Just in time for Valentine’s Day! The Burden of So Many Roses is now in audio over at Toasted Cake. Having a bad day? Well, have a listen. It could be much, much worse.
Tag: short stories
Weekly writing check-in: the one with the talking ghost
Getting my writing groove on this week with ~8,000 words. In a surprise move, I received an acceptance this week for audio/reprint rights for Ghost in the Coffee Machine. So, not only did I sell this story once, I sold it again. Word to the wise: keep as many rights as you possibly can. In the case of Ghost, I control them all.
And sometimes that pays off. Also, I love audio/podcasts, and I’m very excited about this.
Links of note:
- Selfies from the End of the World: Apocalyptic Fiction a very cool Kickstarter project from Mad Scientist Journal
- Eating Peaches and Riding Unicorns an important discussion about writing, depression, failure and how to keep going over at All The Way YA
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 8,054 words
Submissions:
- None
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- Ghost in the Coffee Machine to The Drabblecast.
Publications:
- None
Weekly writing check-in: the one with the best in category
The Kindle Countdown Deal for The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath is wrapping up. If you want to grab a copy for 99 cents, you have about a day and a half to do so. Also, maybe this just happened:
So. Yeah. That was fun. Otherwise, I had a good writing week of about 1,000 words a day, and a good writing month as well. I’d love to inch that monthly word count up to 40,000. I don’t have that far to go, so we’ll see.
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 7,554 words
Monthly total: 37,377 words
Submissions:
- None
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
Pick up the Kindle version for only 99 cents. It’s also available in print.
The Maze: Three Tales of the Future is also having a countdown deal for 99 cents. Three tales! Of the Future! But hurry. This one ends in a day and a half too.
If you’re in a short story sort of mood, you can pick up eight young adult short stories in one volume. Currently, it’s only available in Kindle, but I plan to release the print version soon.
Two countdown deals and a new release
That’s right. Two countdown deals this week and a new release. Why? Because I can? Because I’m crazy? You pick.
You can pick up the Kindle version for only 99 cents this week. It’s also available in print.
And, just for fun, The Maze: Three Tales of the Future is also having a countdown deal for 99 cents. Three tales! Of the Future!
Last, I have a new/old release out. I’ve compiled all my published young adult short stories into one volume. Currently, it’s only available in Kindle, but I plan to release the print version soon.
Weekly writing check-in: the one where I look back at 2014
Happy New Year! I hope it was joyous and safe and you have lots of plans for the new year.
I’m going to take a quick look back before I jump into 2015 proper.
Words written:
For 2014, I wrote ~270,000 words.
Uh, yeah. That looks like a lot. You know what? It doesn’t feel like a lot. I don’t feel tired or drained from doing that. In fact, I feel energized, and to quote Mr. Bradbury, I’ll be damned, it’s been a good year.
270,000 words looks intimidating. But really? Divide that by 365. It’s only 740 words per day.
740. Not even 1,000 words per day. That’s doable. If you bump it up a bit, you can take weekends off. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now. Daily writing is a lot like exercise. It isn’t sexy or glamorous, but if you commit to it, you’ll see results.
Of those words I wrote, I managed a couple of novels, a handful of short stories, and several novelettes. I love writing novelettes, but it’s hard to find a home for them.
Other stats:
I made 51 submissions this year (down ~ 50 from last year).
I sold six stories/poem thingies.
Of my fiction writing income, 30% came from selling to traditional markets (short fiction markets) and 70% came from publishing my own work. With this in mind, I will probably concentrate on publishing my own work in 2015, in a variety of ways.
