Heartburn... of JOY (Plus: Twelve Worlds)

I am almost entirely unable to sit still today!

Sometime this year (definite date not yet set), I will have some work released in an anthology called "Twelve Worlds". Derek J. Canyon of Dead Dwarves Don't Dance and Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds decided to put the idea together. We are looking to donate the proceeds to charity, probably one focused around writing or literacy.

I wrote a piece called Insomnomancer, my word ticker up there says Sleepeater because I changed the name right before editing submissions. I also handed off a copy to my buddy G to the Niz of E-publisher's Manifesto fame.

Our round-robin submissions mean that 3 of the other 12 authors will review our story, edit and provide feedback/suggestions. One of my editors, plus Aaron got back to me today and I think both critiques were very positive! Both enjoyed the story and had a little to say about my adjective use. (What can I say? My world is just more emo than yours, ha-ha... but I'm not dying my hair, growing it over my eyes and walking around depressed so don't ask.)

It is such a thrill to me to have others enjoy my writing. For anyone who has never been locked in a shell of their own making, you don't know what it's like when the sunlight finally comes pouring in. Self-imposed writing abstinence did me NO good and it feels good to be stringing the lines of a story together. It is also very cathartic in that - the ideas won't leave me alone UNTIL I empty them from my head. I have more "room to breathe" as it comes to thinking, when I write! I hope you understand what I mean.

I have that warm fuzzy feeling in my chest and big dorky grin plastered on my face. Hello, Heartburn of Joy! Days like this re-fill my write-o-meter and make me want to push myself even further :)

I Can Hear the Bandwagon, but I Can't Jump On

The indie community is really a thrilling place right now. It seems like everyday I find a new author out there - a living, breathing, pulsing, thinking organism who is jumping with both feet into indie publishing.

They say they've posted X number of books and are seeing between 1-15 sales a day, just on what they have up for sale. To me, even the idea of selling ONE book a day irrationally excites me. My work for consumption - what a dream!

I consider Aaron over at E-Publisher's Manifesto to be a good friend. I've followed his journey from Ground Zero as his sales have clawed their way up from 1/day to now 14/day! I see his success and cheer him... and also want it for myself.

I've touched a little before on how I gave up writing. I haven't finished that story for the readers yet, but I shall... I shall.

The point I want to make: I don't have a backlist of books to explode the face of the InTaRwEbS with my obvious genius. "Chains of Memory" is the first work I've finished...

In Ten Years.

It will be the only thing I have on Kindle, as I labor through my next piece.

Well, that's not entirely true. Along with Derek J. Canyon and 10 other authors (plus a few in the bonus section), we're putting together an indie anthology of which the proceeds will go to a (as yet unnamed) charity. THE ANTHOLOGY IS CALLED TWELVE WORLDS. (/end shameless plug)

But, we're looking at that around March. CoM will be up in the next ten to seventeen days. Even reading that terrifies me.

I do think finishing CoM has given me some serious momentum though. I jumped into the anthology and wrote my bit. It wasn't terribly long, but the idea burned pretty brightly in my mind. Even though it was only a short story, it was the second!... work I'd finished...

In Ten Years.

I feel like I'm far behind the curve, with only one submission for the indie world. I don't have this huge backlist I can wave around and say, "These are my rejections! These are my almosts! This was not quite traditionally published! Kindle hooooooooooi!" It's just my one novel that I've put a lot into (and about a month later, my one short story that I also put a lot into.)

I kind of wonder where I'll be...

In Ten Years?