Tag Archives: submissions

1Q26 & Third Book Signing

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I’ve done so little writing the first half of 2026 that I’m uncertain it’s worth mentioning. I was able to put down all of 713 words into a space opera romance that my wife challenged me to write. I think I have a great story there, but it’s going to be put on the back burner.

I did submit one story to be published in the 2026 edition of the Virginia Writers Club Journal, which was accepted and the journal published in June. It’s called “The King and His Castle,” and the journal can be found here. I finished the story exactly four years ago but had a hard time finding it a home. It’s historical fiction rather than my usual speculative fiction. It was inspired by an article in an Archeology magazine. I’m proud of it and am glad it found a home. And I’ll gladly take a 100% acceptance rate for a half year, even if the number was 1 of 1!

I’m excited for what’s on tap for the summer. After talking about it for years, I’m finally editing the three middle grade manuscripts I finished initial drafts of over three years ago (longer for the first two). My goal is to complete revisions inspired by my critique group and get them to my editor to work on all at once while I figure out the covers. I’m also going to have my editor work on a middle grade short story collection that I’m thinking about giving out as a bonus for those who buy all three books. The collection will contain about 15,000 words over five stories, four of which have been published elsewhere.

My third book signing will also be this summer. The closest Barnes and Noble to me reopened last month and immediately reached out to the Northern Virginia Writers Club asking for members to come do signings. I’m honored to be part of the first wave this August. Details are below. Please stop by if you’re in the area!

The Crossing Clarendon

2800 Clarendon Blvd #2000

Arlington, VA22201

Saturday, August 29, 1-4p

2025 In Review

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2025. What a year. One of my busiest ever. Not with much new writing, unfortunately, as the stats below will confirm. It wasn’t without its highs though. Let’s take a look.

  • Words written = 8731
  • Submissions = 11
  • Rejections = 11
  • Acceptances = 1
  • Shortlists = 0
  • Publications = 1
  • Rewrites = 0
  • Withdrawals = 0

Were those my lowest words written, submission, and rejection totals? Yes. Am I trunking a story that comprised 2000 of those words? Yes. Am I disappointed that I wasn’t able to do more? Only a little. The year went by fast, and what I managed went well.

The high was the publication of my second short story collection – Laughing in the Dark: Short Tales of Humor, Horror, and Travel. Getting that published was my main goal for the year, so I’m pleased to have succeeded there. This had been delayed a year due to the craziness of 2024, but I managed to get the collection out on October 15 in time for Halloween. I love how it turned out, even if I didn’t have much time to promote it. The Northern Virginia Writers Club has developed numerous opportunities for its members to do book signings, and I’m hoping to take advantage of that now that I have two books to sell. I even made bookmarks with the covers of both of my collections pictured.

I had another story – “Ghost Wolf” – published in 15 Spooky Campfire Stories for Kids, and the rest of the words written represent three new stories, which I am proud of. I need to send two of those out more and finish the last one.

What is the main goal for this year? (Notice how I’ve reduced this to one?) Another year has passed, and I still haven’t edited my three middle grade sci-fi manuscripts to incorporate the edits from my critique group. I’ll make working my way through revising those, and then start the process of publishing them, to be my main goal. 

I’d also like to finish editing my cosmic horror short story that is based on my family’s vacation last summer in Malaysia. Lastly, I have an odd one. My wife knows I like to write in different styles as a challenge – see the cosmic horror short story – so she challenged me to write a space opera romance. Challenge accepted! I already have an idea and have been brainstorming plot points. That part is coming along nicely. Now, I’ll simply need to find time to get it down on the screen.

That was 2025 in a nutshell.  How’d you do, and what do you have on tap for 2026? 

3Q, 4Q, and 2024 Recap

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If you hadn’t noticed, I never got around to posting my stats from 3Q24.  It’s New Years Day, and for a change, I don’t have pressing work.  Playing a little catch up, below are my stats from the last two quarters and year end. 

3Q24

  • Words written = 247
  • Submissions = 20
  • Rejections = 18
  • Acceptances = 0
  • Shortlists = 0
  • Publications = 1
  • Rewrites = 0
  • Withdrawals = 0

4Q24

  • Words written = 691
  • Submissions = 2
  • Rejections = 8
  • Acceptances = 0
  • Shortlists = 0
  • Publications = 0
  • Rewrites = 0
  • Withdrawals = 0

2024

  • Words written = 9473
  • Submissions = 58
  • Rejections = 59
  • Acceptances = 2
  • Shortlists = 1
  • Publications = 3
  • Rewrites = 0
  • Withdrawals = 0

Those are pretty sad, I know.  I only wrote one story in 2024, back in 1Q.  It was a doozy though.  After adding a little here and there to it throughout the year, it now clocks in at 8900 words.  It’s a humorous story in the style of Douglas Adams.  Early on, I decided it would be the anchor story for my next short story collection.  That, at least, is where my triumph for the year resides.  Instead of dwelling on the pathetic output (and not reaching any of my goals), I’ll focus on the positive.

My next collection is coming along nicely.  It’s a mix of comedy and horror short stories.  I’m pleased to announce its title – Laughing in the Dark: Short Tales of Humor, Horror, and Travel.  I already have the manuscript back from my editor, and I even have a rough cover. 

