It’s been awhile since I’ve given an update on my writing. So, today, instead of talking about the craft of writing I’m going to let you know what’s going on with my work.
First thing: I keep on writing every weekend (after I escape from my day job) so the word counts keep adding up. Second, I’m going create a new sub page on the blog called, “Works in Progress.” You will be able to see that on the upper right from any page on the blog. It’s where I will keep a running update on the status of all my works in progress from from 1st draft through to final publication. That way, I won’t have to answer as many: So-how’s-the-writing-going questions. It’ll be all right here.
For you wondering where those works are right now, here’s a quick piece-by-piece breakdown.
The Ghul of Yazd
This is done and I keep submitting it. It’s an Orientalist horror novellete set in medieval Persia in the city of Yazd. I’m keeping a running tab on rejections in the UnRejectionable Ghul section on this blog. It has been rejected six times which is, believe it or not, not too bad. I’ll keep submitting it and let you know where it ends up.
“AFTA”
Excited about this one. It’s in the 2nd draft. It is a comedy horror (think Evil Dead) novella set in present-day Northern Virginia. This is the main focus of my work now and I can’t wait to wrestle the manuscript into a final draft. I will have a formal announcement of the name here on the blog when it’s ready in the next couple of months.
Our Better Angels
Just finished this piece and sent if off to a couple of mags. It’s the first flash fiction piece I ever wrote. It’s a piece of historical fiction set in Virginia during the U.S. Civil War. It ends with a bit of a fantasy feel. I also blogged my experience of writing it.
“B”
This is a hard science fiction (to me that means no fantasy elements) short story. It’s in the first draft right now. I will edit it this weekend and next. Then, it’s off for some proofreading and time to submit.
A Pricing Update
Finally, a small housekeeping item. I’m going to update to a new pricing regime for my works on Kindle:
- $2.99 for novels
- $0.99 for novellas and short stories.
Why is that? Well, I’m trying to keep my works at low prices, because, frankly, I want to get my works out there. Thing is, Amazon gives me a 70% cut of royalties if I price my stuff at $2.99 and a 30% cut if I price it less. So, there’s an incentive to price it at $2.99. But, I feel $3 is too much to pay for a short story, but 99 cents seems about right. $2.99 also strikes me as imminently reasonable for a digital book. And besides, writing a novel is hard work, people. Just try it sometime. It seems only fair that the creator of such a piece gets to keep 70% of the revenue generated by their creation, instead of just 30%.
All right, that’s it. I’m out. Until next time…
Keep reading, keep writing,
Darius
Inside the Writer's Mind 