This weekend was a holiday for the U.S. but that’s not my excuse. Writers don’t get holidays. I don’t say that in a “work until you drop” sadistic kind of way. It’s just I need to create when the urge strikes. Push it aside to work on later and I often lose that palpable urgency and connection to a story. Readers can tell.

I’ve gotten political again over at Medium. I realize this isn’t the escapism you are looking for. I’ve never been good with that, however (as my fiction can attest). I came across an article about some jack ass billionaire trying to build a Utopia in the desert Southwest and got agitated.

I chose to share said agitation.

I also posted an article about the inevitable victory of the Electric Vehicle and several more last week. From smartass to optimistic, I’m throwing everything at my offerings there all with an eye toward the immediate and far-flung future.

All this goes alongside my quest to publish stories begun early this year. The fiction, lately has been flowing less. No, I don’t buy into “writer’s block,” but I feel like I’m still processing my first six months of submitting a story every week (or nearly.)

In the meantime, I got an amazing email also related to my short fiction but from my first published works more than eight years ago. I got paid. A damn rare event in the life of a writer (or this writer) and always a cause for celebration.

My story “The Doctor’s Session” appears in Siren’s Call Publications Mental Ward: Stories from the Asylum, first published in 2013. This horror anthology has what all commercial books aspire to have – staying power.

I’d love to replicate the special formula that keeps readers coming year after year. If you haven’t already bought it, consider picking up a copy. My story is creepy and a bit depraved (it’s horror after all), so just a warning if that isn’t your thing.

I’m also considering moving all of my fiction back to the website and no longer simultaneously sharing on Medium. I’d likely keep the Outsider SF podcast but not the Medium publication of the same name.

The platform feels awkward for fiction and I suspect the algorithms there downgrade your visibility if the story is imported from elsewhere and not unique to Medium. Plus, with their new membership changes, I’m not sure I’m looking at (or will be able to find) the right audience.

I’ve also been searching for regular employment as a writer. The fiction will still happen, but I’m expanding my professional offerings to include editor and writer-for-hire.

I’ve had some intriguing offers. Hell, somebody wanted me to co-author a book. (As opposed to ghostwriting, a job with a very different contract structure and one I’m also exploring.)

But since I’m a not-so-newbie to the game, I’m a stickler about contracts. Quite a few floating around out there with less than favorable terms for creative professionals. I think this stems from the corporate craze and consolidation sweeping all industries, the publishing world no exception.

Still wandering the trails. Searching for a destination. Thanks again for tagging along.

Categories: Author News

Tags: anthology, Fantasy, fiction, Futurism, horror, publication, Science Fiction, short story, speculative fiction, writer, Writing