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Month: December 2021

Writing Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2021

Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2021

How was fourth quarter 2021 for writing? So, I spent fourth quarter 2021 working on Time Addicts 3: Everything is Up for Grabs for NaNoWriMo! This was the third novel in the Time Addicts trilogy.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on pretty much just NaNoWriMo. While I did some short story work, most of my time was devoted to wrapping up Time Addicts.

Then on Wattpad I posted on the WattNaNo profile and the Star Trek Fans profile, and nowhere else.

Milestones

Also, I have written over two and a half million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

• Dinosaurs – 37 reads, 9 comments
† How to NaNoWriMo – 23,475 reads, 320 comments
• My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 974 reads, 133 comments
Revved Up – 59,350 reads, 530 comments
• Side By Side – 17 reads, 1 comments
† Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 14, 720 reads, 591 comments
• The Canadian Caper – 493 reads, 37 comments
The Dish – 250 reads, 24 comments
• There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments
† WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,870 reads, 45 comments
• WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2019 – 1,630 reads, 10 comments
† What Now? – 2,500 reads, 104 comments

More Published Works

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works!

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

A True Believer in Skepticism, to be published in Mythic MagazineAlmost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome (link no longer works, alas!). Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. Also, this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. Also, they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction, another site which is no more.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine. And Darkness into Light, a short story also published in Corner Bar Magazine.

WIP Corner

So my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it’s all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Time Addicts – No One is Safe – so this one is all about what happens in the future when time travel becomes possible via narcotic.

Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent – this is the second in this trilogy. What happens when time is tampered with and manipulated in all sorts of ways? It’s the ultimate in gaslighting, for one thing.

Time Addicts – Everything is Up For Grabs – this is the third in this trilogy. When timelines are continually shifting and changing, it gets harder and harder to determine what’s supposed to be real. And what’s not.

Prep Work

So currently, my intention, for next year’s NaNoWriMo, is that I am going to start writing the third trilogy of three in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I will need to iron out the plot! And as I look at what I’ve got written and its loose ends, I will try to formulate … something. We’ll see.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Queries and Submissions

So here’s how that’s been going during fourth quarter 2021.

In Progress

As of fourth quarter 2021, the following are still (allegedly) in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

I Used to Be Happy – Gemini Magazine
Justice – Adbusters
Mettle – RAB
Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – A Thousand One Stories
Who Do We Blame for This? – Sonder Review

All Other Statuses

So, be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for fourth quarter 2021 which were not in progress.

Stats

So, in 2018, my querying stats were:

68 submissions of 19 stories

• Acceptances: 4, 5.88%
† In Progress-Under Consideration: 3, 4.41% (so, these don’t seem to have panned out)
• In Progress: 10, 14.71%
† Rejected-Personal: 14, 20.59%
• Rejected-Form: 24, 35.29%
† Ghosted: 13 (so, these were submissions where I never found out what happened), 19.12%

So, in 2019 my querying stats were:

23 submissions of 11 stories (so, 6 submissions carry over from 2018)

• Acceptances: 4, 17.39%
† In Progress: 11 (so, this includes 2 holdovers from 2018), 47.83%
• Rejected-Personal: 4, 17.39%
† Rejected-Form: 3, 13.04%
• Ghosted: 1 (so, these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 4.35%

2020 Stats

So, in 2020 my querying stats were:

37 submissions of 12 stories (so, 9 submissions carry over from 2019)

† Acceptances: 3, 8.11%
• In Progress: 7, 18.92%
† Rejected-Personal: 12, 32.43%
• Rejected-Form: 4, 10.81%
† Ghosted: 11 (so, these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 29.73%

2021 Stats

So in 2021 my querying stats are: 5 submissions of 5 stories (so, all of these submissions carry over from 2020); 100% Ghosted

Sigh. Yeah, it’s like that. But I’ll be the first person to admit that I need to be more proactive. A lot more proactive.

It can be pretty discouraging and hard to go on when nothing new comes up which is positive.

This Quarter’s Productivity Killers

So it’s work, what else? I am busier than ever, and I don’t see an end in sight. Because there is no way that fourth quarter 2021 will be the end of that!

Fourth quarter 2020 had more querying. Ah, well.

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Longest Night Watch 2

A Look at Longest Night Watch 2

The Longest Night Watch 2 is the second indie author anthology dedicated to fighting Alzheimer’s. All of the writers are independent authors. And we all hate Alzheimer’s.

In the United States, 5.4 million Americans have the disease. That number will rise in the next few decades as the population continues to age. We are not doctors. But we are writers. And so we are offering this work. All of the proceeds go to research. Because we don’t keep a dime of it.

Who Are We?

