Storytellersunplugged

Where Words Meet

Looking back over the last year

Normally, I try to have this article posted by one in the morning. I’m a few hours behind schedule this time around.

 Today was not a normal day for me. I got to sleep in rather late by anyone’s standards and by my own I may as well be Rip Van Winkle. After eventually crawling out of bed, I got dressed, went over to a friend’s house and helped her load the rental truck that’s taking her to a slightly different life in North Carolina. Her husband is in the Armed Forces, and currently in Afghanistan. Seemed liked the neighborly thing to do, and it’s a last chance to hang with one of my work buddies. By the time my next article comes out, Good Lord willing, she and her husband and daughter will once again be a family unit.

 Had you asked me what my plans were for the weekend last week, they would have involved writing. In addition to this essay, I have three short stories I really need to finish, and I also have three novels I want to get wrapped up.

   Ah, and there’s the rub. They aren’t three NEW novels. They’re the same three I was trying to get finished by the end of 2007. Yeah, that’s right. I didn’t make it.

  First mistake: I tried to start all three of them at the same time. Turns out that while I CAN write three separate novels simultaneously, it slows me down more than a bit. That’s normally called “biting off more than you can chew,” in publishing terms. That’s okay. Live and learn. And it’s not like I didn’t have other things I was working on to keep me busy.

  Other things, Jim? Like what?

  I’m glad you asked. In addition to writing novels, I do an occasional review. In addition to the occasional review, I do a monthly article on a website. If you’re reading this essay, you’re probably already familiar with that fact.

  I had to do a few rewrites on DEEPER during the course of the year. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that a couple of months ago, while I was going over the numerous suggestions that multiple proofreaders and the editor and publisher had suggested.

  I sold CHERRY HILL to a publisher that I haven’t worked with before. Said publisher suggested that I might want to write a novella to go with it. Same character, different story. Cool. That’s two sales instead of one. Of course, I had to write the novella. A little over 30,000 words later, it’s done.  I was invited into a rather unique project, A round robin with some of my favorite authors. Hell yes, I dropped everything to work on that. When I can. I might tell you more about the project.

  I was asked to write a short story for a magazine. Minimum of 3,000 words. Being the wordy bastard that I am, I turned in 10,000 words instead. The publisher didn’t complain and when the time comes to get paid, I’ll probably be even happier than usual.

  My short story collection, SLICES, is coming along. I had to edit all of the stories for that particular collection. Then I got them back a few days ago and I’ve been editing them again.

  Speaking of editing, me and a couple of friends (Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden) got a spur of the moment idea for an anthology a couple of years back and sold it almost immediately. As in within 18 minutes of coming up with the concept. Well, hell, that was pretty amazing. Of course, we then had to edit said anthology. We read a lot of stories. Because nothing went in without a serious debate from each of us, we read ALL of the stories and then we had to edit the ones we accepted, as well as the make suggestions for those that weren’t quite there but close. (On a side note, I saw the cover art for the anthology today. Damn, it’s pretty.) I’d tell you more, but, once again, smaller presses like to control the flow of information and who am I to argue?

  Speaking of anthologies, this year has seen me invited into many more than I have been invited into in the past. A lot more. Because I’m a writer and I love anthologies, I’ve tried to write a story for each and every one of the personal invitations. On a side note, I was ready to get back into writing SMILE NO MORE (one of the three novels I’ve worked on for the last year), when the editor of one of the anthologies I’ve sold a story to already asked if I could send the story again. Yeah, well, there was this computer crash, see, and to my surprise, that story was only on one hard drive. That would be the hard drive that isn’t working anymore. So I rewrote the story from scratch. Of course, it’s been a few years and my notes are long gone. Happily I remembered the story well enough to rewrite it completely.

 Because you’re never too busy, I took on work as a freelance associate editor with Bloodletting Books. That means I get to go over the manuscripts with a fine-toothed comb and make sure that all the punctuation is handled properly. It also means I’m reading a lot of blind submissions and tales that were specifically requested.  Remember how I talked about DEEPER a little while ago? Yeah, well, the idea has always been to promote what I’m selling, right? So I wrote a ten thousand word short story for promotional purposes. It’s available here if you feel the need to read it: http://www.necessaryevilpress.com/pdf/deardiary/Dear_Diary.pdf. I think it turned out pretty damned well, if I do say so myself.

  The thing here is that I had three novels I wanted to write and sell this year and I managed to finish none of them. A few years ago, I’d been grinding my teeth and ready to scream for missing the deadlines set out by my publisher and by myself. These days, I accept that from time to time I’m not going to make the deadlines I choose for yourself. You can’t let that get you down. You surely can’t let it stop you from trying.

  I didn’t manage to write and sell three novels. Instead, I managed to write and/or sell two novels, two novellas, and five short stories and rewrite one more. Instead I worked every day, wrote every day and managed to go on far too little sleep again. In addition to writing, I edited and when I was done editing, I did a lot of proofreading. Just for kicks, I read and reviewed a decent number of novels and also read a lot of “slush” that varied from woefully inadequate to damned amazing. I’ve also written my first ever rejection letter and believe me I agonized over that one. I’ve been going into intricate notes on three separate books series, two which will be co-authored and one more of my own design, and all of which have to be finished sooner or later. I thought I’d try something new, you see, and actually have outlines and a few chapters I stead of entire books written before I start trying to sell the works.

  New Year’s resolutions are something to aim for, not a guarantee that I’ll succeed in my goals. I did not write three novels, but I stayed very busy.  I did not sell three novels, but I definitely made a few sales anyway.

  My resolution for this New Year? Finish the three novels I’ve started, and sell the two I have not sold. I’d also like to sell a few more short stories, but so far it’s survivable. Aside from what you’re reading right now, I haven’t managed a single story today. I’d feel a lot worse about it, but I was helping a friend move and I can always write tomorrow.

  Did you make writing goals last year?

  Did you meet any of them?

  How about this year?

  For me, I intend to make finish those damned novels, because they’re in my head and want out. Just, this time, I intend to finish them one after the other and not try to write them all at once.

  James A. Moore   

Related posts:

1. A Year In Review
2. Random Humbugs To Round Off The Year
3. Thoughts for a New Year
4. Thoughts for the New Year
5. Resolutions..it’s that time again

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