It’s been a while since I’ve written an update, however a recent spate of submissions, rejections and resubmissions has spurred me into action. So, here are my goals for the year (yeah, I know it’s April already, but shhh), and my zig-zagging, indirect progress in the pursuit of a good story.
My 2024 Goals (As Etched In Stone, Jan 1st)
- Write Every Day
- Make $1000 (bold, you may say, given my current earnings of… zero dollarydoos)
- Q1: Finish Novella – I Think, Therefore I Am(ber)
- Q1: Finish Novel – Project Gateway Final Draft
- Q2: Publish Project Gateway
- Q2, 3 & 4: Write & Submit 8-10 AI Themed Short Stories
For The Stats Lover(s) Out There
- Days Written: 106/120 = 88.3%
- Dollars Made: $7.59/$1000 = 0.76% (!!!!!! – see below!)
- Short Story Submissions: 14 (4 stories)
- Short Story Rejections: 10
- Short Story Acceptances: 1 (!!!!!! – see below!)
More Qualitative Measures…
- I Think, Therefore I Am(ber) started as a short story and ended as a novel. ~70,000 words in a little under four months. Very happy.
- Revised Plan: Polish ITTIA for the Richell Prize, the Wheeler Centre’s Next Chapter Program and the ASA’s Mentorship Program
- Wrote Chameleon, a 5000 word short story that I thought might suit Readings’ The Hope Prize and the second story for my AI themed collection. Made mum cry, so I must be doing something right. Fingers crossed, for the announcements in August.
- Didn’t get back into Project Gateway until April, but – I am in full swing now. Over 50% of the way through. My bad guy, finally, has come to life and it is making all the difference. Can’t wait get it out into the world!
- Revised Plan: Complete the finished draft by the end of June, and have it out in the world for consumption by the end of September.
I SOLD A BOOK! THREE BOOKS!!!
Had my very first sale in January, and then two more! My $7.59 arrived in my bank account in April. Thanks go to my partner’s sister’s husband for breaking the duck, buying a copy of Making Space and leaving a very kind 5 star review. What a champ.
No idea who bought the next two (one each of Making Space and Heirloom Tomatoes). Just a couple of lucky randoms, I guess. Thank you, strangers!
I SOLD A STORY!
Technically, this probably counts as a 2023 win. I was sitting on the couch with my partner in the lazy gap between Christmas and New Years, when I got an email. From the Editor.
Congratulations, Thomas K Slee. Your story Foretold has been accepted for publication!
I did a silly, wiggly dance, right there on the couch. Fourteen rejections. I knew the story was good, even though the I’d reached the bottom of the list of places to submit it.
One acceptance is all it takes.
Thank you redacted. Everyone else, keep an eye out for an announcement in July.
I fought the law and… I won?
This definitely deserves its own post, but of all the achievements of the first part of the year, this, I think, is my favourite.
When prepping Chameleon for The Hope Prize, I noticed that their terms and conditions asked for rights they didn’t need as a condition of entry. Rights that would limit the future marketability of any story submitted to the competition, whether it won or not.
I raised this concern with the competition organisers, and to their credit, they listened and changed the T&Cs to meet their needs as a competition, without unnecessarily impacting the rights of the entrants to market their work.
A win-win all around.