The team consists of: Amanda Parker Adams, Andrew Barber, AR Harlow, Becca Bachlott, Brittany Tucker, Carol Gyzander, Cayleigh Stickler, D.R. Perry, Debbie Manber Kupfer, Fiona Teh, Georgette Frey, and Janet Gershen-Siegel (er, that would be me).

Also, Jennifer Stibbards, Joshua L. Cejka, Kate Post, Katelyn Scarlett, L. Anne Wooley, Michael J. Medeiros, Michael Walton, R.R. Virdi, Ryn Richmond, Skye Hegyes, Thomas E. Harper, Trine Jensegg, Virginia Carraway Stark and the team of The Longest Night Watch.

So this was our second time doing this. Last year, we all came together because of Sir Terry Pratchett’s death. That book was a success. Therefore, the second time around was to see if lightning will strike again.

This Year’s (2016) Urgency

Last year, it was Terry Pratchett. But this year it was Gene Wilder. And now we have also learned Terry Jones of Monty Python is afflicted. Because this disease shows no mercy. As much as we love these entertainers (and Jones is a medieval studies scholar), Alzheimer’s just plain does not care.

But we do.

My Contributions to The Longest Night Watch

For this year, I added two stories. Cynthia is about the decline of Alzheimer’s as witnessed by a rather unexpected narrator. Wilder Bloom was written rather quickly and was, of course, about Gene Wilder.

Where You Can Get The Book

Right now, the book is listed on Amazon (currently it is available on Kindle only, but that will change) and it is on GoodReads.

How You Can Help

Please buy the book, and leave a review. Even bad reviews help, as they put our link in more places. So you don’t have to love the book. That’s okay.

And so we thank you.

Oh, and there was going to be a third…

Whither Longest Night Watch 3?

We did have plans for it, back in the day. But those have fallen apart. A pity, as I have truly loved working with these people. Also, this is an important cause to me. But alas, such was not to be.


Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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Creating a Facebook Page

Creating a Facebook page

How do you go about creating a Facebook page?

Pages versus Groups

Why do you want one over another? Why does it matter?

Groups, as you might expect, allow for more discussion. However, everyone is on a more or less equal footing in terms of presenting content. And if that is what you want, then of course that is perfectly fine.

However, if you are looking to essentially market your own wares, then a group is not going to help you very much. Instead, your own messages will be lost in the shuffle of everyone else’s content and messaging. As the administrator, though, you can eliminate any discussions you do not wish to see.

This can get tedious, plus you lose the entire discussions.

With a page, you are the site owner/administrator. You create the content, which others react to, which can include commenting, and those comments can include links. If you want those comments and links gone, you can eliminate them. But this is an activity which is bound to become tedious. But at least the generalized discussions would remain.

Creating a Facebook Page for You, an Independent Writer

Like other small business persons (for that is what an indie author is, right?), you have two separate lives on any social network. One is as an individual. You have friends, you have opinions. You might play games or write about politics.

Or you might post memes or videos. You have fun, you express support or sympathy. And, let’s face it, you give and receive attention.

Your other life is as a writer. A writer who might need help with marketing. Maybe a writer who might want to bounce ideas off other authors. A writer who might need some help with a plot, or at least a sympathetic ear. You might want to talk to others who have been where you are.

Plus, you might want to connect with people who can help you improve your craft. Those are beta readers, cover artists, and editors. They might be writers you admire or even publishing houses which interest you.

And, let’s face it. You may be there to sell your stuff. In fact, you probably should be.

Creating a Facebook Page: Go For a Particular Look and Feel

We have all noticed branding for our favorite commercial ventures, whether it is the shade of green for Starbucks and its products, or the use of a mascot/spokes-character like Flo from Progressive Insurance. Or it could be the backward ‘R’ in the Toys ‘R’ Us store signage. For your Facebook page, your website, your Twitter stream, and your background image, it pays to brand these items.

Branding can be subtle, such as a color scheme, or more sophisticated, with the creation of a special logo for your page.

And yes, even if you’re not much of a visual artist, you can still engage in branding. Color and word choice can be your best friends.

How to Create a Facebook Page

Facebook is constantly changing the means of performing tasks, as it is continuously A/B testing (e. g. it tests which layout or color scheme, etc. gets you to click more). Currently, the way to make a page is, click on Pages on the left side of your feed and then click on Create a Page.

Then select the page type. Select Artist, Band, or Public Figure, and pick either Author or Writer. Add your name and then click Get Started.

Seriously, it’s that simple.

Now go make an author page!

Does This Method Ever Change?

Yes. Constantly. Check at the source, always!


Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More About Facebook?

If my experiences with Facebook resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about the largest social network on the planet, by far.

Creating a Facebook page
Working with a Facebook Page
… Your Profile Page
Home Page
Offsite Sharing
All Your Account Settings
All the Rest of It
Facebook versus Forums

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