With apologies for the truly atrocious pun in the title, waiting is a real pain. It seems like I’ve been waiting for a looooong time now for a bunch of sold stories to appear, with few having a specific date/time for them to show up. Each month, I eagerly open web pages to see if the latest issue has them, only to be denied once more. So, just to run those down…
The Frost Giants of Maine, Abyss and Apex Magazine – I’m starting with this first because they were clear from the start this was going to be a long wait, which I very much appreciated. Two years in fact (from March 1st of last year, when we inked the contract). So, I’m expecting we’ll see this one around this time next year.
Inspector Willoughby and the Sneak Thief, Mystery Magazine – I hadn’t expected this sale, but was really pleased when they accepted this fractured fairy tale, a reworking of a much beloved children’s fairy tale. We signed the contract in December, so it really hasn’t been all that long yet. Still, I hope to see it in the next few months.
A Small God, Lightspeed Magazine – Another surprise sale, and a fairly long wait now. I snuck this one in to their flash opening last year, and they accepted and we signed off last June. But I have heard it takes upwards of a year or so for stories to appear. Hopefully this spring or early summer, it was a wonderful sale for me.
The Gollywhopper Egg, Andromeda Spaceways – This one was accepted in December, but we signed off on the contract in January, so it’s only been a short while. I’ve submitted three stories to Andromeda and sold all three to them. Apparently my work is well received in Australia. Who knew! I’ve been talking to the magazine editor, so we should see this in the next month, they’re running a little behind.
The Eiffel Tower of Trappist-1d, Analog Magazine – the biggest sale of the past year, and one I’m eager to see in publication. Probably be a while longer, though on this one, I know they take quite a while to get things into print as well (and it’ll be in print, which is a double bonus here).
That brings us up to date. Five stories outstanding out of six acceptances from last year. It was a very good year by all of my standards, despite the delays in publication. I’m hoping this year will be as good. I have two stories currently on hold, and several more have gone well past the date most stories get rejected by their venues, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.