2014 Publications:
Straying from the Path at Flash Fiction Online
A Most Marvelous Pair of Boots at Timeless Tales Magazine
Breakfast in the Desert at Every Day Poets
Playing Soldier in issue #9 of Vine Leaves Literary Journal (and best of anthology for 2014)
The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty, in audio, at Cast of Wonders
Girl with the Piccolo, in audio, at Cast of Wonders
Incriminating Evidence in Fantasy Scroll Magazine, Issue #4
This week:
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 9,700 words (I’m on a bit of a tear this week)
- Graphic Design tutorials
Submissions:
- None
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
- None
Weekly writing check-in: the one with incriminating evidence
Not as much writing this week, but I’m not turning up my nose at ~4,000 words either. I also did the page layout for a +300 page book in Adobe InDesign. That … takes time.
I received my gift card and a very nice note from the women at WOW, Women on Writing for my honorable mention. Plus, I sent the story on its way again.
Issue #4 of Fantasy Scroll Magazine is out and it includes my story Incriminating Evidence (links below). So all in all? Not a bad week.
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 4,393 words
- Page layout +300 pages
Submissions:
- The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
- Incriminating Evidence in Fantasy Scroll Magazine, Issue #4. You can read online for free or buy a copy to download to your e-reader. This issue already has a nice review on Amazon (with an equally nice mention of my little story).
Weekly writing check-in: the one with a word-count milestone
My news this week? I hit a milestone. So far this year I’ve written 250,278 words! Yes. I know. I have no idea how I did it either.
Well, actually, I do. But the nuts and bolts of it are pretty boring. There’s no magic formula, no silver bullet. It’s a lot like exercise. You do a little bit every day and that little bit adds up. Not sexy in the least. But that’s all I have.
But if you’d like a bit more inspiration, I highly recommend Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. That’s really where this all started.
Also? It’s snowing on WordPress. I love that.
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 7,805 words (those last five words are very important)
Submissions:
- None
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
- None
Weekly writing check-in: the one at the end of November
More proofing this week, revising, and other whatnot. Even so, I managed to eke out 3,200 words. I mentioned at the start of the month that I wanted to do the equivalent of National Novel Writing Month, or 50,000 words. I ended up with 30,000, which considering I switched gears and did a few other things during this month, isn’t too bad.
Switching gears like … organizing a promotion for The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet (see links below). Between now and December 14th, I’m having a 99 cent sale on the electronic version. Or! If you buy the paperback via Amazon, you can get the Kindle version for free.
So? November? You didn’t turn out too shabby at all. I think I’ll keep you.
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 3,200 words
- Revising, editing, proofing, oh my!
Submissions:
- None
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
None, but! The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet is now on sale! If you buy the print version via Amazon, you can get the Kindle version for free. Just in time for the holidays. Buy early, buy often.
Print, Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo
Weekly writing check-in: the one with a character named Macro
So, I was working on a story this week with a character name Marco. Only one problem. About every other time I used his name, I spelled it Macro. Did I see this mistake? No. But when I reviewed the story with text-to-speech? Oh, but did I hear it.
Every time I think: oh, this manuscript is pretty clean, I can skip the text-to-speech, I find something. So now, even though it takes time, I run everything through either a program on my PC or send it to my Kindle.
So … that’s my writing tip for the week. If you don’t have text-to-speech, you can always do it the old-fashioned way and read your story out loud.
In writing news, not as many words this week, but I did get some. I spent a lot of time with the revising, editing, and listening tasks–and ridding my story of a character named Macro.
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 3,300 words
- Revising, editing, proofing, oh my!
Submissions:
- None
Rejections:
- None
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
- None
Weekly writing check-in: the one with a shopping trip
A short check-in this week. In a bit, my daughter and I are off for a “back-to-school” shopping trip. What? School started two months ago? Well, better late than never. This way, we’re hoping all the nice sweaters and jeans will be on sale.
One submission this week, one rejection, and more than 6,000 words. And that’s about it. Good luck to all my writing friends who are doing National Novel Writing Month. I’ll be writing as well, but they don’t have National Serial Writing Month. So I guess I’ll just tackle that one on my own.
Writing Work:
- Writing ~ 6,600 words
Submissions:
- Like Bread Loves Salt
Rejections:
- March Madness
Acceptances:
- None
Publications:
- None
Writing Wrongs 