Reading: old SFWA Bulletins
Music: Velvet Underground, Todd Rundgren, Tom Waits
TV/Movie: A little bit of Instinct mayhaps
Link o' the Day: SFWA's Market Reports webpage

Feeling somewhat productive tonight. That nasty ole cold is on its way out and I have more energy than I've had lately. I got some work done, some good work. Did some research and prep work. some freelance. Even set up Pretty Maggie's classic NES system. (now if I could just get rid of the dang blinking blue screen we'll be in business)

I was flipping through an SFWA Bulletin from 1996 today and saw three articles in a row about how one could/should/did quit their dayjob and take on writing full-time. My what brave souls. Two out of the three I recognize by name and suspect that they've been at least marginally successful in doing so. They're still publishing and have books appear once every couple of years. I suspect that what they're not going too deeply into is how much freelance nonfiction they're doing. Of course I need to knuckle down and produce more. I should have a couple of decent months--let's see what all I can do.

Here's a question for the group--what sort of writing do you do when you're _not_ working on fiction 9either long or short)? How do you see your chances of making a living solely from your writing? Are you doing it now?

* * *
Herm, I just checked Realms of Fantasy's slush list and see that the story postmarked on May 1st has finally been listed and now that is has it's been read. Now being listed means one of two things. 1.) It may be wending its way back to me via the US postal service as a rejection and should be here in a day or two or b.) they'll hold it for further consideration--forward it to Shawna McCarthy and it could be months before I know.

I find myself in the odd position of wishing that my story to them _doesn't_ come back right away.

We'll see. This has been a difficult story to place.

* * *
So while I'm thinking of slushpiles, I just prepped three more stories to go out to markets tomorrow. I have this one story that's been another hard-to-place one. A short-short bit of humor that relies too much on nostalgia/knowledge of golden age science fiction. I've been hesitant to give this to any top-tier markets as I wouldn't think it of interest to them, but on further reflection--we just don't know now, do we. I'm reminded of one of my earliest posts here where I recounted a scene where John Campbell gives some writer hell for not sending him a story with the words "How dare you reject stories for MY MAGAZINE?"

So I may try to top-tier it tomorrow when I get stuff ready for the post office.

* * *
Seeings how slushpiles and story submissions was a theme today, it seems most apropos to direct your peepers toward SFWA's Market Reports webpage. What it is actually is a page of links leading to other SpecFic market lists such as Ralan's, The Gila Queen, Speculations and Spicy Green Iguana. It never hurts to check more than one listing.

Cheers!