Hello, dreamers. An exciting new phase of my writing career has begun.

This week’s Writer’s Desk is a day late because, frankly, I’m still struggling to process everything that happened last week. When I began submitting stories to Writers of the Future, I honestly never expected to win. I’d hoped, obviously. After all, no one will go to the trouble of trying anything if failure is assured. But the expectation was that I’d eventually go pro, and my time with the contest would end after years of submissions.

As it turned out, my WotF journey ended a lot sooner. Because once you’ve won, you’re done. Well, late last year I learned I’d won first prize for the contest’s third quarter of 2025. And last Thursday night, I was awarded the grand prize: the L. Ron Hubbard Golden Pen Award, presented to the best story of the contest each year.

I am humbled, overwhelmed, and deeply grateful.

What followed after that chilly October night when I laughed and cried and babbled on the phone with contest director Joni Labaqui is hard to put into words, though being a writer I’m damn sure gonna try. Suffice to say, after coming home to Cincinnati Saturday night, it wasn’t as easy to simply slip back into my normal life as I thought it would be.

Now, I’m beginning my new life as a published author. That means sales, book signings, interviews, and trying to actually, you know, write and stuff. So with all that in mind, here’s what I’ll be up to this week…

Writers of the Future Week: A Retrospective

While I was going to post throughout the week last week, I ended up not doing so for one big reason: I honestly had no idea just how busy I would be. Looking back, I’m honestly amazed I managed to write a daily sketch each morning at the lovely coffee shop I found on Hollywood Boulevard. It was nothing short of miraculous.

As I said earlier, I’m still processing everything that happened last week. The vast amounts of information I received from the Writers of the Future workshop, which I came to call “Published Author Boot Camp”. The incredible writers and illustrators I met, who became fast and very good friends. The emotional rollercoaster that was the day of the awards show. And finally being vaulted into instant stardom the day after.

It was, and is…a lot. A whole lot.

Rather than going into all of it here (and making this an extremely long post), or rehashing everything anyone could find on the blog at writersofthefuture.com, I’ll be distilling my personal experience into a series of posts over the coming week or two. That begins tomorrow, with my “Writers of the Future Winner’s Survival Guide”.

Why would an amateur writer who just won an international contest need a “Survival Guide”? Watch for the post, and you will find out…

Writers of the Future, Vol. 42

Now then, the plug: L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. 42 will be releasing Tuesday, April 28. It will be available electronically as well as in print wherever fine books are sold, including Barnes & Noble and Target. I will be adding the anthology to my “Latest Works” page in the coming days, along with links to purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The print copy will retail for around $22.00, and believe me, you’ll get way more than twenty bucks worth of amazing speculative fiction.

While my story, “In Living Color” won the grand prize, it’s just one of the incredible stories by tremendous authors you’ll find in this book. Twelve stories written by the best authors you’ve never heard of…until now. If you’re a fan of fantasy and science fiction, this is your best chance to find your new favorite author before the hit it big and their name’s on everyone’s lips.

The anthology also contains stories and essays from established authors like Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Kevin J. Anderson, Larry Niven, and Orson Scott Card, as well as a veritable artifact of science fiction: “Space Can”, written by L. Ron Hubbard in an era when space travel itself was little more than a fantasy.

Each story is illustrated by one of the amazing winners of the Illustrators of the Future contest, including Nathan Deiwert, who outdid himself bringing my protagonist August Stefanik to life, as well as Slovak cartoonist Bafu, who won the grand prize on the illustrator’s side. Bafu is a delightful young man, talented and sincere, and was frankly much better dressed than I was for the awards show (to be fair, so was most everyone). Cover illustration was provided by Ciruelo, who has done cover art for the bestselling Eragon fantasy series.

It’s a superlative read, and I can personally vouch for the quality not only of each individual story, but also the amazing writers and illustrators who made all of this happen. My colleagues. My peers. My friends.

The Business End

When I found out I’d won the third quarter of the contest last year, I learned what it felt like to be an author. After signing well over three hundred books last week, and shaking at least that many hands, I learned what it felt like to be a published author.

I’ll admit, for just a moment after I learned I’d won, I let myself believe this was it. I’d won a contest, got my publishing credit, got paid. Done. But as I’ve told many people over the past week, one of the first things I learned about publishing is this: publishing is not a charity. The lovely and hard-working people at Authors Services (which runs the contest) and Galaxy Press (which publishes the anthology) didn’t do all they did for us because they just love taking poor, pathetic, struggling artists and making them famous. They did it because they believe we’re good enough at what we do to help them make money. And frankly, that’s a hell of a lot more flattering.

However, it does mean that my involvement with the anthology is far from over. I have a lot of work to do. Now, I’ll need to do my part to help sell the anthology. To make this first published book featuring my work a success. And that work has already begun.

By the time Mitch, the salesman for Galaxy Press, drove me to LAX for my return flight, the conversation had already shifted from celebration to strategy. Mitch is incredibly good at what he does; I thought I could be helpful by mentioning several independent booksellers I knew of here in Cincinnati. But Mitch recognized every single one. He knew the names of the owners and managers. He’d spoken to them over the phone. And we swiftly worked out an initial plan.

Just today, I visited Joseph Beth Booksellers, the largest and most prestigious local bookstore in Cincinnati. I presented the manager, Gavin, with an advance copy of the anthology, which he was thrilled to accept. Over the coming week I’ll be visiting yet more bookstores. I’ve added “salesman” to “writer”, “editor”, and “publicist”, among the many hats I wear from time to time as a modern author.

It’s grueling, but it’s also a reminder that the folks at Author Services and Galaxy Press aren’t done helping me learn what it takes to be a successful author. And I am ready.

Moving Forward

Amid all the business and platform work (including this post), I’m currently going on seventy-two hours since I wrote any actual fiction prose; the longest dry spell I’ve had in over two years. But it’s hard to feel guilty. In the past, I stopped writing because I grew disheartened, or had to back-burner my writing for other things. This time, I’m just devoting time to the business of being an author. It sucks, but it’s necessary.

That said, I still have five outstanding short fic submissions, at least one of which I feel very good about. I also have another publication that just opened to subs today (I’d planned to sub today, but we’ll see if that happens). And starting today, I’ll finally be resuming my daily sketches. So the writer will actually be writing. What a concept.

Upcoming Content

If you’re still reading, thanks for sticking with me. It’s been a wild week and I had a lot to say. Hawkeyed followers of my Substack will have noticed that my monthly post on editing just…didn’t happen. I’ll be rolling that one over to next month, and posting this month’s “Science in Fiction” on Friday as scheduled.

And with that said, here’s what you can expect from me this week:

Wednesday: “Writers of the Future Winner’s Survival Guide”

So you won Writers of the Future. Congratulations! Now buckle up, because roughly one year from now you are in for the ride of your life. It’ll be fun. It’ll be grueling. It’ll be exhausting. You’ll get dehydrated. You’ll forget to eat. But you’ll learn more about the business of publishing than you ever thought possible. And along the way, you’ll make friends that will elevate your work, and last a lifetime.

Friday: “Science in Fiction: Breaking the Barrier”

Available on Substack

If we’re ever to venture beyond the confines of our own little solar system, sooner or later we’ll need to learn how to travel faster than light. In this month’s “Science in Fiction”, learn how faster-than-light travel has been depicted in science fiction, what accepted science has to say about that, and how the modern sci-fi writer can faithfully depict humans breaking the ultimate barrier.

Sunday: “Dear Sir or Madam”

In this week’s post, get the latest on my querying mission, and learn why there really are no short cuts on the path to becoming a published novelist.

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