At the start of November I decided to go on ‘leave’ from writing until the new year. I did this so I could focus on life and farm admin without being overwhelmed. I’m sure many writers can agree, that whenever you decide to take a break from writing you inevitably get pulled back in.
So, while in the middle of the month I didn’t do too much writing work I did still did some. Let’s take a look.
Freelance
Pitches sent: 4
LinkedIn connections made: 1
Follow-ups: 2
Rejections: 2
Commissions: 1
Projects completed: 0
Money made: $0
I’ve added in my follow-ups and rejections this month because I had more than zeros to share. I don’t mind getting rejections because it means I’m trying. Ok, I mind a little, but I’ve never been too devastated by them. Dealing with rejection is fundamental to any profession that puts your ideas and creativity out there.
[Related Post: My 3 best short story rejections]
One editor has asked to see a draft. Not really a commission as it’s a tentative request. But I’m still keen to get my foot in the door with a new publication.
I also got an ego boost to compensate for the rejections though. A recruitment agent gave me a call after finding my resume on Seek (recently updated). He wanted to discuss a few government writing positions. They were interesting, but full time and at present I only have part-time availability. Regardless we connected on LinkedIn and he also passed my details on to an acquaintance looking for a copywriter. So there you go.
Fiction
Stories/words written: 2
Stories edited: 1
Stories submitted: 2
Stories published: 0
Money made: $0
After writing two short stories at the start of the month I realised I had to stop writing fiction. Is that shocking? It was certainly hard, I’ve had several more ideas since then. But if I just keep writing I’m never going to get anywhere. I have to stop and edit, revise, review, etc. I took a step back and did some goal setting for the new year. I’ve now decided where to put my energy over the next few months.
[Related post: Goal Setting for Writers]
Development & Growth
I’ve been all about growth this year and November was no exception. I took advantage of Lindy Alexander’s Black Friday Sale and grabbed her guide to writing personal essays.
And last week marked my first meeting with a new critique group. I’m still meeting with my picture book critique group but want to develop my short stories for adults as well. I was very proud of myself for reaching out on a FB group I’m a member of and finding some total strangers who also want to workshop their stories. The meeting went wonderfully. I did one more revision on the story they critiqued and sent it off to Overland for consideration.