Progress Report—Third Quarter 2021
How was third quarter 2021 for writing? So I spent third quarter 2021 writing short stories and working on planning NaNoWriMo. Work continued to be mega-busy, but I learned voice recognition on Word. It’s helped me tremendously with speed.
Third Quarter 2021 Posted Works
First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I spent some time fixing and polishing them. Some of these short stories work well together, so they have chapters and the like.
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 – 38 reads, 9 comments
• How to NaNoWriMo – 23,785 reads, 323 comments
† My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 974 reads, 133 comments
• Revved Up – 59,368 reads, 530 comments
† Side By Side – 17 reads, 1 comments
• Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 14,856 reads, 591 comments
† The Canadian Caper – 496 reads, 37 comments
• The Dish – 250 reads, 24 comments
† There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments
• WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,913 reads, 45 comments
† WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2019 – 1,700 reads, 10 comments
• What Now? – 2,553 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 (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. 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 – society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. Can a ragtag group in Boston figure out what’s going on before it’s too late?
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 November 2021!
Prep Work
So currently, my intention, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, is that I am writing the third novel 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 am calling this one Time Addicts – Everything is Up for Grabs.
Third Quarter 2021 Queries and Submissions
So here’s how that’s been going during third quarter 2021.
In Progress
As of third quarter 2021, 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 I am doubtful about all of these. I just don’t have the time or energy to devote to regular querying, and I don’t expect that to change any time soon.
All Other Statuses
So be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for third 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 carry over from 2020).
It can be pretty discouraging and hard to go on when nothing new comes up which is positive.
Third Quarter 2021 Productivity Killers
So my productivity killers are work, what else? See, I got a raise and more responsibility. And I’m supposed to be getting another person under me soon. As may be expected, that made it harder to get fiction writing accomplished.
I am working on a ton of things. Since that is also writing, it can sometimes burn me out. There’s been a ton of stress but I am making an effort to at least write something every night. Because third quarter 2021 will not be the end of that!
Maybe third quarter 2022 will have more querying?
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