Month: December 2022

Writing Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

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Writing Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 29, 2022

Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

How was fourth quarter 2022 for writing? It was a continuation of third quarter 2022, more or less.

So I spent fourth quarter 2022 preparing for and writing for NaNo, and then I was going to be editing The Real Hope of the Universe , but that has had to wait for next quarter. So there was that…

Fourth Quarter 2022 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on NaNoWriMo. Either I was preparing for it, or I was writing it. NaNo this year consisted of two prequel works. One was for the Real Hub universe (that one got very long) and the other was for the Obolonk universe, more specifically as a Time Addicts prequel. These are called The East Side of the Universe and The Dust Between Our Stars, respectively.

Then on Wattpad I posted on the WattNaNo profile and nowhere else. Also, I gave up running the Star Trek profile. I just plain do not have the time any more.

Milestones

Also, I have written over 3.4 million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). Another 120,000 in original words, and I will have finally surpassed fan fiction. Yeah, I really did write that much fan fic! The below is but the tip of that particular iceberg. So right now my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

• Dinosaurs – 40 reads, 9 comments
† How to NaNoWriMo – 25,946 reads, 340 comments
• My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 983 reads, 133 comments
† Revved Up – 59,435 reads, 531 comments
• Side By Side – 17 reads, 2 comments
† Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 15,812 reads, 592 comments
• The Canadian Caper – 506 reads, 37 comments
† The Dish – 250 reads, 24 comments
• There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments
† WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,967 reads, 45 comments
• WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2019 – 1,845 reads, 10 comments
† What Now? – 2,764 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, published in Mythic Magazine.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome, a site which unfortunately is no more.

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So 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. So 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.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story published in Mythic Magazine.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Darkness into Light, a short story 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 – as the timelines smack together and continue to diverge, it gets harder to tell the “real” timeline from all the newer fake ones. And what if some of the changes are for the better?

Fourth Quarter 2022 Prep Work

So currently, my intention, for 2024’s NaNoWriMo, is to write the third trilogy in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I need to iron out the plot! So a lot of this year has been spent on that. I have no name for this one yet.

For 2023 NaNoWriMo, I have decided to create a prequel for two or three more of the five main universes: Obolonks (while the Obolonks and Time Addicts are in the same universe, I just plain want to write two separate prequels!), Untrustworthy, The Enigman Cave, and Mettle.

If 2023 NaNo goes like 2022 NaNo did, then whichever one I do first will end up sticking to the script and complete relatively early, and then the second one will … meander.

If I had to choose two which would fill the bill in that fashion, it would either be Untrustworthy + Obolonks or Mettle + Enigman Cave. This is mainly because the first in each pairing are relatively well-defined, whereas the second of the pairings? Eh, not so much.

So, I anticipate a lot of fun and perhaps a little confusion. But it’s all good! And if I play my cards right, I can do the final pairing in 2024 and ~~put off~~ prepare the third trilogy till 2025.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Queries and Submissions

So here’s how that’s been going during fourth quarter 2022.

Reprint

Coming right out of the blue, Mythic Magazine wants to do a second Best of Mythic and chose A True Believer in Skepticism!!! Yay!!!!

In Progress

As of fourth quarter 2022, the following are still 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

But the truth is, I suspect all of those are ghostings at this point. I don’t honestly have the energy to submit right now.

All Other Statuses

So be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for fourth quarter 2022 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 carried 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 were: 5 submissions of 5 stories (so 5 submissions carried over from 2020); 100% Ghosted.

2022 Stats

So, in 2022 my querying stats were:

6 submissions of 6 stories (so 5 submissions carry over from 2020 and 2021), plus 1 reprint!

† Acceptances (reprint; still waiting on it): 1,14.29%
• Rejected-Form: 1, 14.29%
† Ghosted: 5, 71.42%

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

Fourth Quarter 2022—Productivity Killers

So it’s work, what else? I am working on a ton of things and then have to switch to fiction writing. And that isn’t always easy, and there’s no end in sight.

My focus right now, also, is to continue to redesign and overhaul this blog and website. So, that’s the priority, and creation will wait for it, and editing.

