Up until March 1, my submissions log for this year was a blank.  In fact, I didn’t even realize I didn’t have a submissions log for 2010 until a couple of weeks ago when I made my first submission for the year.  My last submission in 2009 was sent out on December 1, but that wasn’t even a new story.  To be honest, I hardly wrote/submitted anything after September 2009.  That’s six months of almost no writing for someone who calls herself a writer.

Six months is a long time.  Six months without that sense of accomplishment of filling in my log sheet with project, publisher, genre, date.  A few months-- not six, but at least three-- without that sense of anticipation that any day I might make a sale or receive a rejection.  I did sell a few reprints at the end of 2009, which is always nice.  And over that six month period I put together an anthology (including writing the introduction and a story of my own) and had a baby and have mostly been taking care of that baby by myself, so I guess I’ve been kind of busy.  But still.  Six months.  Wow.

Since March 1, I’ve added 7 stories and one anthology pitch to my submissions log.  Not bad for two weeks.  Not good for six months and two weeks.  I’ve sold the anthology-- yay!-- so that gives me a new project to work on.  I will be sending out two new stories by the end of the week and have two more that I hope will be finished by the end of the month.  I’ve been making notes about various novels and sketching out scenes.  I’ve compiled a list of possible new markets to try this year.  I’m drafting a new pitch for another anthology.  And I’m doing all the pre-publication stuff for Fairy Tale Lust, too.  I’m a working writer again after six months of barely writing and then not writing at all.

I’ve had a babysitter for Patrick since February 8.  It’s no coincidence that the above accomplishments have occurred in the five weeks since I started having some time to myself.  Not just to write, but to think about writing.  It’s only 20ish hours a week, but it has made all the difference. 

I’m looking forward to the next six months of writing.  I have some catching up to do.

Posted by Kristina in Writing at 02:32 PM Permalink