NaNoWriMo Win #3

So, here we are, 30 November 2012.  It's the last day of National Novel Writing Month, and once again I have pulled it off by writing over 50,000 words in 30 days.  Bully for me!  Third try, third win.  Cue applause.

Of the three years I have participated in NaNoWriMo, this has been my slowest.  The first year, I finished a day early.  Last year, I blew right through it and was done a week early.  This year, however, my writing pace was beleaguered.  I just had too many things going on, and different roadblocks that kept getting thrown up in my face.  That, and I was writing a novel that I had to keep researching on and off in the middle of the process.  That slowed me down.  Then, there was the whole shutdown of Hall Brothers Entertainment this week that could have put me in a pit of depression and been a good excuse to give up and fall short, but I didn't.  I rallied toward the end and marched across the finish line on this, the final day of the competition.

So, where do I go from here?  To be fair, winning NaNoWriMo is only the beginning, and "Unforsaken" is nowhere near complete.  This book is looking to be more of a 100k novel than the 50k I currently have, so writing will continue this winter.  There are some other things that are going to slow my pace now that I'm not under pressure to reach a specific goal in a short amount of time.  Since this is the 4th book in a series which still hasn't seen the second book released yet, there is no rush to complete it.  If I have it done in a few months, I'll be happy.

Here's to another fruitful year.  Check this blog tomorrow for some exciting news!

The Horrible News

I have some sad news to report.  Hall Brothers Entertainment, the publisher of West of the Warlock, its forthcoming sequel, The Curse of Selwood, and my upcoming anthology, The Temporal Element, have closed down.  Time and financial constraints forced them to make the hard decision.  Therefore, we place another tombstone on a small press, and must find a way to move on.

First off, I'd like to assure those of you who have submitted stories to The Temporal Element that I am not shutting down.  I will press forward with this anthology, and seek to find another publisher for it.  I have a few industry contacts, and I'll figure something out.  Those of you who have been accepted, you're still in, though I'll have to work up a new contract for your stories (since the HBE contract is now null and void).  Those of you who are still thinking of submitting, please do so.  The anthology submission period is still open until January 31.

Now, what are we going to do about West of the Warlock?  Undisputedly, this has been my most popular work to date, but in a few short weeks it will no longer be available.  Finding another publisher for it may be a precarious proposition, as few publishers are interested in "reprints" these days.  This is something I will have to sleep on before making any rash decisions.

The Curse of Selwood is going to be less of a problem for various reasons.  First, it was never published, so it can still be marketed as "new."  However, as a sequel, publishers will again be less inclined to pick it up, especially if the first book in the series is out of print.  I'll have to figure out what to do with West of the Warlock before moving forward with a full-scale marketing campaign for the other books in the series.

The third book in the series, The Man Who Shot Thomas Edison, never had the chance to reach any sort of production stage.  I was hoping to have HBE release it in 2013.  Maybe luck will give me the chance to get it out by then, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

This really sucks, damn it.  Seeing the demise of Hall Brothers Entertainment is like having a good friend die—it leaves you with a lot of tumultuous emotions and can cause a lot of troubles.  Plans and dreams often die in this manner, and going forward is easier said than done.  Yet, we must press on.

I have a lot of work to do...

Submissions Flowing & a note on payments

I'm pleased to say that both the quality and quantity of submissions to "The Temporal Element" anthology have increased this past week.  While I hadn't gotten anything the previous two weeks, things have started to come in again, and I have several very qualified stories that are due to get acceptance letters soon.  Right now, I'm pretty busy with NaNoWriMo and another big non-writing project, so the acceptance letters may not get sent out until the first week of December.  I always like to be thorough and read each story twice before making a final decision.

Now, some of you who have had stories accepted to the anthology may be wondering about the payment I've offered.  Yes, the Mercury Dime & Buffalo nickel pay will be forthcoming for each accepted story from authors living in the USA.  However, I plan to send them all out at once, after the final stories have been accepted and the anthology is on its way to the publisher.  This won't happen until February or March.  I know, some of you may be impatient, but rest assured your 15 cents will be sent.  I'm also planning to make some kind of "letter of authenticity," denoting what the payment is for.  It may be suitable for framing, but that'll be up to you.

While the coins may not ship until the last stories are accepted, I have been paying the international authors their $5 right away via paypal.  There have only been a few of them thus far, and it seemed simple enough to get it out of the way.

That's about it for this update.  I've got to get back to work on "Unforsaken," and continue to tinker with my other project.  I may put up an exposé on my non-writing endeavor later this week.  You might find it interesting.

NaNoWriMo Week 1 & Other Updates

It has been a slow and steady week of writing, as I venture forth with a new novel for this year's National Novel Writing Month challenge.  As day 7 comes to a close, I've managed to put down just over 12,000 words.  Not nearly the most prolific week I've ever had, but it's a good start.  I have set down a solid premise, and started to flesh out some of the characters in this latest installment in the West of the Warlock saga.  Old favorites and new faces are cropping up to make this a serious piece of fiction.

It's too early to tell, but I have the feeling this book is going to be longer than the previous books in the series.  There is more sub-plot to this one, and a lot of side stories exposing the thoughts and feelings of the various characters.  It is shaping up to be more like the books I used to write years ago, some of which are currently in-print and others that remain sadly unpublished.  I certainly hope this book falls into the former category when all is said and done.

Speaking of publication, I'd like to give everyone a quick update about my forthcoming novel, The Curse of Selwood, the 2nd book in the West of the Warlock saga.  It was due to be released last month, but technical issues have pushed its release to later this month.  I have assurances that it will be out by the end of the month, so get ready!  If you haven't checked it out already, you can read the first six chapters for free at Hall Brothers Entertainment.  Then, continue the story by purchasing the full novel in either print or ebook format when it finally comes out.  Remember, books also make great Christmas presents, so think about picking up an extra copy or two for friends and family.

Submissions for The Temporal Element anthology have come to a stop.  I haven't received a single submission since November 1st, and I suspect this may reflect the impact that NaNoWriMo has upon the writing world.  Hundreds of thousands of writers drop everything to write a novel this month, and that means they aren't getting their short stories out to smaller markets like mine.  At present, I have about a third of the stories I need for the collection, and seeing how we're liable to lose the month of November, I've decided to extend the submissions deadline to January 31, 2013.  This new date is reflected in the submission guidelines, and a notice has been sent to duotrope.com to update their listing.  I expect this new deadline will allow for a higher volume of submissions, and among those I will find the true gems to complete this fantastic collection.

So, that's what's happening in my writing world at the moment.  There are a few other things going on in my life at the moment, but those are to be the subject of future blog posts.  Hang in there, and remember to be your own Santa Claus!



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