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Writing Progress Reports Hub

Book Review: On Writing Well, by William Zinsser

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 22, 2022

Book Review: On Writing Well, by William Zinsser

As a part of our requisite readings for my social media writing class at Quinnipiac, we read On Writing Well, by William Zinsser. This was a terrific book. And sorry folks, but I big time prefer this one to the Stephen King book (see link below).

On Writing Well covers a multitude of issues that writers can face. Zinsser gives writers the freedom to occasionally break some rules, or at least to bend them. Moreover, he gives reasons why one type of construction might work better than another.

This is one of the best parts of this work—an explanation of why selecting one construction will work better. Because sometimes stories are too cute by half or otherwise not serving the subject matter properly.

What’s Important per William Zinsser

For Zinsser, the start and the end pack heavy punches. On Page 54, he writes,

“The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead. And if the second sentence doesn’t induce him to continue to the third sentence, it’s equally dead. Of such a progression of sentences, each tugging the reader forward until he’s hooked, a writer constructs that fateful unit, the ‘lead’.”

Not only is this good advice for fiction writing, it is excellent for report writing and for writing for the web. How many times have we had to slog through a ton of prose before getting to the good stuff?

How many times have we tried to hang in there when we would rather be doing anything but tackling an opaque garbage can full of prose?

And for fiction writers in particular, if we want to know why a sequel isn’t selling, it just may be because the last sentence of the preceding work didn’t pack enough of a punch.

Active Versus Passive Tense

Many writers get a message to prefer active to passive tense when writing. Zinsser explains why, on Page 67,

“Use active verbs unless there is no comfortable way to get around using a passive verb. The difference between an active-verb style and a passive-verb style – in clarity and vigor – is the difference between life and death for a writer.”

A little over the top, maybe, but it does get the point across.

William Zinsser and Ray Bradbury: Who’s Better, Who’s Best?

I have read other books on writing. I also really love Ray Bradbury’s take.

Don’t dance around your subject. Be bold. And be clear. Be terse.

GET. THIS. BOOK.

Review: 5/5 stars.

Want More Book Reviews?

If my experiences with book reviews for writing resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other book review blog posts.

Check Out Some More Book Reviews on Writing

• The Elements of Style, by Strunk, White, and Kalman – this work is a classic for a very good reason.
† Stephen King On Writing – I bet this guy is going places.

Next blog post

Social Media Happy Holidays!

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 20, 2022

Are You Having Happy Holidays?

Well, happy holidays from me!

So thanks to the fine folks at Canva, there’s a great holiday image and I’ve got to say I really love it.

Plus I was getting a little tired of reusing the older holiday post. Hence here’s something new which I hope will be a lot more timeless.

Reflections

Because the year is drawing to a close, I get a bit pensive. So I often wonder if the year worked out all right. Did I accomplish everything I had wanted to? What were my obstacles? And how did I try to overcome them? That is, if I tried to at all …

In addition, this is when I start to look forward to the following year. Some of this is in terms of resolutions. And some of this is in terms of goal making. Because I am working on becoming a more regular writer, many of these goals center around writing.

But also around its ancillary activities. Because editing, proofreading, beta reading (both for me, and for me to do for others), and promotions are also important.

A writer, if they are at all serious, will have to do all of these things. And by the way, that is even true of big time famous authors. They have to accept editing. And they have to promote their works. Plus we all need to work on our craft. None of us are perfect.

So without further ado, here are some possible goals for next year.

And some reflection on how things have gone. Yeah, it’s been a few years since I did this.

Next Year’s Goals (More or Less) Beyond the Holidays

Goals come in a few flavors.

Writing Goals

So in 2018, one great goal worked out beautifully. It was to write every day, every other month. Now, sometimes that was a bit difficult to do. There were some days when I just plain didn’t want to write something on top of everything else.

But the discipline, I feel, was good for me. So that’s one goal.

Dovetailing with this goal was writing short works during the off months. This I did a lot of although not enough. It came in mighty handy during my most tired days to already have a draft, and just need to polish and type it. Hence I need to do that more.

And in the past few years, writing has been sporadic at best.

