I promised a post on my so-called accomplishments of the past year. It’s a decent exercise, especially when the year ahead looks so daunting. I’ve had to slap some provisional titles on works in progress, but that’s part of the fun. So, without further ado:
| Fabulous Accomplishment | What Bit of Writing It Has to Do With |
|---|---|
| One short story published in an SFF market, both digital and print | Parrish Blue |
| Finished first revision cycle with Wind and Smoke, divided the work, and completed second round revision with Volume 1. | Wind and Smoke (work in progress) |
| Finished a two-book entry to my series, revised and submitted Book 1, nearly completed revisions on Book 2 | Shadows of Insurrection (submitted) Fires of Resolution (WIP, in final revisions) |
| Talked a regular reader into reading the first two volumes of Lidian’s Promise, made decisions on updates needed to go to market. | A Sorcerer in Levoigne (WIP) Strangers in Almadina (WIP) |
| Wrote, revised, and had a short story published in an anthology, PLUS experienced having that story nominated for the Pushcart Prize. | “Heart’s Delight” (anthologized in Fault Zone: Reverse) |
| Wrote, revised, advocated for, and had published a neurodivergent short story. | “Reunion” (anthologized in Fault Zone: Reverse) |
| Wrote, revised, and had accepted a middle-grade SF novella for a shared-universe collection | The Smugglers (planned for mid-2022) |
| Wrote, revised, performed, and had accepted a humorous short story for a shared-universe collection | “Coke Machine” (planned for spring 2022) |
| Submitted multiple entries to the California Writer’s Club (CWC) SF Peninsula Chapter’s Literary Stage competition, won awards for opening chapter for a diverse-characters novel, a humorous madcap short story, a structured poem (a sestina), and a short story. | A Sorcerer in Levoigne (Chapter 1), “Coke Machine,” “Trap” (poetry), “Solitary Dances” Note: the contest does not involve publication, but awards are listed on the SF Peninsula Chapter website. |
| Launched a newsletter and published the first eleven monthly issues (Twelfth issue came out in January 2022.) | Tales from the Oort Cloud What do you mean? You haven’t subscribed yet? EZ box on this page. Pop-up roaming the page. Link in the title and right here. Go for it. You won’t be sorry. |
| Attended the Nebula Awards Conference online | (I’ve volunteered to help at the 2022 conference.) |
| Served on four panels at Octocon, the Irish National Science Fiction Convention | Moderated a panel on the isekai subgenre in anime, and another on global optimistic futures, took part in an improv panel (Orbital Tidy Town Committee), and a science panel on energy futures |
| Volunteered a full schedule at WorldCon virtual | Hosted Kaffeklatsches, monitored panels, teched a publishing workshop. |
| Performed a reading with Strong Women, Strange Worlds | All That Was Asked No video, but similar to a reading on Fairy Princess Lolly‘s livestream program last year. |
| Performed a reading on Fairy Princess Lolly’s livestream series, Author Reads | “Parrish Blue” Part of a longer program. You’ll find this reading at T= 53:47 in the video. |
| Became board-adjacent on SF-Pen chapter of CWC as runner of open mics | Fourth Tuesday open mics |
| Provided a second year of tech support for the South Bay Writers chapter of CWC | Open mics on First and third Fridays |
| Updated my website, with a proper landing page, the blog in its own territory, and space for appearances. | Cometary Tales (you are here!) |
| Increased my vast followership on Twitter (hahaha) | Up to 241 for Cometary Tales and 204 for Pixel Gravity |
| Sold some copies of my book! | “Some” is as close as you’re going to get to a number, here. |
| Also: racked up several agent rejections, practiced pitches and studied statistics of twitter pitch contests, and wrote four (count ’em! FOUR!) blog posts! | Tally Ho! |
I should note that at each of the open mics I manage, I also take part, sharing excerpts from works in progress as well as poetry and related works.
I’ve also been diligent at showing up for my critique partners and my non-critique writing group, even if I can’t be there in person. That boils down to 10-12 hours a week of reviewing colleagues’ work, accepting notes on my work, and discussing craft and our work together in online meetings.