah, and what did I, your faithful internet buddy, choose to fill in the blank? Only one way to find out! (Actually, it might be fun for you to guess…what would I not want to live without???)
You can get a copy of the next issue of The First Line, featuring my quirky little story, Cop-Cop Cop, signed by yours truly, and delivered to your door for your reading pleasure, all for the low-low price of just $4 (US). (That was for Michael…)
Send me an email, tweet me, drop me a line on Facebook, or send me a text, with your mailing address, and I’ll send you info on where to send payment. (The $4 covers my costs, plus shipping.)
I’d like to have a good estimate on the number of copies I’ll need by Monday, the 23rd, end of the day. I’m anticipating having the books in the mail by the first week of September. So drop me a line, when you get a chance.