Progress Report –Fourth Quarter 2020
How was fourth quarter 2020 for writing? So I spent fourth quarter 2020 working on NaNoWriMo. So this was either planning, or writing, or editing. The end of 2020 could not come fast enough.
Fourth Quarter 2020 Posted Works
First of all, I worked on the November 2020 NaNo novel. So, this was planning and preparation, plus some research in October. Then of course in November I wrote like the wind! And finally in December, I wrapped up more of the storyline and edited a bit. The book clocked in at a bit over 65,000 words.
Then on Wattpad I posted on the WattNaNo profile and nowhere else.
I also got some professional accolades and have a good 10 articles published in Enterpreneur magazine. So, of course this is huge for my career!
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 – 323 reads, 9 comments
† How to NaNoWriMo – 22,775 reads, 308 comments
• My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 972 reads, 133 comments
† Revved Up – 59,320 reads, 530 comments
• Side By Side – 10 reads, 0 comments
† Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 14, 070 reads, 591 comments
• The Canadian Caper – 485 reads, 37 comments
† The Dish – 250 reads, 24 comments
• There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments
† WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,855 reads, 45 comments
• WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2019 – 1,551 reads, 10 comments
† What Now? – 2,471 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 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 – coming in 2021!
Prep Work
So, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, I wrote the second novel in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. A lot of this year has been spent on the plot for it. At this point in time, it’s just about time to start editing it. I have called this one Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent.
Fourth Quarter 2020 Queries and Submissions
So, here’s how that is been going during fourth quarter 2020.
In Progress
As of fourth quarter 2020, the following are still in the running for publishing (I withdrew some and didn’t resubmit because … 2020):
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 2020 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 so far are:
• 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%
It can be pretty discouraging and hard to go on when nothing new comes up which is positive. It was a huge lift when Killing Us Softly and Darkness Into Light got acceptances!
This Quarter’s Productivity Killers
So, it’s work, what else? I am working on a ton of things and so much of that is also writing. Hence, it can sometimes burn me out. Because fourth quarter 2020 will not be the end of that!
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