Hello, dreamers. January is now well underway, and I’m in full-swing. January is a busy month for most writers, myself included: both Query Season and the most active short story submission window begin within the first month of the year. It’s a wild time of year, spent juggling multiple queries and submissions with furious editing, combined with efforts to make headway on new projects.

I just love it.

I spent much of the past week neck-deep in editing and submissions, and this week promises more of the same. So without further ado, here’s what I’ll be up to this week:

Querying Seven Days on Samarkand

And here I am again: amid critique feedback, I’ve been sucked back into my beloved querying novel.

It was bound to happen. Despite how long I’ve worked on it, pouring so much time and effort into the project, I still really love Seven Days on Samarkand. Diving back in always feels a bit like going home. Part of me has spent the past few years living in the Sanctuary Valley, and no matter where my writing takes me in the years to come, part of me will always remain there.

Most of the work thus far has been window-dressing; tightening up dialogue, sharpening voice. Doing so has saved almost a thousand words, which is very good given what else I’ve been doing. I spent parts of the past three days writing a completely new passage for the novel’s final action scene. The result is substantially longer, but I dare say it does more to ratchet up the tension. And frankly, it’s just more me. By the time I wrote the scene in question last year, I was exhausted. I was ready to be done with the story (again) and move on to something else. Though the new scene may add up to three thousand words to the novel after editing, I truly believe it’s worth it. And though I’ll likely end up adding a few more words here and there to revise continuity due to the new scene, that too will be worth it.

Since the scene is complete and only needs editing, and it lies near the end of the novel, this also isn’t something that will derail my query timetable. However, that timetable is already floating. I’m still waiting for most agents to open up to queries. None of my closed target agents opened up this week, and in fact one of them closed. I’m really itching to get this novel back out into the world.

But, I’m trying to put a positive spin on this: as it stands, there’s no serious rush to get things out there. That means I have every reason to slow-roll query prep and get this right. As such, I’m abandoning my initial plan to “stand pat”, and this week I’m reopening everything. I’m going to turn my query letter over to my critique group, pore over my synopsis. If I can find anything that can still be done to strengthen my query, there’s no reason to put it off.

At present, I’m targeting either the end of this week or a week from today for my next round of queries. Again, that depends at least partly on the agents I’m targeting. I’m pretty sure that, as it stands, I could find ten open agents on my query list. But I’d rather wait and see how many others open. I have considered the possibility of a fifteen- or twenty-agent second round, or possibly staggering the second and third rounds only a few weeks apart. As I said, right now everything’s up in the air. Now we wait.

Short Fiction

First, some happy news: L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol. 42 is now available for preorder. Twelve illustrated stories, including pieces by my friends Thomas K. Slee and Mike Strickland, as well as a story by yours truly. The anthology will also feature original stories by legendary sci-fi writers Larry Niven and Orson Scott Card. My story will feature an illustration by the incomparable Nathan Deiwart, who won first place in the illustrators’ contest in the same quarter I won on the writers’ side. The cover will be revealed on February 28. It’s gonna be dope.

Now then, with my attentions turning back to SDoS, needless to say my short fiction writing has been back-burnered. Though I’m still writing my daily sketches, so far nothing has really jumped out and grabbed me. And until I’m done with the novel, I have little appetite for a demanding new project. I have enough going on as it is.

That said, I plan to work on my modest backlog of short fic editing. I have a completed story that needs to be edited (“On the Wire”), which I believe has serious potential in sci-fi markets. I also have two pieces I’d like to partially rewrite to increase my number of active manuscripts.

Speaking of those, I still have three active submissions. I have concerns about one of them, however; Asimov’s hasn’t shown any activity on Submission Grinder since December 7. The piece I have with them may be my best work that hasn’t been shopped to all the major markets yet. If I don’t see any signs of life from them by the end of the week, much as it pains me I may decide to withdraw my submission. This story is just to good to leave it hanging.

Upcoming Content

Amid some egging-on by a fellow writer who’s made it big, I’m planning to formally launch my Substack in the coming month. At present I’m working on a content strategy, with an eye to making sure what I’m offering on that platform differs from what’s offered here.

As for this site, because I’m not currently working on a novel project, I have no material for my customary “WIP Wednesday” posts. Those will be discontinued for the time being, replaced with periodic standalone features. For this week, however, there will be no further posts until Friday. That said, here’s what you can expect on this site through the week ahead:

Tuesday: Pre-Order Announcement, Writers of the Future Vol. 42

It’s coming! At long last, my work will be appearing in print! This week in a special Tuesday post, learn more about the anthology where I will be making my professional debut.

Friday: “The Cutting Room: I Repeat”

Believe it or not, even authors have their favorite words. But when those words become crutches, that’s a problem. In this month’s installment of “The Cutting Room”, learn why authors must be wary of overused words or phrases, and how they strive to fix the problem.

Sunday: “Dear Sir or Madam”

In this week’s post on my querying journey, I’ll provide an update on my upcoming round of queries, and clue readers in on just how, exactly, authors actually get paid for their work.

It’s going to be another big week. So read on, and dare to dream. – MK