Eleven

I finished and submitted my eleventh short story of the year this evening. This one's a 4,900-word erotic sports story involving lumberjacks.

Published

My story "Maryjane: Then and Now" appears in Drill Me Sergeant, an anthology of erotic stories published several months ago. I'm mentioning it now because my copy just arrived.

Speed

December 23, 2009, I posted the following in response to Jason Sanford's blog post "How long to write that short story?"

Speed of writing can be, to some extent, related of years of experience. I started writing professionally 35+ years ago (as a teenager). Back then my first drafts were sloppy, ill-conceived, and filled with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. And I wrote on a typewriter. 

What happened? After years of pounding the keyboard, I learned how to plot and write dialog. I also improved my knowledge of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. And I write on a computer. 

So, after 35+ years, 800+ short stories, a few novels, and a fair bit of other writing, I can produce a publishable short story in far less time than I could way back then. 

It might be interesting to compare your speed of writing today--at whatever stage your career has reached--to your speed of writing when you started. Are you faster now than you were then?

Three-plus years later I ask myself the same question. Am I faster now than I was then?

No, not in the amount of time it takes to write a story. On the other hand, many more of my stories sell on the first or second submission than they did then, which means my ability to write what editors want to publish continues to improve and, therefore, far fewer of my new manuscripts disappear unsold into the filing cabinet.

So, even though I don't seem to be writing faster, I am more productive.

How about you? Are you faster (or more productive) now than you were three years ago?

Quoted

I'm quoted in Terri Lyndie's blog post "20 Reasons Manuscripts are Rejected."

12

I received my 12th acceptance of the year. This one's for the Independence Day story I submitted Friday.

Published

My erotic crime story "What a Rush" appears in the just-published anthology Pledges (Cleis Press).

Ten

I finished and submitted my tenth short story of the year a few minutes ago. This one's a 3,100-word Independence Day confession/romance.

Published

My fantasy "Alehouse Dragon" appears in the Spring 2013 issue of Big Pulp.

11

I received my 11th acceptance of the year earlier today, this time for a Father's Day story.

Ten-year anniversary

Ten years ago today I became a full-time freelance writer/editor. The irony of the date is not lost on me because it was quite the fool's journey I began back then.

My employer and I had parted company, but within a week one of my former clients hired me to do freelance editing for his publication. The income from this client, who is still a client today, provided the foundation upon which I built my freelance career. For the next few years I juggled a variety of one-off and short-term freelance projects until I ultimately settled into my current routine with my current clients.

During the past ten years I graduated college, divorced, survived quadruple heart bypass surgery, and dealt with all the everyday issues we all deal with. I've written things I never thought I would write, received awards I never expected to receive, and managed to pay all of my bills on time doing what I love most of all.

My dreams came true.

I write. I edit. I love my life.

Here's hoping the next ten years bring at least as much success and happiness as the past ten years.