I’ve been away from this blahg for over a month, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped writing.
Quite the contrary.
Words are spilling out of every orifice into the page. Though I’m prolific in the word department, publishing has been drier than a scorpion’s jockstrap in July. While last year saw the publication of my novella and the acceptance of three short stories, this year I’ve been struggling.
If 2020 was the feast, 2021 is the famine. I haven’t sold a single story this year. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. Bupkis.
Oh, I’ve submitted plenty of stories to different magazines and anthologies. Every one of them wound up rejected. I revised and resubmitted. And received more rejections.
Lather.
Rinse
Repeat.
Scream into the void.
Right now I have five stories out there, wandering the slush piles, looking for homes. I have another one undergoing edits and revisions and another one in the works. I’ve got the markets lined up. These WIPs range from science fiction comedy to fantasy and literary. It’s a mixed bag, but at least I’m producing. Writer’s block is definitely on vacation. After I submit my current stories, I have a novella I’ve plotted and will get to.
Then there’s the fantasy novel, the one I’ve busted my ass writing for the past two years. It’s finished and edited and undergoing additional beta reads. I found a stellar beta reader who gives me wonderfully constructive and insightful feedback. It’s important you work with people you trust and I’ve hit the jackpot in this regard.
I’m querying the novel and have received mostly rejections. Agents are persnickety these days and only want the best. I must up my game if I want to swim in the deep end of the publishing pool, but mostly I feel the unicorn floaty has sprung a leak and I’m drowning.
In addition to agents, I’m also querying indie publishers. Hopefully I’ll have some luck. I need all the luck I can get. It’s brutal out there.
Then there’s the mystery novel I wrote last year, and only managed light edits on it so far. That WIP needs strong beta and sensitivity readers. I’d like to accomplish this later in the summer.
The one shining light is BananThology, an anthology of stories about sending messages via bananas, will be published next month with my short story A MONKEY’S UNCLE! Set in the 1940s, A MONKEY’S UNCLE is a classic pulp yarn featuring hyper-intelligent gorilla Professor Ulysses teaming up with actor-turned-pilot Capt. James Stewart, scintillating samba singer Carmen Miranda, and soldier of fortune Smitty Crashman who investigate Nazi mind-control experiments in a banana plantation outside of Rio. I had fun writing this one, and I hope you enjoy reading it.
There’s talk of an in-person convention appearance later this year. I’ve got some GARGOYLES & ABSINTHE merch and copies of the book for sale. More on that as I iron out the deets.
Other than that, the #5amwritersclub is keeping me sane, and developments on the personal front look promising.
Summer’s here. Time for hiking and swimming and writing like a madman trapped in the attic.
Until next time.
Eric Avedissian 