The Annual State of the Writer
Feb. 18th, 2022 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
writerkitIt was making finalist at the NESFA contest at Boskone 57 that spurred me to take my writing career seriously. I had written a story called "Deathtree" which I have never really done anything else with (I really ought to rewrite it and try publishing it, because I very much like the concept) and they had all of the finalists do a joint reading. As soon as I heard Mary Alexandra Agner read her story I thought "Well, she's going to win," as indeed she did, but I found I liked being at the front of the room, having people listen as I spoke and be interested in my work. And I realized that if I got things published, I would then have the requisite qualifications to volunteer to be on convention panels, and thereby be at the front of the room again.
I set some hard numbers for myself: 10 total fiction and/or poetry publications in any sort of paid market, and I would be a Real Writer and start putting myself forward to volunteer for this sort of thing. And then, as an afterthought, "Or I suppose if I qualify for the SFWA, that would also count," in the tones of someone who believed that of course that one could not possibly happen first.
So I count the progress of my writing career from Boskone to Boskone, as that was the point at which I began taking my writing seriously. As we are now on the eve of another Boskone-- one at which I will sadly not be present because of the ongoing pandemic-- it is time to take a look at the progress of my career over the last year. Because of the way publishing timelines are, I've divided this into "appearances" and "accomplishments." Appearances are publications actually showing up; accomplishments are the point at which the acceptance was sent.
Accomplishments: 1 pro sale, 2 semi-pro sales, participation in an indie charity anthology, one paid book review
Appearances: 2 stories in pro markets, 2 stories in semiprozines, 1 story in an indie charity anthology, one book review in a small independent online magazine.
In terms of total stories published as progress towards the "Real Writer" thing, I've had two pro sales and four semi-pro ones since I began, leaving me starting to wonder if SFWA qualification might happen first after all. Which amuses me, given how firmly I was thinking "but of course that will never happen" when I set my parameters. (I will note that I'm thinking of this in terms of the original SFWA qualifications; they're just in the middle of updating how you qualify, allegedly to make it clearer. I do not think they have in fact made it clearer.)
A very different sort of accomplishment: I made enough money off my writing that I'm going to have to figure out how to report it on my 2021 taxes, which I suppose is a milestone of sorts.
Other milestones: first illustrated story, which I did not even know I wanted until I got it. I think it is a thing that will never cease to amaze and delight, no matter how many more illustrated stories I get. The idea that someone has drawn your words into a picture...
Then there was the lemonade-from-lemons that was a lot of writers from the New England horror community pulling together after the Almost Definitely A Scam submission call by taking the highly-specifically-themed stories we'd written for that and making our own anthology, with the proceeds going to benefit another writer in need. I felt very much a part of the local writing community, participating in that. And it seems to have sold pretty well.
There is an extent to which I'm looking at that list going "Wow, all of that was just one year?" It seems like it should be longer. Overall I've actually managed to accomplish a good bit in the last year. I have not burst out of the chrysalis fully formed, but if you took Past Kit who set these parameters in the first place and told her what I've accomplished, she'd be shocked that any of it happened at all. Which in turn shows how much you evolve as your writing does, because I look on it now and go "but I didn't accomplish that much." Except, of course, for the fact that I'm now someone with a spreadsheet who actively tracks which markets have submission windows and which markets have what preferences and has markets that seem to like my writing and markets that absolutely do not. All of which is a dramatic increase in professionalization.
I accomplished some things on other projects, as well. I've been contributing to Young People Read Old SFF very regularly, and WNXS News (my podcast) has been going on for more than a year now. It's the first long-term collaborative creative project I've ever worked on, and while I had a very active hand in shaping the show's style, it's been fascinating watching as I merge concepts and ideas with my cowriter until we get something that's more than the sum of its parts and much more than either of us could have done alone.
What about future goals? Well, I still haven't finished my initial parameter number. Let's see if I can do that this year. Maybe as an and instead of an or-- hit at least ten stories published somewhere paying and qualify for the SFWA. I want to make a dent in actually writing my novel instead of endlessly worldbuilding it. I want to get started on writing a more detailed concept and scripts for the hypothetical second podcast project. (And from a standpoint of not-pro but still writing, I want to get my epic MtG fanfic finished and posted.)