For 2023, I would definitely love to write more. I feel most centered when I do. But I also need to work on this website. So, at least some original fiction writing will take a back seat.

Promotional Goals

Another goal from 2018 was to use the off months to promote. This one did not work out quite so well. Life was busy and I was tired. And I was suffering from some wicked imposter syndrome on top of everything else.

Hence I will need to work harder to promote. Fortunately, this blog is a part of my promotional efforts.

In the past few years, I didn’t promote much at all. However, I have updated this blog for speed, readability, and SEO. All of these help.

For 2023, yes, I should promote more. But I honestly have no idea if I will have any real bandwidth for it.

However, I have also gotten better at that. So, there’s something.

Publishing Goals

Yet another goal from 2018 was to query my unpublished works. And again, my adherence to that goal was kind of spotty. So I will need to do better in that area. It may help to get the whole process more organized.

And I have been trying to do just that. In addition, I need to know when to throw in the towel and instead pull the trigger on self-publishing.

For some works, that might be the best or even the only place to get them out there.

There is also the possibility of putting some of my shorter works up as free downloads here. For semi-throwaway works which do not tie to other, bigger works, that could be a good use for them.

A related goal is to really learn as much about self-publishing as I can, from the top down. This also ties in with promotions, to understand how to best promote my work and get it in front of the biggest audiences.

It might be in the form of giveaways, swag, conferences, conventions, or something else.

For the past few years, the same has been true: a spotty record of querying, and little to no time to learn about the craft. I’ve joined FB groups to get better. But, alas, I also don’t really have the time to read them, either.

For 2023, I know I should do better. Heh. We’ll see.

Community Goals

Finally, writing is a community and that means we need to have each others’ backs. While Facebook has splintered badly in that area,

Twitter is still a good place. Following and participating in author hashtags like #AuthorConfession or #OneLineWed already help.

It also doesn’t hurt that I’ve got over 1,000 Twitter followers. That is a tipping point in Twitter, I’ve noticed. In general, an account starts to get people following for the sake of following.

However, one thing I need to work on is if I can shunt some of the accounts I’m following to lists instead, and then unfollow. Because if the number of people I’m following stays below the number of people who are following me, it should help to bolster my influence.

For the past few years, I have actually been doing this! Yay and go me!

Holidays or no, in 2023, of course, I need to do more of the same. And since Twitter is still in the throes of a slow-motion meltdown, it would behoove me to expand to other parts of the community.

BookTok? Instagram? Substack? Egad, I am getting a headache just thinking about even half of all that.

Takeaways for The Holidays and Beyond

I realize this was a bit of a heavy topic for the holidays. Are you looking forward to next year? Are you planning, or just winging it? Do tell. And, by the way, if you can’t make every single goal you set for yourself, don’t worry. Don’t be hard on yourself. There’s always the next year.

Have fun during the holidays! And maybe get offline a little….

Working With a Beta Reader

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 1, 2022

What’s It Like, Working With a Beta Reader?

A beta reader is somewhat different from an editor.

How different? Well, for one thing, beta reading is generally something that people do for free.

Beta Readers

Beta readers are people who read over your work and evaluate it before it goes to a publisher. They might read for typos, spelling errors, grammatical issues, and punctuation problems, but that is not a very good way to work with them. Work with an editor for that.

Instead, you want them to help you with flow and continuity in your writing. If your main character is male and 6’3″ and owns a farm on page 14, then he should still be male, 6’3″, and the owner of a farm on page 204, unless there is some on-page reason why he isn’t. E. g.:

† They are transgender, and successfully transitioned (with or without surgery) to male. Or the character no longer identifies as female or male.
• The character had some sort of a growth spurt and is taller, or has osteoporosis, and shrunk, or maybe her legs were amputated (sorry, character!).
† He gave away the farm, or it failed, or was destroyed by a natural or man-made disaster, etc.

The last thing you want is for your beta reader to wonder why there’s no farm any more, particularly if that particular setting isn’t a big part of the story.

How Can You Start This Relationship?

