Back in the Saddle

After 6 months submitting nothing to magazines/anthologies, I have dusted off my lists, my trackers, and sadly said goodbye to a few publications I loved that closed their doors (RIP Hexagon...) and marked two of my stories as homeless now that the publications are defunct (Whiskey Blot and Deathcap and Hemlock). I know it's part of the business, but it's still sad.

Feels kind of like taking a few steps back, though not in my control.

While I think the break was helpful, as I used the time to establish some robust instructional habits with my students through Authors Publish, it's time to get back out there. Five Submissions went out today, and I've got 6 more stories on deck as certain targeted publications open in the summer at some point (why are simultaneous ones never the ones open at the same time?!).

I've picked up 2 more clients for book coaching, and I am absolutely loving it! Being able to dig into an author's story and help them organize the plot, align their third rail, pull out hidden gems, and bring to light talents they don't see in themselves is exhilarating for me! I still remember over 20 years ago now wondering if I should go into teaching art or English. Now I teach both! Though I definitely like this version of teaching writing as opposed to public school.

I'm just where I want to be.

My current WIP is now approaching 80k, but it's slow-going still, mostly because I keep working on the story, enriching it more as I continue to develop the characters. I am really growing to love it more, though I can't love anything quite as much as my main series. But now isn't the time to keep pushing that. All signs point to starting with a standalone. Perhaps two. I'll keep fiddling with the series, making it stronger as I continue to grow as a writer, and hopefully, one day, it will have its turn in the sun.

I did decide to take down my 'pitch' page with growing concerns of AI polices allowing them to 'learn' from public literature. My writing group has almost completely shifted away from Google Drive to share our novels with each other after one member discovered there's a way for Google's AI to pull data from any spreadsheet, shared or not. Proton is our new best friend. Fingers crossed it's better...