2013 was a very different year in writing-and-publishing for me than the previous four.
I sold much less than usual–four stories, two poems, and a piece of flash that’s still kind of Schrodinger–but all four stories went to pro markets. I wrote a lot fewer short stories and poems–thirteen, not all polished yet–but my yearly word count nudged 200,000, twice my usual yearly rate, thanks to compulsive novel-drafting (two and a half new books first-drafted in 2013). And that doesn’t count any rewrites.
I also wrote eight guest blog posts (discovery: I do not like writing them!) and several personal blog posts (not a big fan of those either) and a fan game and all of my NaNo region‘s pep talk/reminders and a couple lines that were pretty funny on Twitter.
And of course this is the year the book came out.
Like I said, weird. Despite all the cool stuff that happened, by all my usual metrics, 2013 was a huge failure. I wrote far less submittable material, therefore I submitted far less, therefore I sold far less. If I have any goal for next year, it’s to get back on the submissions wagon. Write One Sub One is too much for me, but I liked #tenbythen, which required ten submissions, of anything, per month. That would bring me back in line. In the meantime, I’ve got QUITE a lot of novel editing to do. I hope I get slightly faster at it next year.
Stuff that came out in 2013:
Remembrance in Stone – Daily Science Fiction, 12/5/13
A Fixer-Upper (reprint) – Niteblade, 12/1/13
The Scry Mirror – What Fates Impose, 9/23/13
Things I Wish I’d Known Before Drinking the Faerie Wine – Penumbra, 9/1/13
Missed Connections > Pocket Universe – Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #57, 4/30/13
Sparks Between Our Teeth (reprint) – Bull Spec #8, 4/23/13
Song of Snow – Enchanted Conversation, 4/1/13
Wolves & Witches – World Weaver Press, 2/19/13
O How the Wet Folk Sing – FISH, 1/27/13
Stats:
Rejections: 42
Sales: 6, possibly 7
Still on submission: 22 (mostly reprints)
Wrote: 198,000 words (incl. 2.5 books, 6 stories, 6 flash, 1 poem)
December 11, 2013 at 2:57 pm
I understand we have different standards… but coming from a person who has never submitted any works for sale… I’m inspired to read how much you have accomplished.
Next year will be a transition for me as I’ll be focusing more on my novel. Something I’m very excited to do as other priorities are not as demanding anymore (the twins are getting to be less dependent – woo hoo!). I’m getting my nights back… to write anything close to 198K words would make me dance with joy haha
Thanks for sharing. Love your honesty and transparency!
December 11, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Ah! Thank you! I forgot to mention that 198k is a) twice as much as I’ve historically done per year and b) KILLING ME. 😛
Good luck on your novel!! Looking forward to hearing you tweet all about it!
December 11, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Submissions or not, 198k is nothing to take lightly, my friend.
December 11, 2013 at 4:21 pm
If only a single word of it was presentable…!
December 11, 2013 at 4:34 pm
I’m sure at least one of them is!
December 12, 2013 at 3:26 am
I’ve had monthly targets for subs for years. I even post them on my blog to keep myself accountable.
Actually I’m wondering if to downgrade them. I’ve noticed that I only sell to venues that are new, or that I’ve sold to before. But that’s another discussion . . .
December 12, 2013 at 11:04 am
Isn’t that kind of inevitable, though, given that you’ve sold practically everywhere? ^_^
December 13, 2013 at 11:13 am
All of those slowing sales make sense when you’re working that hard on novels. Most of us will even forget to re-sub old unsold shorts in the throes of novel composition and editing. And despite that, you still hit some splendid markets! Congratulations on an excellent year of work, Amanda.
December 13, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Thanks! Yeah, it’s nice to be able to see where all my time went, but it’s also kind of a stark reminder that you can only achieve what you actually attempt, you know?
January 2, 2015 at 2:28 pm
[…] am way happier with those numbers than I am with last year’s. They’re more in line with what I like to see from myself. Those sales include five stories […]