Hello, dreamers. It’s April, which means I’ve reached another of the inflection points in my writing year. By the midpoint of spring, my start-of-the-year short fiction period is drawing to a close. From here, the rest of my year is devoted to novel work. And it all begins in April, when I begin selecting my novel project.

This is a big decision. My next novel project will constitute the bulk of my writing efforts for the remainder of the year. Summer is generally devoted to research and notes in preparation for novel-writing season in autumn, which will take me through the end of December. While I’ll still have periods of work on short fiction, and of course another round of queries in the fall, my new novel project will constitute the bulk of my writing efforts through to 2027.

The first stage is the selection process. Over the coming one or two months, I will evaluate all existing projects, taking into account not only what I’m currently feeling and how far along they are, but also how they factor into my overarching writing strategy. As I narrow it down, I’ll begin “test-writings”, in which I’ll try writing a few paragraphs or chapters of each potential novel to see if I’m ready to write it. If all goes well, I’ll have a new novel project by the end of May.

And I have a lot more going on. I’m still working on short fiction, have active queries for Seven Days on Samarkand, and I’m tracking several short fic submissions. So with that said, here’s what I’ll be working on this week:

Querying Seven Days on Samarkand

As I mentioned in yesterday’s “Dear Sir or Madam”, at this point my latest round of queries is drawing to a close. While I still hope to hear back from a few of the agents I have active queries with, the prospects are dimming, and I must move on.

While I’m eager to make changes to my sample pages and query letter, I’ll be putting that off for now. At this time of year I can’t afford to get sucked back into a novel I’ve already written. And I know from unfortunate experience that’s all too easy to do. Instead, I’ll likely be putting SDoS aside until the summer. Summer is generally a light month for me, usually devoted to short fiction and novel research. I’ll probably return to the novel sometime in August, hopefully starting with a pitch event.

I do still plan to participate in #PosterPit on April 16, but that will serve as the official end to this round of queries. These ones may not have worked out, but rest assured, the mission will continue.

Short Fiction

Today, I will be finishing my latest short story. This may have been the most hopelessly bleak dystopia I’ve ever written, and man have I enjoyed it. I’m also currently working through feedback on “Survival Instinct” from my critique group. As always, the lovely people of “Book, Beta and Beyond” have been incredibly helpful. With any luck, I’ll be able to turn my full attention to critique edits by the end of the day today, and I’ll have a shiny new manuscript to query by midweek.

Given the time of year, however, the future of my short fiction is up in the air. As I shift gears and start thinking about novels, I’ll probably still continue my daily sketches. But I won’t be actively looking to expand any into full stories. Of course, if something really grabs me, I may go ahead and see where it leads me. But around this time of year I often begin using my sketches for novel test writings. “And All the Endless Days” may be my last short story of this round.

Last week, I received a rejection from Asimov’s. That was disappointing, but the rejection gave me cause for hope. It was a personal rejection, in which the editor said she enjoyed my story but it wasn’t a good fit. I also suddenly realized that the interim editor-in-chief is also the current senior managing editor at Analog. She recognized my name, and said she was delighted to see new material from me, and hoped to see new submissions from me soon.

Well, the next day I sent her “Eden in the Vacuum”. The story she rejected, “Filth”, was the best story I had available when I submitted it. I’m confident that, when she reads “Eden in the Vacuum”, she’ll see that’s no longer the case.

The submission to Asimov’s is one of four active submissions I have currently. I expect to hear back from at least a couple of them in the coming weeks. As for future submissions, while I hope to sub “Survival Instinct” to Clarkesworld this week, that will probably be my last until autumn. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for mags that are currently closed opening, or any anthologies cropping up. But by and large I plan to stop submitting until the end of summer.

Upcoming Content

I have officially launched my Substack: Martians and Lasers. If you haven’t already, head to Substack and subscribe here. It’s free, and you’ll get lots of cool content you won’t find here.

With my recent slow-down in writing, I’ve been casting a critical eye on my platform, as I try to do at least once every few months. And while I’m enjoying the slow buildup of readers on Substack, I feel I’ve sorely neglected this website. So, I’m considering putting up periodic “one-off” posts here. These posts would be of a more personal nature, giving readers a privileged glimpse into my mindset and where I am currently with my writing. Stay tuned.

For the time being, at least, I’ve decided to continue giving readers a schedule of my upcoming content here on this site. All upcoming posts will be available here unless otherwise noted. That said, here’s what you can expect from me in the week to come:

Friday: “Don’t Listen to Me: The First-Line Challenge”

Available on Substack

The opening line may be the most important part of a story in the modern literary market. It’s also really hard to write. That’s why last year I spent months just trying to write the best opening sentence I could every day. Take a look at this month’s writing advice post to see how it went, and why you should try it, too.

Sunday: “Dear Sir or Madam“

On Sunday, watch for my latest update on my querying journey, and learn how querying writers take their planned career trajectory into account when making decisions.

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