Sorry It’s Been Quiet

I’ve not been in a great headspace this month.

I was struggling to get 100 subs out without a break, that went on most of the month.

While I had 2 stories published, my brain chemistry hates me so I thought I wasn’t doing well. (This is a lie. Depression frequently is a liar) I made a sale, which unfortunately went south (more on that in a different blog post when I finally write it) then the following day I made another sale which I’m awaiting permission to announce.

I’ve written one new story in the last week, I’m trying to get back to writing more often. Not sure how successful that’ll be with my frequent mood swings.

Anyway, I just wanted to make a quick post before the end of the month to say I’m not dead.

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So this was February…

We’ve already reached the end of the second month of 2018.

So what’s happened so far?

SALES:- I’ve made 2 sales so far, to Third Flatiron; “The Doomsday Machine Retires” for their Monstrosities anthology and to WolfSinger Publications; “Muse” for their Cat Tails anthology. Still no more than this, despite my best efforts

SUBMISSIONS:- I’ve already submitted 72 stories this year.

REJECTIONS:- I’ve had 59 rejections so far.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:- In the pipeline are the publications of “Uncle Ping’s Evening Farewell” from Insignia. Still no official date on this.

“An Improper State Of Mind” from MindCandy is now available https://www.amazon.com/dp/1978380453/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Third Flatiron are gearing up for their imminent release on March 10th (pre-order here:- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Q9N7Q1?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660)

Wolfsinger are locking down their final proofs in preparation for a release very soon.

2018 Award Eligibility

I’m going to start this post now (I know it’s only February!) so it’s easy to find things that were published this year.

Everything listed below will be Nebula & Hugo eligible in the short story category:-

Feb:- “An Improper State Of Mind” from the Mind Candy Anthology:-

Mar:- “The Doomsday Machine Retires” from the Monstrosities Anthology:-

Mar:- “Muse” from the Cat Tails – War Zone Anthology:-
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/802052

Jul:- “Uncle Ping’s Evening Farewell” from Insignia Volume 5:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Insignia-Asian-Science-Fiction-Book-ebook/dp/B07FQHBKLG

Sept:-“Not According To Design” from Mythic Magazine #7:-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/194581022X/

Nov:- “The Girl On Platform Two” in Jouth Anthology from Blaster Books.

So this was January…

We’ve already reached the end of the first month of 2018. Doesn’t feel like five minutes ago that we were still in 2017, to be honest.

So what’s happened so far?

SALES:- I’ve made 2 sales so far, to Third Flatiron; “The Doomsday Machine Retires” for their Monstrosities anthology and to WolfSinger Publications; “Muse” for their Cat Tails anthology.

SUBMISSIONS:- I’ve already submitted 26 stories this year.

REJECTIONS:- I’ve had 25 rejections so far.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:- In the pipeline are the publications of “Uncle Ping’s Evening Farewell” from Insignia and “An Improper State Of Mind” from MindCandy. I haven’t got exact dates on either of those yet so I’ll try to update you when I know.

Some writing related news

Thing #1 – My story “The Catch” will be live on the Were-Traveler website this weekend. I’ll put up a link as soon as I get one.

Thing #2 – I signed a contract with Insignia for an anthology appearance with them recently. More news when I know they are going to press. I just read & returned edits on the story. I’m very happy with it.

Both of the above are paying gigs. Neither are huge pay days but a cheque is a cheque.

Thing #3 – I’ve had a story accepted into The Fairytale Collection: The Knight Sky.

Thing # 4 – I’ve also had a story accepted into an anthology which will be a Guinness World Record. I’ll be getting a certificate for it and everything! Providing we make the numbers by the end of the month. We have ALREADY broken the current record but we’re looking to destroy it.

Well it’s not BAD news, I guess?

GOOD NEWS! My story “Witch Hunt” has been shortlisted for the next round of reading for the Weirdbook “Witches” anthology!

It’s not about the money

I’m writing this blog entry in the interests of openness and transparency.

First, a bit of admin.

I just made my first story sale of the year, to Insignia.
Another anthology. Woo!

Okay. Admin over.

Writing for me isn’t just about making money.

While it is nice to get paid for your writing, I’m pleased that anyone finds my work of a good enough quality that they want to include it in a book with other stories.

Yes. Honestly.

After nearly 2 years of submitting stuff I am still surprised when I receive an acceptance letter. I’ve become so used to “Sorry, unsuccessful” (because no-one’s ever been mean enough to send a “Fuck off, die, and stop writing forever” email yet) emails that they are now my daily bread and butter, almost part of my weekly routine now I am submitting so often.

I’m sure that if you asked any now famous writer how many rejections they used to receive on a regular basis, their face will drop, their heart will beat a little faster and you’ll become their new worst friend. Then they’ll snap out of it and tell you how they too got umpteen rejections before making it big.

It’s never all no. It’s the odd yes and that makes it worth carrying on submitting stuff.

Which is ironic, seeing how I was thinking that I was going to stop submitting stuff at the end of this month if I hadn’t made a sale.

Try. Keep trying. Say why not.

Things can happen. You’ve got to work for them though.

I am hardly the worlds greatest writer but that was my third sale for money.