New Business, Part 2

That business plan I was all fired up about last year? Not really working out. I finished a book in my new shared universe and started another, Zombie Jesus Day (ZJD), with plans to keep going while putting other projects aside.

Instead, I’ve spent the last several months working on I, Suicide (a spinoff novel from The Cupid War) and a Doctor Who fanfiction story. I, Suicide will be a hard sell, and I can’t make any money at all from fanfiction! What happened to the great plan?

What the hell went wrong?

Basically, I kept giving priority to other projects. A lot of those projects were articles for Toronto.com. Those had to take priority because they had deadlines. And they paid. In money. There was also a short story I wrote for an anthology (they rejected it). Each time one of those came up, ZJD had to be put on hold.

Then, when I was typing up what I had of ZJD, I had to have another project to work on during the day (see this post here for more details). I picked up I, Suicide again, and discovered I had a passion for that story once more. And when I was typing up the new chapters of I, Suicide, I tried to get back into ZJD. Only I couldn’t. I’d lost the mojo for it. I ended up doing an I, Suicide short story instead, and picked up the thread of a Section K story (the one with the chocolate zombies, mentioned in my last post), and got into the afore-mentioned fanfic.

So, what’s the plan now? Finish I, Suicide and the Section K story, then see about picking ZJD back up once more. Then start a new novel in the ZJD world.

Unless... you know, stuff happens.

Closing Sentences!

Whew! Just finished writing another article for Toronto.com! It seems they liked my last article on wedding venues so much, they asked me to write another! My new article covers another seven venues - two of which were left over from my last article! Good thing I didn't delete my rough draft!

I have to say, one of the hardest things I'm finding with doing articles like this is finding the right closing sentence for each venue. Look at the last sentence for each location in the above-linked article. Go on, I'll wait. Right. Each one was a real chore, much more so than the opening sentences. These assignments are truly a learning experience, forcing me to either get creative... or to go with whatever pops into my head five minutes before deadline! I have newfound respect for writers who do this sort of under-the-gun stuff all the time.

Free Written Stuff? Not From Me!

The following is a call for submissions I just found:

Good Day,

I am currently seeking submissions for my new book about ghosts and legends in Canada. I am looking for personal stories as well as legends specific to the area you live.

When submitting your story, include the following:
1) As much detail as possible about the story. Is it a personal account or legend? How do you know about the story? What makes it a good fit for this book?
2) A short paragraph about where you are from. Tell us about your town/community. As much as this is a book about ghosts and legends, it also focuses on where these stories come from.

I will contact all people submitting stories personally. Should your story be considered for the book, you will be acknowledged in the book and on my website. I will also add you to my mailing list which will keep you informed on when and where you can purchase the book.

I look forward to reading your submissions.

Location: Canada
Compensation: No monetary compensation


In other words, this guy wants three pieces of written material: a short story about Canadian ghosts & legends; a write-up about the story with "as much detail as possible"; and a short paragraph about the area the writer lives in. All that amounts to a fair bit of a writer's time.

Now let's look at what the guy is offering in exchange for the written work. He offers "no monetary compensation." But that isn't the most insulting part. He says he will tell the writers "when and where you can purchase the book." He's not even offering a stinking free copy to contributors! So what is he offering, exactly? "You will be acknowledged in the book and on my website." That's it.

Woo-hoo, huh?

How many times do we need to say it... YOU HAVE TO PAY WRITERS FOR THEIR WORK!!!