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writing year in review

2013: Writing Year in Review

Written This Year

Novels: Still zero. I’ve been plugging away at King’s Hand, but with my other projects that had actual deadlines and finishing up grad school, I didn’t manage to finish anything novel length. Ugh. However, I did full edits (content + line editing) on both Throne of Nightmares and Fire in the Belly so I’ll be ready to throw myself headfirst back into query hell next year.

Shorter Stuff
Flash: 4
Short Stories: 5
Novellettes/Novellas: 5

Other: I wrote a 12-page screen play, just to see if I could. Well, I could. Working on another short screenplay now.

Consigned to the trunk of awfulness, never to return: 5 stories, one of which I wrote this year, four of which were older stories I no longer believe in.

Best/favorite story of the year: Tie between The Curious Case of Miss Clementine Nimowitz (and her Exceedingly Tiny Dog) and List of Items in Leather Valise Found on Welby Crescent. Apparently the way to my heart this year is through very long, silly titles. But I like Clementine because it’s a silly story with a painful heart, and I like List of Items because it’s a story with a painful heart told in an odd way and I’m still astounded I got it to work.

Magic Spreadsheet Wordcount: I started tracking on the magic spreadsheet on June 24. Wordcount is at: 208,559, days in a row written at: 189. For wordcount, I give myself credit on rough draft writing (both original and fanfiction, not that I’ve written much fanfic lately) as well as blog posts. I also give myself 250 words of credit for each chapter of a novel I edit (or completed short story) plus new content wordcount if I’ve had to add a new scene or anything to the piece.

Publishing
Queries sent: 86
Rejections received: 66
Pending: 10
Most rejections received: Just for this year, Silver Fish with 8 rejections; The Heart-Beat Escapement isn’t far behind at 7. Total (and not counting novels because they cheat) Stranger wins at 20 rejections before Silver Blade Magazine accepted it for publication.
Total earned: $1102.86 which is a number I find rather stunning. With going to cons and having bookmarks made, I’m still definitely in the red when it comes to the writing “career” but not nearly as much as I have been in the

Published this year:

  1. Black Smoker Hero from SQ Mag, which also win second place in the Story Quest short story competition. (Technically this was published January 1, but since SQ is Australian, they are one day in the future relative to me.)
  2.  Significant Figures from Strange Horizons (12/16/13) –and a podcast version!
  3. Do Shut Up, Mister Simms from Musa Publishing (11/1/2013) [BN | Amazon | Smashwords | iTunes]
  4. Blood in Elk Creek from Musa Publishing (9/6/2013) [BN | Amazon | Smashwords | iTunes]
  5. Stranger from Silver Blade Magazine
  6. Breaking Orbit from Daily Science Fiction (07/23/13)
  7. Samsara in Waylines issue #4
  8. The Curious Case of Miss Clementine Nimowitz and Her Exceedingly Tiny Dog from Musa Publishing (6/14/2013) [Amazon | BN | Smashwords | iTunes]
  9. Murder on the Titania from Musa Publishing (4/5/2013) [Amazon | BN | Smashwords | Kobo | iTunes]
  10. The Ugly Tin Orrery from Musa Publishing (5/17/2013) [Amazon | BN | Smashwords | Kobo | iTunes]

Slated for 2014: 

  1.  A World of Speculation from Lakeside Circus
  2. The First Bone from Stupefying Stories 
  3. Hyperion from Scape
  4. And Still Champion from The Lorelei Signal
  5. List of Items in Leather Valise Found on Welby Crescent from Shimmer

Stories put online this year: 

  1. Entangled
  2. Utar the Radish Farmer

Goals for 2014: 

  1. Shut up and write.
  2. Finish King’s Hand. NO REALLY I MEAN IT THIS TIME.
  3. Finally get representation nailed down for at least one of my novels. Pretty please?
  4. Finish up birthday story for Mr. TH; got it done a bit early this year. Fix the one from last year since I’m still not happy with it. Work on getting both sold, donate money, etc.
  5. Proposals for three more novellas for Musa, then write them.
  6. Write at least one brave, difficult, strange story that makes me weep at my keyboard.
  7. Just write more in general. My productivity was down from last year, though I certainly sold more! Which has me pleased. But I’m also running short on pieces to send out, so I need to replenish my stockpile.
  8. Complete at least one screenplay of some length good enough to be submitted to… something. I don’t know. I have to do some research on how the screenplay thing works.

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