April 2023 in Review

Hello Funny People. 

I have no opening witticisms for you this month, as this month in many ways drove me to my wit's end. What is it about months with less than 31 days that makes them feel like they go on forever and never in a good way? Yet, I can't deny that, despite the carnage, something good didn't come out of it.

A Brief Recapitulation

Like so many of my contemporaries, I am not a full-time writer. I earn money to pay my bills with the support of a day-job in accounting. (I'm not the accountant, thankfully, otherwise, there'd be a hell of a lot of people in jail, including me.) April, as many of you know, is tax month in the US, and my boss and coworkers faced a great deal of stress as a result. Thankfully, now that we're into May, with lots of extensions filed, we've entered the calm following the storm. 

Naturally, this put a great deal of strain on my mental energies, but writing (especially in recent years), has acted both as a vocation and an escape. In that pursuit, I'm made some gains.

#AmDraftingANovel

Just before the month ended, I managed to reach the mid-point of my current novel. As is pretty typical of such mid-points, this is the moment where my protagonist hits his lowest ebb. All of the secrets that have been kept come out and the worst pain someone can experience—the loss of someone they love—is about to be his. Just the other day (despite my usual writing space being indisposed), I began to write the reaction of these events. 

I'm finding this bit quite challenging to write. Even after all these years of writing, I still don't have confidence in my ability to depict or convey emotions in prose. Yet, they're necessary to the human experience, especially if you're writing something that's fantasy. If you get the feelings wrong, then you can't expect your readers to suspend their disbelief. Also, if you get them wrong, you come across as a tone-deaf jackass. Thankfully, this is only first draft, so I still have a chance to.improve things (if I can).

Report from the Short Fiction Front

Despite my initial insistence that this was going to be my novel-centric year, I still haven't fully withdrawn from the short story submission scene...or for that matter, from the short fiction writing scene. My present number of submissions for this year alone stands presently at 44 total.

While I haven't landed another sale since my lucky twofer earlier this year (more on that at a later date), I still haven't given up submitting to places. The chains of habit are hard to break, etc. Mostly, I've been trying to sell two pieces that, to my seemingly unending frustration, can't seem to find markets to call home. To paraphrase the late Dr. Maya Angelou (a fellow St. Louisian), there's nothing more painful than bearing a good unsold story in your files.

While I'm certain neither of these tales will set the world of short fiction alight (with masters of the form like Kij Johnson, John Wiswell, and Ai Jiang around, I haven't a snowflakes chance in hell of doing that anyway), both of them are good, and I know it. I'd love nothing more than to see them in print somewhere (preferably a paying market, but, at this point, I'm considering alternatives).

Despite these frustrations though, I persist. 

Recently, though, I got to experience something I seldom have: the sensation of a story coming to me fully formed. An upcoming open call from Air and Nothingness Press set me on a path to ready a story for submission (well in advance, compared to how I wrote my last story). So, after considering the theme, an idea that.combined it and my childhood love of herpetology came to me and I managed to write the entire story, beginning to end, in under two weeks. It’s currently sitting in my files awaiting the first rounds of revisions, but I think it's not only a good story, but based one the calls guidelines, it may well be a shoe-in for acceptance. But we'll see. 

There are no guarantees in the freelance writing life, only opportunities.

#AmQuerying

The biggest emotional setback this month sadly came from the novel submission front.

Some of you who are fellow writers might’ve have noted the announcement from the Hachette group about the launch of Orbit Works, their new imprint endeavoring to take the indie writer publishing model (POD & eBook publishing), with the power of a Big 5 House behind it. Well, I sent Sylph to them right after they opened for submissions...and seven days later got the most heart wrenching rejection ever.

I won't go any further than that, but the result of that left me downcast for quite a while. I'm growing more fearful that my little fantasy adventure story will never find a home. Four years of work for nothing.

Of course, I know indie publishing is still an option, should nothing come of this effort. My head is bloody, but unbowed. Four months in the trenches isn't long enough for me to quit just yet. I'll persist yet. Who knows? Perhaps something will turn up.

Miscellaneous

Despite the setbacks and the maddening moments, I'm on course to complete the second part of my current novel soon. The Nebulas are also coming up soon, so I highly recommend everyone keep an eye on Social Media to see what the results will be coming out of Anaheim. 

I'm also considering with whether or not I should attend an upcoming convention. Given I royally failed to attend WorldCon last year in Chicago, I feel like I should see if I can find another that's upcoming, just to attend as a fan so I can get something of a feel for the experience. 

As always funny people, thank your for tuning into this long delayed update. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and take care.