Happy Summer!

We're pseudo-officially halfway through the year, so I thought I'd stop and take a look back at the first six months of 2010.

So far this year I've had one short story published in an ezine (Pit Stop), two published in electronic anthologies (Set in Stone, Encore), and one in a print anthology (The Sub Fairy). Another print anthology is due out any day now (A Kiss Before Coffee). So assuming Rendezvous releases this month I'm only one story shy of the goal I set last January. Not too bad considering one of my markets dried up and may or may not be coming back.

I have six stories out on submission right now, but four are reprints and I don't know how that's going to go. I've only had three rejections, but frankly that's probably because I'm not sending enough new stuff out.

As for the second half of 2010, the only release I currently have scheduled is the print edition of Hungry For Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance, which is coming from St. Martin's around Halloween.

I have not been writing as much as I should be, and I'm not entirely sure why that is. Yes, I have a day job again, but I've had a day job for eight months now. When I can settle my rear in the chair for a few hours at a time I can still be pretty productive, but getting my butt in said chair has been a bigger struggle than I expected. I still haven't started a new novel and haven't revised 1794 since the last rejection. Yes, I've written three or four short stories, and started a couple others, but I'm stalling, and I know it. The shorts have done what I needed them to do. I need to get rolling on a new long project.

Part of me would love to expand Encore, but part of me is afraid I'm not ready to write that story yet. That's a seriously relationship-heavy story, and it's going to present a whole host of challenges for me. I want to do justice to these characters and this story.

It doesn't help that I keep getting more ideas. I know, it seems like that shouldn't be something to complain about, but the problem with ideas is that the new ones are always shinier. Short stories let me play with the shiny new toys almost as soon as I think of them—with a longer WIP, I'm going to have to commit. I just this weekend thought of a new story that I really really want to get started on…but do I put off the Encore expansion for it, when Encore is the one story people have actually requested more of? And shouldn't I finish 1794 first, since it's so close to being done? Or do I (gasp!) actually try to have more than one project going at a time?

So here's my plan for this week: Finish "Succor the Child" and get it sent out to the writing group I just joined, get "No Regrets" submitted, do more research for the Encore expansion, and get started on the 1794 revision. I'll let you know how I'm doing with all that on Friday.