Thirst for Chaos = SOLD

Awhile ago, The Black Library held their annual submission contest. I know a guy that works with them a lot (and you know him, too) and asked for advice on submitting a prop. It's all Warhammer stuff, which I love from my youth, and I pulled together a writing sample and solid story idea.

Never heard back from The Black Library. Apparently, they just ignored every submission and didn't tell anyone, choosing to focus on their established writing pool instead of ushering in hopeful newbs.

That obviously doesn't sit well with me, but to each his own. It's their business and they can do what they want, even if it was a giant middle finger to potential writers that thrive on feedback.

Move forward to yesterday, when I answered a posting asking for fantasy story submissions. I got to talking with their editor, revised my Black Libary prop, and resubmitted the idea. It got accepted, and BAM! Another story sold.

"Thirst for Chaos" will be a 5K word short about Bolstagg Frielander and his ethical dilemna with deciding to either vanquich a comrade-in-arms who is being corrupted by black magic, or allow him to flee due to his past good deeds (hoping his will is strong enough to fight off the infection).

It will eventually go to http://jungleage.com/, a recently created site undergoing revision.

Hear that sound? It's the sweet music of cash hitting my back account.

The way of the dodo

Nein!

I have not faded away. I'm just super busy at work, and running like a writer with his head cut off while at home. My daughter just turned two years-old and my son is  5 1/2 months-old, so you can imagine that sleep and free time are valuable commodities in my household.

I've been working on a ton of commission stuff, balancing about 30-40 clients per month. Maybe a little more. Audio production is in full tilt, and I'm churning out some quality material (like the segment just sent to the owner of Blue Cattle Dog Boxing Gym this morning). Lots of podcasters looking for me to edit stuff, too, which is cool.

Just submitted something to The WiFiles. We'll wait the 90 days and see how it goes. This particular story was rejected six times previously from other places, so I massively edited it and have crossed my fingers.

I have two mroe pieces to rewrite today and submit...somewhere. I'll have to look on Duotrope and pick a place.

I'm also in need of intereted parties to submit to an anthology I'm pulling together. The genre is probably anything sci-fi/fantasy/weird/pulp. Ed Ainsworth and Mike Hintze are on board. Anyone else?

Busy, busy, busy

A rough week around these parts, as I lost two days of productivity due to a family funeral. It was a sad event, but we're through it now and it's time to get back to daily living.

Today turned out to be an awesomely awesome day full of sales and surprises. I've scored a steady gig writing web copy for a real estate marketing company based in Florida. I've been working up page content for brokerages around the country (from South Huntington Beach to Brainerd), and it's proving to be quite lucrative. So much so that I'm thinking of outsourcing some material. There's a lot of writing to be done here, and it's getting paid for, but I don't have all day to get it done anymore.

I also got a lovely e-mail alerting me that three stories I wrote last year were purchased by All Access HD, LLC. I call it lovely because it was more money than I was expecting to get, with a promise to look at any more material I send over. Stories sold include the following:

Citizen Cog and the Vampire Society
One Life to Lose
Midnight Mistress; Dangerous Damsel

When the releases come around in the associated anthologies I'll put the word out. And have you noticed the LLC attached to the end of the buyer? I'm thinking of going that route myself, but I'm not sure on what all the benefits would be other than not getting destroyed by the government for tax reasons.

Hey! I'm still here!

So, all of the commission writing has been taking off. I'm writing short stories, articles, and SEO material for more sites and ebooks than I can name. It's becoming quite lucrative. So much that I'm actually thinking of outsourcing. Not sure if that's plausible right now, as I would have to find some efficient writers that I trust, but we'll see how it goes.

Freelancing work has tripled in the last two months. That's not blowing smoke. I'm running out of free time, and my day job is only getting busier.

The latest thing I've worked to see the world wide web thingy-ma-bob is a nice compilation of work. I wrote two short stories for this Facebook page, which is a business selling computer hardware. I also was comissioned to record and produce audio version of my stories, plus three others. Check it out, some cool stuff (even if it is technically propaganda for the stuff they're shilling).

Lots more stuff brewing right now, and lots of submissions sent out recently, too. I'll get around to talking about them when I get the time.

Ah. Time. Where does it all go? I think as a people we ought to consider going to the 27 Hour Day.

WWiR

Wow, what a week! Lots of work happening around here, so let's run down the list, shall we?

Lots more content for Get Exlcusiv! Go and comment, please, because this guy pays me very well. He's also hooked me up with some friends of his that are going to launch a new site soon, and I've been talking to them about providing web content.

Working on more content for Epic Polls, which is about as basic as my services get. This is easy money, and the guy that owns the site seems to enjoy my work, because he keeps ordering more. I found this guy through Craigslist, which goes to show that all those listings aren't out to get ya.

Wrote up a petition for Amazing Mutts, another regular client. Some serious stuff here. There's a guy endorsed by Animal Planet that is making a lot of people angry. I researched it, and they do seem to have a case here. But...I'm just the writer. I don't know anything about this legal stuff.

I edited some brochures for DistincVision Marketing. Nice guy, but I don't really get how his company can do what they claim if he needs someone else to edit his material. Maybe he just needs a second set of eyes to catch his mistakes.

Designed a sales page for Legs Gear, which seems like a great deal if you live in Australia.

Got a commission story finished called "The Ravaged Earth." This guy is putting out an ebook and asked me to pitch in a story. No word on when the ebook will come out, but I'll be sure to announce it and promote the crap out of it when it rolls around. The story is set ten years after your typical infection-wipes-out-population scenario. Just a quick piece that the buyer plotted himself.

Also started up my NaNoWriMo entry for the year, but there is just no way I'll get it done. Absolutely none. But, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. I just like getting the emails from famous writers that I respect and read. My story, "MonstroCity," is about a seven year old necromancer with her undead bodyguard as a supporting character. His name - Frank the Tank. He's an undead mob legbreaker that the little necromancer has coerced into helping her defeat a larger magical problem.

On the audio production front, I cut a spot for some Balaji guy who wants to help you with your karma, worked up a spot for List A Business, another spot for Mintmicro Computer Repairs, a spot for Movember, a spot for Rate Locking,

Manic Monday

It's only Monday, and I've already gotten a lot lined up for the week. Two rejections (for Drunk Tank, and Citizen Cog), thus leading to two submissions. Drunk Tank was sent to The Drabblecast and Citizen Cog to...I haven't decided yet. But I will. Tonight.

I also began a short fiction piece that I was commissioned to write, entitled The Non-Life of Christopher Mahoney. Just a quick flash on the keyboard, really.

And I also signed a guy to SEO his realty site. Pays a hundred smackers, so hooray for $$$.

HTWWW v2

How the West Was Weird: Volume 2

You should probably go and order that particular little item, as it will make a wonderful addition to your anthology collection. I hear it makes a great Christmas gift, too!

Never mind the fact that I have a story in there, "Raid at Razorfang Ranch." I think you should buy this just for the sake of owning some wonderfully crafted stories. So, go forth and purchase.