Hello, dreamers. I’ve remained busy over the past week, despite hitting pause, or at least slow, on the query process. There’s a lot to do, and every day my list keeps growing. But I’m pushing ahead on numerous projects, and still very happy with the current direction of my writing efforts. With that said, here’s what I’ll be up to this week:

Pioneers

Work continues on my query preparations. And those preparations continue to focus on comps research. Luckily, I’ve received a lot of good info, thanks in no small part to my new friend O.M. Faye, and the ever-insightful Melissa Rogers. Based on their guidance, I have a clear path forward. Early this week, I’ll be speaking reaching out to librarians at the nearby Cincinnati Public Library, as well as owners of local independent book stores. Hopefully, after I provide them with what’s called the “dust jacket synopsis” of Pioneers, they’ll be able to suggest some worthwhile comps.

That said, I already have a few leads. Through the local libraries, I’ve managed to pick up several titles I hope will provide some worthwhile comp material. Notable among these are All Systems Red (book one of the Murderbot series), The Sky People, and The Great Transition. I’m still waiting on a few more titles, notably Children of Time and Blue Remembered Earth.

That leaves me with but one single, overriding task for the next week or two: reading. As a writer, I’m about to make one of the toughest admissions I can make: over the past decade or so, I’ve seldom read for fun. At least not fiction. I adore science fiction, but for some time now most of my consumption of the genre has been limited to television series and movies. Until this past week, I’m confident the last actual sci-fi book I read was Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke. That was probably about nine years ago.

The fact is, as a writer, I pride myself on being more of a producer than a consumer. In the modern writing world, this is often frowned upon: writers who do not read the work of others are frequently chastised. But the fact is, my life tends to be pretty hectic. My mental bandwidth might be much greater than most people’s, but it is finite. And at the end of the day, I’d rather devote my mental energy into creating something for someone else to enjoy than enjoying something others created.

But I’ve always been an avid reader. That, after all, is what got me into writing: reading the works of such luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Michael Crichton made me want to write something that fascinating and profound. And as I began pushing through my “Comps TBR” list this past week, I realized I’d forgotten how much I enjoy reading for pleasure.

So, this week, I’ll be splitting my time evenly between writing and reading. Right now, I’m reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, which I’m ashamed to admit has spent several years on my shelf, unread. I’m about halfway through, and so far I’ll say this: if you haven’t read this book, you should. You should read it right now.

Upcoming Releases

So speaking of that half of my time writing, this week I’m making fresh passes through all of the upcoming Turn of the Century stories. I felt a hell of a lot better about Endurance after substantially re-tooling the story. But I still felt like it could be better. And after cracking it back open at the end of last week, I am certain it is. So this week I’ll be passing through the rest of them, beginning with MERIT 19 today.

I’ll admit another reason I’ve abstained from reading fiction for so long was out of an irrational fear of it “contaminating” my writing: that I’d start incorporating the voice and technique of others into my own work. I’m now confident that won’t happen: writing Pioneers fully established my voice. And though that voice continues to evolve, suffice to say I don’t see it being substantially altered.

However, reading Leviathan Wakes has, in fact, influenced my writing, but not by altering my voice. I’ll be talking more about that in this week’s “Writer’s Desk”.

Upcoming Content

I’m mulling over a few minor modifications to the site, but for the time being I’m happy with what I’ve done. So the big thing to watch for is this week’s posts. Here’s what to expect this week on Writing Tomorrow:

Tuesday 4/16: “Teaser Tuesday”

Another Tuesday means another sneak peek at my upcoming novella, The Envoy! In this week’s teaser, David Ferguson has a tense moment with his alien guest, and learns something shocking about her species.

Wednesday 4/17: “WIP Wednesday”

“Internality”: now there’s a term the casual reader might not be familiar with. In this week’s “WIP Wednesday”, learn how I got back to letting my characters tell the story.

Thursday 4/18: “The Cutting Room Floor”

Novellas: they’re not short stories, nor are the novels. They’re somewhere in between. Learn more about how I’ve been working to create in this strange literary medium.

Friday 4/19: “Flash Fiction Friday: Atmosphere“

This week’s Flash Fiction follows a pair of engineers assigned to an audacious mission: terraforming an alien planet.

Saturday 4/20: “Into the Dotiverse: Part Three”

Venture deeper into my fictional future, starting where it all began: Earth.

Sunday 4/21: “Self-Pub Sunday”

Less than a week until the release of The Envoy, and the start of pre-ordering for Endurance. Learn more about these two exciting upcoming sci-fi releases, and how to grab your copy!

It’s another busy week here on Writing Tomorrow. So keep reading, and dare to dream. – MK