Hello, dreamers. After last week, I began wondering if I was tapped out with writing foe the time being. But all that changed by the middle of the week. I began writing again, finding new stories and letting myself write around a bit. I also did some much-needed work on query prep. That said, here’s what I’ll be working on this week:

Querying Pioneers

Last week, I revised my query letter and wrote my synopsis. I’m not convinced my query letter is exactly where I want it to be right now, but it feels a lot better than my previous attempts. This week I’ll be looking at it a bit more, but I feel I’m ready to start testing the waters.

To that end, I’ve decided to try submitting my query to the “Books with Hooks” segment of the podcast “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing”.

For me, this represents a significant milestone. When I first began listening to the podcast last year, I found it very helpful, but also felt intimidated. Listening to the query letters on “Books with Hooks”, my first thought was that I was nowhere near ready for querying. But I’ve learned a lot since then, to the point where I’m ready to let Carly and CeCe have a look at my query letter and first five pages.

Now, the ladies on TSNOTYAW tend to have their plates full most of the time. They often have a significant backlog of submissions for “Books with Hooks”, and there’s a good chance I won’t hear anything from them until after I’ve begun the query process. But I think this is an important first step. If nothing else, should my first one or two rounds of queries fail (as they likely will), Carly and CeCe might be able to help me figure out what, exactly, I’m doing wrong.

I made my submission just prior to writing this post. Even still, I intend to forge ahead with query prep this week. Starting tonight, I’ll be reviewing my list of target agents. And, if all goes well, I could be sending out queries by the start of next week.

Short Fiction

So this week, I was back at it. I began a new short story and wrote a bit on several other projects. I also spent some time editing my extant manuscripts in preparation for future submissions. But if there was an overarching theme for me this week, it was “Keeping Things Brief”.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve come to realize the typical length of my short fiction has been hampering my efforts to get published. It’s ironic: when I first began writing, I had a hell of a time putting together just four thousand words of a story. Now I have a hard time getting myself to stop. At least twice over the past month, I found myself writing a short story that quickly ballooned into a concept for a novel.

So last week, I started trying to trim the fat. I managed to shed some words from some of my manuscripts, but I quickly realized there were hard limits on what I could do. Cut away too much, and I end up losing what made the story as good as it was. To break into lower markets, I need to think in shorter terms.

My first experiments in writing shorter fiction weren’t exactly inspired, but it’s a start. In a way, it feels like trying to learn how to ride a tricycle again after years on a bike. But I believe I can get back to it. In the meantime, I still have several manuscripts out on sub.

New Content

This week, I’ll be making a “Self-Pub Sunday” post, in which I’ll be discussing a new direction I’m taking. I’ll explain more in the post, but essentially I’m going to be pulling back from the self-pub market for the time being.

To those who’ve enjoyed my work on Amazon, I am deeply sorry, but I promise this isn’t the end. Unfortunately, the changes I’ve made to my writing style over the past six months have left me disillusioned with the state of my self-pub works. I fear they just don’t measure up to the standards I’ve set for myself. And even if my readers love what I’ve published on Kindle, if deep down I know they’re not paying for my very best work, it feels disingenuous.

So, to all my readers out there, let me just say this: I’m doing this because you deserve better. If you’re willing to pay to read my work, you deserve to see me at my very best. This is very new, an idea I only hatched upon over the past few days. More details will follow on the next “Self-Pub Sunday” post.

In the meantime, I’m planning a minor overhaul here on the site. I’m toying around with the idea of reintroducing free short fiction (or at least flash fiction). And I’m going to throw myself back into platform building over the coming several months. So readers, don’t dismay. There’s plenty more awesome science fiction to come. I’ve got you. In the meantime, as always, dare to dream. – MK