The best way to get a beta reader is simply to be one. So offer a trade with another indie. Be kind when you’re done, and either recommend your beta reader friend or at least donate a little something to one of their three favorite charities. If the work is absolutely abhorrent, at least you can say you did that.

Lead with kindness, always.

What Should You Expect?

You’re working with a volunteer. So, things might be slow. You cannot be overly pushy. However, setting an expectation as to the overall deadline (be generous with the time frame!) is helpful. E. g. if you want the beta reading to be done in ten months for a 100,000 word document (very possible, even for a busy beta reader), say you need it done in nine months and try not to be overly anxious about it.

What Are Some Practical Tips?

Use Google docs in order to avoid version control nightmares. Create a schedule and a set of expectations. Hence for our hypothetical 100,000 word work, a nine month time period gives the beta reader about 39 weeks to get it all done. If each chapter averages about 1,100 words long, then you want a beta reading turnaround of about 2 – 3 chapters per week to make it in nine months.

Do you now see why I’m talking about giving yourself a one-month cushion? You’ve also got to account for vacations, illness, the other person being busy with other stuff, and even a lack of motivation on their part.

And give yourself that extra month, just in case things really go badly, and you end up scrambling. Better to scramble 31 days before the manuscript is due, than one day before. Of course, no scrambling is ideal. But sometimes, sigh, it just happens that way. Ah, well.

How Many Beta Readers Do You Need?

For a 100,000+ word work, you’re probably going to want more than one beta reader. In fact, I would recommend that for any work longer than what most people would call a short story. You need some give and take and a consensus.

If three beta readers tell you a chapter is dull, then it’s dull. If two say you need to use the word ‘whom’, and one says to use the word ‘who’, look it up on a trusted authority, such as Grammar Girl. Majority does not rule here.

Demographics and Working With a Beta Reader

Good beta readers are in the demographics of the people you’re trying to reach with your novel. They like your genre or at least are willing to read in it and offer feedback. They don’t tear you a new one when they don’t like something, but they are also unafraid to tell you if something isn’t working for them.

Some Standard Questions

Ask them:

• Are the characters believable? Are they distinguishable?
† Do you think the situations are plausible?
• Are the settings well described? Can you picture yourself where the characters are?
† Do the transitions work?
• Are the conflicts plausible?
† Is the conclusion a satisfying one? Or could you see it coming from a mile away?

Make sure to also ask about genre-specific issues, such as whether your mystery was too easy or difficult to solve, if your horror story was scary enough, if the technobabble in your science fiction novel was credible, etc.

Practical Tech for Beta Reading

Google docs is particularly useful for multiple beta readers, as they can see each others’ suggestions. Just set everyone to ‘suggesting‘ and not ‘editing‘. Google docs will also inform them when changes have been made, so they are reminded that you’re still out there, and you still need their help. Be sure to make corrections on the page so the beta readers can comment on them if they want to.

Don’t like Google docs? Then use Word and turn on its editing features. Use Dropbox or the like if your documents are too big to practically email back and forth.

Manners Count With Your Beta Reader!

Be gracious about the corrections; these people are trying to help you! But if it’s important for your character to be Lithuanian or eating pretzels or whatever, then stick to your guns and explain why. Do so without rancor, of course. Be kind and your beta readers will be so in return to you.

Establish a really good relationship, and you could be reading for each other for years.

PS… Beta Reader Rewards

Not 100% necessary, but nice to do all the same. I’ve gotten and given gift certificates. And if your work makes it to publication, send them a signed copy. For free.

Seriously. You should cherish a good beta reader to writer relationship. Just like any other good relationship!

Your time with a beta reader is a unique writing relationship. So make it as good as it can be.

Want More on Beta Reading and Editing?

If you want more on beta reading and editing, check out the following blog posts:
• Beta Reading for Indie Writers
† Beta Reading, Part 2
• Beta Readers and Editors

Editing:

• Writing Needs Editing, Part 1
† Writing Needs Editing, Part 2
• Choosing an Editor
† Editing Tips

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Month: December 2022

Writing Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

Fourth Quarter 2022 Posted Works

Milestones

More Published Works

WIP Corner

Fourth Quarter 2022 Prep Work