July IWSG: Any (Book) World That I'm Welcome To

 Here we are at the beginning of another month, so it must be time to encourage other writers with an Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Learn more about the IWSG on their website, Facebook, or Twitter feed.

Our hosts this month are J Lenni Dorner, Janet Alcorn, PJ Colando, Jenni Enzor, and Diane Burton.

We have an interesting question this month: If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?

If I'm allowed to pick my own work, I would choose the gaslamp country of Challen. The tech level is similar to late nineteenth century England, but the Four Gods and Goddesses of Challen have gifted Their Avatars with magic to heal people, help plants and animals, and control the weather. It's a feminist society that offers niches for people who don't want to marry or have children. I came up with this world and my "Fem Four" around 1996, and I wouldn't still be writing stories in this setting if I didn't care for it.

If I were to pick another author's world, I'd probably select Becky Chamber's A Psalm for the Wild Built. You could consider it a cozy science fiction book or part of the hopepunk genre. (I haven't had a chance to read the sequel yet.) It's set on a colonized moon, and the people are accepting of each other, know how to build cozy homes, and appreciate the calming power of a cup of tea. 

I'll end this post with Steely Dan's "Any World That I'm Welcome To."

https://youtu.be/fDWV-570oXo

IWSG: I Wanna Be a Working Writer

Welcome to October, everyone! The world's become a much scarier place than usual this month, but if we support each other, we'll get through it. One way to support each other is to be part of The Insecure Writer's Support Group. Learn more about the IWSG on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed. 

Our hosts this month are Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner.

Here's our question for October: When you think of the term "working writer," what does that look like for you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

I'm going to address the second part of the question first. Until recently, working writers were traditionally published writers. They would write one or two books a year, attend book signings and conventions, and spend a lot of time talking with editors and agents. These days, I picture a working writer as an indie writer. She (the ones I'm most familiar with are all female) publishes multiple books a year in popular genres and knows the tropes that readers like. She doesn't do bookstore signings or conventions but may be active on social media and promotes her work herself. She may hire editors or cover designers, but she's the boss, not them, and she doesn't need an agent. 

At this point in my writing career, I'd have to consider myself an aspiring working writer, though the IRS would probably consider me a hobbyist. I'm a parent with a full-time job, which doesn't leave me with much writing time. (Between making masks for my family and participating in Vote Forward, I've given up a lot of time this year that I could have used for writing.) I only have six full novels out, but advice I hear from other writers indicates you need at least ten books before you start seeing significant income. I'm also a slow writer, both with writing a first draft and editing, and I'm contrarian enough to push back against popular tropes in my work. I may never get to the point where writing is my main source of income, but if I can gain a few fans who appreciate my work, I'll be satisifed.

I can't resist ending this post with the Beatles' song about a Paperback Writer:

https://youtu.be/yYvkICbTZIQ

What's your definition of a working writer? Are you one? Do you want to be one? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

 

 

End of August Project Update

The last couple of days have been very much "A Hard Day's Night" work-wise, so I'll just quickly summarize where I am with my multitude of writing projects:

1. Cozy Mystery #2--I'm not sure yet if I want to call it Restaurants and Revenge or Food Safety Can Be Fatal. (I think the second one is more fun, but since I work in food safety, I'm not sure how that would look professionally.) My plan is to write about 500 words a day and aim for about 15,000 words/month. I'm around 13,000 at the moment, so I should make my goal. I just need to figure out a few more details about the murder.

2. Untitled Fantasy Short Story--I have a complete first draft around 4,300 words. I rewrote the opening scene, which naturally will affect the other scenes even though they feel more complete to me. Hopefully by September I can start submitting it to markets.

3. Dryads and Dragons--My original plan for August was to write about 200 words on this project per day. I made my goal for several days, but between squeezing in other projects and trying to figure out how I get from the middle to the end, I haven't worked on it for a while. 

4. Cozy Mystery #1--It's been about a month since I finished it, so it's time for the first read-through. How many inconsistencies will I find? Did I portray my heroine's Filipino heritage accurately? What will the beta readers think? Tune in sometime next month (hopefully) for the answers! In the meantime, enjoy the Beatles:

https://youtu.be/Yxq40ZYIibw

A Song for Spring

C2E2 is this weekend. I'm preparing a bunch of last-minute projects for the event, along with working on Dryads to Discover, working, taking care of family--my usual super-busy load. Rather than write a less-than-inspired post, I thought I'd share some music for the spring equinox, which is today:



What are your favorite spring-themed songs? Feel free to share them in the comments.

2018 Goals: The Successes

It's hard to believe this is going to be the last post of 2018. At least this is a good time to review the goals I did achieve this year.

Write and submit [short stories] to 3-4 anthologies/magazines--Achieved. I had two short stories published this year, one in an e-zine and one in an anthology. Three of my short stories were rejected. I'll publish two independently and possibly use material from the third in Catalyst in the Crucible. I intend to submit two short stories to anthologies in January; we'll see if any other markets catch my eye the rest of the year.

Prepare and publish 1 or 2 box sets for the Season Avatars series--I did a complete ebook box set of the Season Avatars series early this year.

Participate in local literary festivals when possible--I moderated a panel for the Elgin Literary Festival (ELF) and had a table at my library's Comic Con. I'll be back at ELF to sell books (and raffle off a dinosaur), though I'll have to see if my schedule allow me to participate in any other local writer fests.

Make Santa Jawa costume--I'm now calling it the "Holly Jolly Jawa" since I did it in green instead of red.

Crochet at least ten SW characters--I managed to accomplish this back in January. I made so many I'm considering selling some on Etsy after Star Wars Celebration in April.

Troop 20-25 times--I trooped 21 separate events. At this rate, I should reach my 100th troop before I turn 50 (another of my unofficial goals).

Read 150 books--My Goodreads count is currently 148. Book 149 is nearly done, and since I have a couple more days off this week, I'm quite confident I can finish at least one more book before the end of the year. More details about my reading will be revealed next week.

Although the month isn't quite over, it's still been a long December. Let's hope next year will be better than this one--and that I reach more of my goals!  See you on January 2nd.