I want to be on a convention panel. Given the givens, probably a virtual one, but still. That was what kicked off this whole thing in the first place.
I wonder what this year will bring?
I set some hard numbers for myself: 10 total fiction and/or poetry publications in any sort of paid market, and I would be a Real Writer and start putting myself forward to volunteer for this sort of thing. And then, as an afterthought, "Or I suppose if I qualify for the SFWA, that would also count," in the tones of someone who believed that of course that one could not possibly happen first.
So I count the progress of my writing career from Boskone to Boskone, as that was the point at which I began taking my writing seriously. As we are now on the eve of another Boskone-- one at which I will sadly not be present because of the ongoing pandemic-- it is time to take a look at the progress of my career over the last year. Because of the way publishing timelines are, I've divided this into "appearances" and "accomplishments." Appearances are publications actually showing up; accomplishments are the point at which the acceptance was sent.
Accomplishments: 1 pro sale, 2 semi-pro sales, participation in an indie charity anthology, one paid book review
Appearances: 2 stories in pro markets, 2 stories in semiprozines, 1 story in an indie charity anthology, one book review in a small independent online magazine.
In terms of total stories published as progress towards the "Real Writer" thing, I've had two pro sales and four semi-pro ones since I began, leaving me starting to wonder if SFWA qualification might happen first after all. Which amuses me, given how firmly I was thinking "but of course that will never happen" when I set my parameters. (I will note that I'm thinking of this in terms of the original SFWA qualifications; they're just in the middle of updating how you qualify, allegedly to make it clearer. I do not think they have in fact made it clearer.)
A very different sort of accomplishment: I made enough money off my writing that I'm going to have to figure out how to report it on my 2021 taxes, which I suppose is a milestone of sorts.
Other milestones: first illustrated story, which I did not even know I wanted until I got it. I think it is a thing that will never cease to amaze and delight, no matter how many more illustrated stories I get. The idea that someone has drawn your words into a picture...
Then there was the lemonade-from-lemons that was a lot of writers from the New England horror community pulling together after the Almost Definitely A Scam submission call by taking the highly-specifically-themed stories we'd written for that and making our own anthology, with the proceeds going to benefit another writer in need. I felt very much a part of the local writing community, participating in that. And it seems to have sold pretty well.
There is an extent to which I'm looking at that list going "Wow, all of that was just one year?" It seems like it should be longer. Overall I've actually managed to accomplish a good bit in the last year. I have not burst out of the chrysalis fully formed, but if you took Past Kit who set these parameters in the first place and told her what I've accomplished, she'd be shocked that any of it happened at all. Which in turn shows how much you evolve as your writing does, because I look on it now and go "but I didn't accomplish that much." Except, of course, for the fact that I'm now someone with a spreadsheet who actively tracks which markets have submission windows and which markets have what preferences and has markets that seem to like my writing and markets that absolutely do not. All of which is a dramatic increase in professionalization.
I accomplished some things on other projects, as well. I've been contributing to Young People Read Old SFF very regularly, and WNXS News (my podcast) has been going on for more than a year now. It's the first long-term collaborative creative project I've ever worked on, and while I had a very active hand in shaping the show's style, it's been fascinating watching as I merge concepts and ideas with my cowriter until we get something that's more than the sum of its parts and much more than either of us could have done alone.
What about future goals? Well, I still haven't finished my initial parameter number. Let's see if I can do that this year. Maybe as an and instead of an or-- hit at least ten stories published somewhere paying and qualify for the SFWA. I want to make a dent in actually writing my novel instead of endlessly worldbuilding it. I want to get started on writing a more detailed concept and scripts for the hypothetical second podcast project. (And from a standpoint of not-pro but still writing, I want to get my epic MtG fanfic finished and posted.)
I want to be on a convention panel. Given the givens, probably a virtual one, but still. That was what kicked off this whole thing in the first place.
I wonder what this year will bring?
