2023: The F*ck Was That?
When I say this year was a lot… This year was A LOT. The first seven months were incredibly stressful, which I think will reflect in things like word counts once we get to them. So, what the fuck happened this year? Let’s break it down: January – 12,043 words This is my peak depression month. I do not make life decisions in January and February. But January 2023 was worse than usual, because my spouse was in a car accident that totaled his car. The good news is that he was completely unharmed. The Kia Soul did everything right and protected him when he was t-boned. But, we were suddenly a single car household after each having our own cars for over a decade. We were also a single-income household at the time. After taking most of December off from writing the book, I’d picked back up and made…
December Daze
Hello, there. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? As promised, I went dormant for awhile, burrowed deep into my novel to get that first round of revision done. I sent the second draft to some beta readers last week. I’m proud of the book it’s become, and am excited to see what Laura and Dale think of it. It’s substantially different than when I started revising it, that’s for sure. Over the two months of revision, I cut almost 14k words, and wrote just short of 17k new ones. The book is big. Bigger than I’d originally planned. 96,053 words. Over 430 pages. But, it’s off my desk. Its files closed. This Ravenous Country is a concern for 2024. I have decided I’m not allowed to think about the book until after New Year’s. Then I can continue working on the query letter and synopsis. Then, when I get feedback…
2023 Awards Eligibility
It’s that time of year. The holidays are upon us, and the publishing world begins its wind down into the New Year. With that comes a slew of Awards Eligibility posts – writers, editors, and publishers sharing their 2023 publications eligible for the various awards ceremonies in 2024. I’ll be honest. I don’t fully understand SFFH awards, how nominations work, or how a work is or isn’t eligible. I think the only true requirement for eligibility is that the piece be published within the given year. Which means I have four eligible pieces: The Stories “In the Librarian’s Garden” (F, 4,781) – Issue 6 of Tree and Stone Magazine (Feb./Mar. 2023), ed. by Kevin M. Casin “The Lament of Kivu Lacus” (SF, 4,180) – Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays (Apr. 2023) ed. by Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law, and Susan Forest, pub. by…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #18
Well, will you look at that! A blog post? On time? Last Week Write at least 1k words of the novel Send Newsletter Edit and Schedule Podcast Timberline Review Edits How’d I Do? Write at least 1k words of the novel Lol, no. Send Newsletter Yes! The April Newsletter is in your inbox! Unless… I mean. You’re signed up, right? Edit and Schedule Podcast Yep! The newest episode of Top Shelf Librarians is out now! Timberline Review Edits Yep! Weekly Word Count: 455 Considering that I didn’t even set my goals until Thursday, I am not mad about this. Operating amid renovation chaos is a new, not-so-fun challenge, but I think I’m beginning to adapt. The good news is that there is power in my office once again! Because, lemme tell ya, it is damn near impossible to get any work done in the dark. So, What’s Next? Write at least 2x…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #17
Well, this isn’t ideal. But, better late than never, yes? Last Week Write 3x Record Podcast Finish reading something Newsletter Prep How’d I Do? Write 3x No. But I did write once, which is better than prior weeks. Record Podcast Yes! Finish reading something Yes! Newsletter Prep Lol, no. Weekly Word Count: 1,150 Look. Two out of four isn’t the worst. There was a lot on my plate last week, and if you’ve read the most recent Recap, you know that April just wasn’t a gret month for productivity. Or schedules. Or, you know, the writing life in general. Honorable Mentions There was some good last week though. I wrote a little, read a little. Saw friends and had a delicious meal outside of our half-demolished house. I spent time in the sun at the Terroir Creative Writing Festival, sharing lunch, a car ride, and good vibes with my critique…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #15/16
It’s been a wild, whirlwind couple of weeks, so let’s just skip the niceties and get right to it. Last (?) Week Write 3x Edit and Schedule Podcast Read Something Survive the week How’d I Do? Write 3x Lol. No. Edit and Schedule Podcast Yes! The new episode is out now! Have you listened yet? Read Something No. Or at least, I didn’t finish reading anything. But I am reading again so that’s good news! Survive the week Yes. I am here, writing to you, so I did in fact survive. Weekly(?) Word Count: 0 Look. It was a busy week by any standards. Add the whole displaced from our home stress, and really… how did I think I’d accomplish anything? There is some good news though! We decided last Sunday to move back home and just cope with some discomfort for a few weeks until our hot water heater…
The Recap – March 2023
A week and a half late isn’t the worst, right? I mean, with everything going on, I’m lowkey surprised I wrote a blog post at all. But I did! And now you get to read it. What a crazy, random happenstance! Last Month Write at least 3x/week Read 4 books Keep on schedule How’d I Do? Write at least 3x/week Nope. I averaged two writing sessions a week, which isn’t bad. Just, not the goal. Read 4 books Yep! I actually read eight titles last month. Keep on schedule Yes? As well as I reasonably could given the crazy house situation we’ve found ourselves in. Total Word Count: 16,090 Okay. I’m struggling here. That word count is nutso good. Like, I am STOKED about that number, but all month I felt like I was dragging my feet and standing in place. I felt unmotivated and stuck. How can I write…
On Querying
I figured it was time to shut up about this post and actually write it. Before we hoark down this meat and potatoes, allow me a few disclaimers/caveats: This is not your usual querying advice blog post. I’m here in the trenches with you. I have no tips and tricks for success, because I have yet to succeed in signing with an agent. That’ll be a different post someday. I’m not going to tell you how to write a query letter – there is an abundance of resources available online, all of them more legitmate than anything I might suggest. A quick google search will set you on the path. What I will tell you about is my experience querying in this odd post-pandemic, over-saturated landscape. Because it’s a different game than it was even in 2019, and a lot of the authors talking about signing and debuting got their…
The Recap – February 2023
February’s come and gone in a flurry of snow days and frozen cul-de-sacs. I spent the dreariest of months consuming television and movies, reading an insane amount of all kinds of books, and writing. An actually decent amount of writing. But don’t just take my introduction as proof! Let’s look at the stats! Last Month Write at least 3x/week Read 4 books Keep on schedule How’d I Do? Write at least 3x/week Nope. I wrote two times a week, every week in February though! Read 4 books Yep! Actually, I doubled it – I read EIGHT books in February! Keep on schedule Yes? Aside from not writing the three times I week I wanted to, having a set schedule for writing, blogging, and marketing has been critical to my consistent output this month. Total Word Count: 11,787 In true February fashion, the month went by in a blur of snow…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #5
How are we already five weeks into 2023? That doesn’t feel real! I’m already seeing daffodil and tulip shoots peeking their heads out for some sunshine. It’s going to be spring before we know it, which means I need to get serious about some goal setting! Last Week Write at least 3x this week (~3,500 words) Read a book Keep up on blog posts How’d I Do? Write at least 3x this week (~3,500 words) Nope. Only two writing sessions this week. Read a book No? I have three books I’m actively reading at the time of this writing, all of them very close to being done. I’ll probably have three books done this coming week. Keep up on blog posts Yep! There was a lot happening on the blog this week, as usual for the first week of the month, but they all posted and were shared in a…