I recently went ahead and created/launched my own Patreon page. Not that I need it at this point, I am very lucky and privileged to make a good living with my regular job and am not relying on my income as a writer (considering there really isn’t any at this point, that’s a positive). But given my goals, I can foresee it becoming important a few years down the road, and I thought it might be good to start building that audience now. Or at least get the functional pieces in place before Patreon changes their rules on how much of your income they keep for themselves (venture capitalists gotta keep venture capitaling I suppose).
February/March were not great writing months. I slacked off at the end of February after completing some shorts, and spent most of March not writing at all. I’m moving back into the swing of things again and working on the WWI fantasy novel with fresh ideas in mind and more worldbuilding taking place to help me through those really tough spots I keep seeing that prevent me from launching into the work more deeply than I already have. It really is a complex topic, but you can read all about my work on this novel as I move forward by signing up to my Patreon. I’ll be keeping a running diary about the novel so folks can get an idea of how one writer works on one particular novel (no two writers are the same, and so far I’ve approached all my novels differently, so this detailing of the process is as much for me as anyone).
For fun, the wife and I ended March by going to a retro-prom. It was a fundraiser for the Maryland Ensemble Theater and was a hell of a blast. I haven’t been that exhausted in ages. Good times were had by all, we boogied hard, and we had fun checking at all the various costumes and giving nicknames to folks (there was Disco Santa, and Flapper Colby Smulders, and the Prancer, and Material Girl and lots of others; a great event for folks to have fun wearing whatever they liked and get their groove on).
I was remiss in posting February’s report as well, so this one will combine both into a multi-month list.
Writing Conferences/Workshops/Classes/Professional Activities:
Attended the February meeting of the MWA Frederick Chapter. Other than that, there were no professional activities in February or March, it was a slow month. We did, however, finalize our flights to Dublin this summer for Worldcon.
Finished:
Two short stories finished in February (first drafts at least). Nothing else finished, and very little started.
WIP:
I’ve begun world building and character development on the WWI fantasy novel. Keep track of this one through my Patreon page. There will be regular updates and even excerpts shared for subscribers. Also working on redrafting the two stories finished in February.
Outstanding:
11 stories outstanding and 1 novella. Longest lead time is 245 days, and that story is being held for possible consideration. Next longest short story is at 208 days, and that site has updated their info stating they are on a short break, but will get back to the work soon, so I’ll let that one stew a while longer. I’ve got a number of other stories creeping up on 200 days, and those sites are woefully unresponsive to queries. I’m not sure what’s going on with so many of these places lately. I really wish they’d communicate better, at least through the news section or blog of their sites.
Submissions:
12 submissions in February/March. Several of those were stories that were quickly rejected and resubmitted.
Rejections:
14 rejections in February/March. One of those was a story held for further consideration by one of the more prestigious genre magazines, so I’m more than a bit disappointed about that one, it would have been my first professional sale and they did hold it fairly long. Oh well, we keep plugging away.
Acceptances:
No acceptances
Goals for April:
Continue developmental work on the WWI novel. Start writing before the end of the month, complete at least 10,000 words of the story. Hang out with my daughter, who’s coming down for a visit. Run the April MWA Frederick Chapter meeting. Enjoy the nicer weather and the early hints of summer when they come.