If you’ve been following my journey, then you’ll know I intended to release this collection in time for Halloween 2024.   Oops.  The time suck that was the day job this year wouldn’t allow that.  So now I’m taking my time and plan to release the collection in the run up to Halloween this year.  After reviewing the edits (again as time permits), I’ll need to finish revising and then format the sucker.  I have the format template ready to go.  It’ll be a simple cut and paste job and shouldn’t be too bad, having done it for my last collection in 2023.

Getting that published is the main goal for the year.  What else am I reaching for?  I normally set short story submission and rejection goals, but I’m a little disillusioned with that process at the moment.  Not to mention it’s another time suck.  The critique group that I participate in finished working through my three middle grade sci-fi manuscripts.  I’d like to work my way through revising those and then start the process of publishing them. 

I’d also like to simply find time to write.  I enjoy putting out short story collections but have used up much of my previously written material.  I have about 24k words worth of stories for a solid sci-fi collection and another 15K words worth of middle grade stories.  I’d like to work toward producing enough additional stories to beef both of those word counts up to a respectable 50k.

That was 2024 in a nutshell.  How’d you do, and what do you have on tap for 2025? 

2Q24 Update

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Another sad quarter of writing. Let’s dive into the numbers.

  • Words written = 335
  • Submissions = 20
  • Rejections = 22
  • Acceptances = 1
  • Shortlists = 1
  • Publications =0
  • Rewrites = 0
  • Withdrawals = 0

Yep, that’s the fewest words I’ve written in a quarter since I started this writing journey in 2017. At least those went to two existing stories. Both are on the longer side. For one of those, I’m finishing up incorporating comments from my critique group. For the other, I added a little while editing the story in preparation of submitting it to my critique group.

The submissions and rejections are about normal these days. Can I get another 32 submissions per quarter the rest of the year to make my 100 submission goal? Though I’ve submitted that many numerous times, I doubt it. Twenty a quarter seems more realistic at this point.

I did have one acceptance and one shortlist this quarter. Unfortunately, the shortlist did not turn into an acceptance. One of those close-but-no-cigar scenarios that are often part of the short story writing biz. The acceptance was of a flash fiction piece by the Virginia Writers Club Journal, which will be out later this year. This is the first addition of the journal to include a dedicated flash fiction section.

What’s on tap for Q3? I’m still slowly working toward releasing my next short story collection. I was so much further along at this time last year. I do already have a tentative cover in the works, and I’ve been working on the non-story components (intro, acknowledgments, back matter). I need my critique group to provide comments on the story I mentioned above, which will be the anchor story for this collection. Then the manuscript is off to my editor. Then its reviewing those edits. Then its formatting. Then it’s more formatting after uploading it to KDP. In other words, I’m real close. *sigh*

I’d also like to attend more meetings of the Northern Virginia Writers Club. Other commitments have kept me away. I always feel invigorated after spending time with my local authors and would like to get back to that. I also hope my family’s vacation this quarter results in a good story idea. I usually get at least one out of these trips.

That’s it from me. What did you work on last quarter?

1Q24 Update

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What can I say about the first quarter of 2024, except that it’s over? That’s not true. Well, it’s true that the quarter is over, but there is plenty to say. The mid-Atlantic actually saw snow this year for a change. Of course, gone are the days of the office closing, so you can play a little in the snow and maybe write a little with a warm beverage in hand. With modern technology, as long as the power and internet are flowing, so should the work. Let’s look at my first quarter numbers anyway.

  • Words written = 8,203
  • Submissions = 16
  • Rejections = 11
  • Acceptances = 1
  • Shortlists = 0
  • Publications = 2
  • Rewrites = 0
  • Withdrawals = 0

As always, it’s a mixed bag but the opposite of my usual mixed bag. Normally, my submissions and rejections are well on track to reach 100 for the year and my number of words written is sad. For 1Q24, I wrote more than I have in any first quarter since 2019, but my submissions are about 10-15 less than normal. I suspected my submissions would fall after taking a lot of stories out of circulation last year to include in my first short story collection, We’re Here to Help… Ourselves: Short Tales of Time, Space, Aliens, and Paperwork. 

The number of words written was encouraging. I finished The Hitchhiker’s Guide series of books last year and wanted to write a humorous sci fi story in that vein. I also wanted that story to be on the long side to anchor and fill out my next short story collection, which will consist of funny and terrifying tales (though not necessarily both at the same time).  Those 8200 words all went to the resulting story. I’m pleased with the outcome, and I hope others find it funny. Now I must decide if this collection is long enough at 49650 words, or if I should write one more story to put the collection over 50k words. 

I did reach my goal of one acceptance for the quarter, which was published right away. I wrote about the acceptance of “Fair Winds Travel” here and what that story meant to me. My other story published during the quarter, “Grenada Lake,” had been accepted just over a year prior. I wrote about that saga here. (For those paying attention, it’s the same link.) I don’t have anything scheduled to be published this quarter, but maybe I’ll get lucky with an acceptance soon.  

My goals for 2Q24 pretty much relate to my second short story collection. I need to decide whether to include one more short story and then write it if I do. Then I need to start the process I followed last year. First, hire an editor. The one I used last year is willing to work with me again. Once the manuscript is edited, I’ll need to format it, likely purchasing another pre-designed format, and locate another interesting graphic to use as a section break. Then it’s figuring out the cover design and uploading the manuscript to KDP to start working on the formatting issues… because there are always formatting issues.

That was my reverse mixed bag quarter of writing, submitting, and publishing. How did your first three months of 2024 work out?